Invited Talk: Enhancing Malaysia’s Seafood Security: Advancing Aquaculture & Fisheries for a Sustainable Blue Economy
Date: 19/4/2025 (Saturday)
Time: 8:00 a.m. – 17:00 p.m.
Venue: The Everly, Putrajaya
ASSOC. PROF. DR. MOHAMMAD NOOR AMAL AZMAI obtained his Ph.D. (Epidemiology) from the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Universiti Putra Malaysia in 2012, where he worked on the epidemiology of streptococcosis in red hybrid tilapia. He started his academic journey as a Senior Lecturer at the Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Universiti Putra Malaysia in June 2012. He has a great interest in fish diseases, fish vaccination, and fish ecology. Currently, his research focuses on fish disease epidemiology and the development of feed-based vaccines against fresh and marine water fish diseases. Dr. Amal and his research team have several innovations related to the control and prevention of fish diseases in aquaculture. One of his research team’s patents – ViVaC UPM, a newly developed feed-based killed vaccine against vibriosis in fish, has won several international awards and is in the process of commercialization with a private company. His research team is now working on the development and commercialization of a polyvalent feed-based vaccine against streptococcosis and aeromoniasis in cultured freshwater fishes. He is currently the Head of the Aquatic Animal Health and Therapeutics Laboratory, at the Institute of Bioscience, Universiti Putra Malaysia.
hwong@alltech.com
DR. HENRY WONG YH possesses a 25-year tenure within the Asian animal nutrition and health industry. His professional journey commenced as a sales manager in the aquafeed sector in a multinational animal nutrition company in Malaysia. Subsequently, he ascended the corporate ladder, assuming managerial roles within multinational aquaculture nutrition firms in the Asian market. Dr. Wong’s operational footprint spanned multiple strategic locations, including Malaysia, China, Singapore, and Indonesia. In these roles, he adeptly oversaw and managed diverse aspects of the animal nutrition and health business within the Asian region. In 2013, he joined Alltech as a Regional General Manager, with responsibilities extending to Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei and Singapore. Notably, he also lent his technical expertise to bolster aquaculture endeavors in China and Southeast Asia.
In July 2018, Dr. Henry Wong stepped into the position of Asia Commercial Development Director for Alltech. In this capacity, he undertook the paramount mission of propelling the growth trajectory of the aqua business in the Asian market. Dr. Henry holds a bachelor’s degree in aquaculture, an MBA and a Doctorate in Business Administration.
DR AZILA ABDULLAH is currently a Senior Research Officer and director at the National Fish Health Research Division (NaFisH), Fisheries Research Institute, DOF. She started her duties on 3 July 2000 and has since conducted research on fish viral diseases in aquaculture, especially of marine and freshwater fish. Among the viral disease studies conducted were koi herpesvirus (KHV) and iridovirus, and the current subjects are VNN and tilapia lake virus (TiLV).
She is also the project leader for NaFisH-FRITD-IIUM collaboration project involving epidemiological studies, alternative treatments, and vaccine development for fish diseases. She has been directly involved in the development and pre-commercialization process of several innovations such as the VNN detection kit (MyVNNEasy Kit) with UMS in 2009, the patented StrepToVax vaccine (2018 – current), rapid streptococcus detection kit (UI application), Method for identification of betanodavirus antigenic determinant as a vaccine candidate (UI application) and manual Kit PKD (Innovation 2019). She also acts as a Co-supervisor to 3 postgraduate students.
She has produced at least 15 scientific papers in the index and non-index journals, 33 presentation papers and at least 15 technical reports as well as being a reviewer for journals such as Aquaculture research, Pertanika and JoVE (Journal of visualized experiment), in addition she is also the chief editor of the Malaysia Fisheries Journal (MFJ). His latest book entitled ‘Viral Disease Nervous Necrosis in Marine Fish’ was published in 2020 for public reading.
MR. LEE LOW holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Fisheries from Universiti Putra Malaysia and is an active member of the Malaysia Aquaculture Development Association (“MADA”). He has over 30 years of experience in the aquaculture industry managing a marine shrimp hatchery, shrimp farming, a shrimp processing plant, a few species of marine & freshwater fish farming, and aquafeed marketing.
ASSOC. PROF. DR. NATRAH FATIN MOHD IKHSAN is currently a senior lecturer in the Department of Aquaculture, Faculty of Agriculture, Universiti Putra Malaysia. She obtained her PhD from the University of Ghent, Belgium, in Applied Biological Sciences (Aquaculture) where she was attached to the Laboratory of Aquaculture & Artemia Reference Center. Her research interests are in the areas of microbial ecology, particularly on quorum sensing, microalgae, and bacteria interaction in larviculture.
DR. NUR DIYANA MOHAMAD TAHIR is currently a Senior Lecturer at the Department of Veterinary Clinical Studies, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Universiti Putra Malaysia. She holds a Degree in Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) and a PhD in aquatic biotechnology. She is also a member of the World Aquatic Veterinary Medical Association and a practicing aquatic veterinarian. She teaches aquatic management and aquatic medicine to DVM students. She is also the Head of the Aquatic Animal Health Unit at the Department provides diagnostic services, and research facilities, and conducts teaching. Her research interests are in molecular genetics with an emphasis on aquatic diseases and diagnostics.
DR. SHAHREZA MD. SHERIFF is currently a senior lecturer on fish breeding and genetics in the Faculty of Fisheries and Food Science Academicians, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMT). He conducts research on the genetic population of broodstock for several aquaculture fish species. In fish breeding, his research was on crossbreeding, triploidization and hybridization of aquaculture fish species. He also has been appointed as the academic advisor for aquaculture Diploma program for UNISEL and Politeknik Jeli.
DR. PEARL KWAN obtained her Ph.D. in Aquatic Biotechnology and is currently the Head of Research and Development for Hellas Technology Farm, a company that specializes in indoor recirculating aquaculture systems. She consults fish farmers on disease, risk mitigation, and farm setup. Dr. Kwan’s extensive network within academia and the aquaculture community and her role as a Malaysia Aquaculture Development Association committee member reflect her dedication to the industry’s growth. Over the years, Dr. Pearl has advocated sustainable aquaculture farming initiatives. She leads a 12-month school program, fostering secondary school students to learn sustainable aquaculture. She is excited to inspire others to take action to protect the environment.
DR. NORULHUDA MOHAMED RAMLI obtained her bachelor degree in Biological and Agricultural engineering at Universiti Putra Malaysia in 2004. After graduation, she worked as an officer of economic affairs with the Malaysian Farmers’ Organization Authority (Lembaga Pertubuhan Peladang) for a year. During this period, she engaged directly with farmers’ activities. Later, she pursued her MSc and PhD degree in Aquaculture at the Aquaculture and Fisheries Group, Wageningen University, The Netherlands. Having both, engineering, and aquaculture background, Norulhuda integrates these two fields in her research related to recirculating aquaculture system, microalgae and other aquatic plants for improvement of system efficiency and water quality. Her recent research embarks on the use of internet of things (IoT) and data analytics to understand the dynamics of physico-chemical parameters and their relationship to biological processes in aquaculture systems.
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Sitti Raehanah Binti Muhamad Shaleh is currently the Deputy Director (Research & Innovation) at the Borneo Marine Research Institute, Universiti Malaysia Sabah. She obtained her PhD from UPM, Serdang and joined UMS as a lecturer in 2005. Her research interest is sustainable aquaculture and microalgae propagation.
