In its aim towards becoming the country’s international education hub, Sunway University is moving forward in its pursuit of excellence not only in academia but also through innovative research.
At the end of last year, four Sunway University researchers were recognised with the Vice-Chancellor’s Research Award. The recipients were; Associate Professor Dr Yong Min Hooi from the Department of Psychology who received the Special Research Award, Professor Saidur Rahman of the Research Centre for Nano-Materials and Energy Technology with the Award for Achievement in Research, Dr Ayaz Anwar of the Department of Biological Sciences and Dr Hassanudin Mohd Thas Thaker from the Department of Economics and Finance who each received the Award for Achievement in Research for Early Career Researcher.
Associate Professor Dr Yong Min Hooi’s research focusses on ageing, specifically, executive function and social cognition in older adults. Dr Yong received the Long-Term Research Grant Scheme (LRGS) from the Ministry of Education Malaysia, amounting to RM2.47 million for a 5-year research on “Successful ageing: Evidence-based interventions to delay ageing-related decline”. This is first single largest grant received in the history of Sunway University. The five-year term from 1 December 2019, scheduled to be completed by 30 November 2024, is categorised under the Aging cluster within Health research cluster and governed under the Sunway University’s Research Ethics Committee.
Dr Yong previously received various grants from the Newton-Ungku Omar Fund from British Council and the Malaysian Industry-Government Group for High Technology (MIGHT), Arts and Humanities Research Council UK, and Fundamental Research Grant Scheme (FRGS) from Ministry of Higher Education.
Professor Saidur Rahman is Head of the Research Centre for Nano-Materials and Energy Technology. His research focus is in the area of emerging nano-materials, applications in harvesting and storing of solar energy. He has been recognised as a highly cited researcher, listed as the top 1% researchers for most cited documents in his research field of nanofluids for the last 6 years (2014-2019).
Dr Ayaz Anwar’s current research projects focus on nanomedicine and medicinal chemistry for the development of antimicrobial chemotherapy. His research on silver nanoparticles targeting brain eating amoeba gained international coverage and was featured in the New York Times.
Dr Hassanudin Mohd Thas Thaker research focus in Islamic banking and finance, real estate finance, financial markets, derivatives, and economics has been recognised internationally, earning him the Emerald Literati award in 2016.
Sunway University has 9 research centres and one research group under its roof where research across various fields of study is encouraged.