Dr. Ong Yong Sze earned her Bachelor of Biomedical Science (2013) and PhD in Pharmacology from Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM). During her doctoral studies, she was awarded the prestigious Erasmus Mundus SMARTLINK scholarship, which funded an 18-month research fellowship at the University of Porto’s Faculty of Pharmacy in Portugal. She currently serves as a Lecturer at Monash University Malaysia’s School of Pharmacy, where she bridges her academic training with innovative research.

Yong Sze’s research advances precision oncology and nanomedicine, focusing on low-toxicity cancer therapies and environmental health risk assessment. Her interdisciplinary work bridges nanotechnology, natural product pharmacology, and environmental toxicology to address pressing challenges in oncology and public health.

1) Cancer Nanomedicine

A core focus is engineering targeted drug delivery systems to maximize therapeutic efficacy while sparing healthy tissues. She designs lipid-based nanoparticles integrated with functional materials (e.g., magnetic nanoparticles) and natural anticancer agents, enabling tumor-specific drug delivery through stimuli-responsive mechanisms. By developing carriers that react to external triggers like magnetic fields, her work enhances drug precision in aggressive cancers, reducing off-target effects. She also pioneers strategies to improve conventional chemotherapeutics by combining therapeutic and diagnostic functions, addressing systemic toxicity and drug resistance.

2) Natural Product-Based Therapeutics

Her research explores plant-derived bioactive compounds as safer alternatives to synthetic drugs, emphasizing their ability to disrupt cancer progression—such as halting uncontrolled cell growth and metastasis—with minimal side effects. She investigates how these compounds synergize with nanocarriers to improve stability and delivery, while also evaluating natural inhibitors of molecular chaperones critical to tumor survival. This work aims to develop adjuvant therapies that counteract treatment resistance.

3) Toxicity, Safety & Environmental Health

A key pillar of her research is rigorous preclinical safety assessment. She evaluates nanoparticle biocompatibility, dose-dependent toxicity of natural compounds, and long-term impacts of nanocarrier degradation to ensure therapies balance efficacy with safety. Beyond oncology, she investigates environmental pollutants like microplastics, focusing on early-life exposure risks and their potential developmental health implications. This dual focus bridges environmental toxicology and disease prevention.

Impact and Vision

By merging nanotechnology, natural pharmacology, and toxicity studies, Yong Sze pioneers safer, more effective cancer therapies while advocating for proactive solutions to environmental health challenges. Her translational approach prioritizes patient safety and global well-being, positioning her at the forefront of innovative, ethical biomedical research.