I obtained a First Class Honours Bachelor of Science [BSc (Hons)] degree in Biochemistry from the Department of Biochemistry (now known as Molecular Medicine), Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya (UM), Kuala Lumpur (1987). Following this, I was appointed as a research fellow at the Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, UM, where I completed the Master of Science (MSc) Degree (1990). 

I secured the prestigious Shell-Cambridge Commonwealth Trust Scholarship from the Cambridge Commonwealth Trust (CCT) and the Overseas Research Scholarship (ORS) Award from the United Kingdom (UK) government, which allowed me to pursue my Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree at the Department of Pathology (Immunology Division), University of Cambridge, UK.  Upon completion of my PhD, I was appointed as a post-doctoral researcher at the Sir William Dunn School of Pathology, University of Oxford, UK. 

Upon returning to Malaysia in 1994, I join a newly established private biotechnology company as a senior scientist-cum-acting research manager.  A year later, I joined the International Medical College (IMC) as a lecturer.  The IMC was transformed to a full-fledged university, i.e. International Medical University (IMU) in 1999.  During my 22-year at the IMU, I was promoted to the rank of senior lecturer (1999), Associate Professor (2005) and Professor (2008). At the IMU, I held several academic administrative positions such as Associate Dean (Academic and International Affairs) in the School of Medicine, International Medical University (IMU) as well as Head, Pathology section.

My main research areas are in the area of immuno-regulation and immunotherapy in cancer as well as the use of natural compounds to enhance immune response to cancer.  I have successfully supervised several post-graduate students at the doctoral and masters’ levels as well as final year under-graduate research students.  I have published in several Tier 1 and 2 ISI and other peer-reviewed journals. 

I am a Fellow of the Cambridge Commonwealth Trust and the Cambridge Philosophical Society as well as Life-member in several societies.

I was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology, UK on 1 Jan 2023.