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Award-winning researcher who seeks for solutions in the field of infectious disease, Dr Vanitha Mariappan, never dreamed of pursuing her PhD in medical microbiology.

Although she learned the subject during her bachelor and masters degrees, as she wasn’t drawn to it.

She was in the appetite to learn something new; hence she decided to pursue a PhD in the subject to challenge herself.

Working with University Malaysia’s medical faculty, Dr. Vanitha is one among the growing number of women who are in the STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) field.

Yet, Dr. Vanitha feels that women are still underrepresented in the scientific research field due to gender-biased circumstances. 

She was quoted as saying that “Parents need to be open-minded enough and encourage their daughters to pursue the field of science.  Teachers also play a part in introducing science to girls and motivating them to develop an interest in STEM subjects.”

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Having recently clinched the 2019 Small Grant Award in Humanities and Social Sciences from Wellcome Trust, a biomedical research society based in London, Dr. Vanitha did not have an easy past.

Hailing from Desa Pandan, KL, Dr. Vanitha is the only child among five siblings to pursue a career in the sciences. Losing her father at the tender age of 10, Dr. Vanitha’s mother was the sole breadwinner of the family and she had to work long hours to make ends meet.

Taking after her mom, Dr. Vanitha works unpredictably long hours that can sometimes go up to 45 hours!  However, she has come to terms with this as she is often pressed for time to come up with a cure.

With most of her fundamental research revolving around understanding pathogens and how they can trigger diseases in host organisms, Dr. Vanitha firmly believes that to be a medical researcher, one needs a strong foundation in immunology, microbial infection and biochemistry.

With such a wide scope in her research and studies, Dr. Vanitha has been selected for numerous international fellowships. Among them are the 2016 Australia–APEC Woman in Research Fellowship in Darwin, Australia, 2014 Asean-Korea Exchange Fellowship Programme in Daejeon, South Korea, and 2013 Hong Kong University Pasteur Cell Biology Course in Hong Kong.

Besides making it into world-renowned fellowships, Dr. Vanitha has also accumulated a number of prestigious awards to her name. She won the Young Investigators Presenter Award by the European Melioidosis Congress at the University of Cambridge, Britain in 2015. She also bagged the Travel Award during the 6th Japan Medical Innovation Program.

Last year, she secured another one under her belt by winning the Young Woman in Health and Medical Sciences Award for the Medical Microbiology category presented by the Venus International Women Awards Foundation, based in India.
 
Despite her busy schedule, Dr. Vanitha makes it a point to make time for fun and play. Having a black belt in Taekwondo, Dr. Vanitha was quoted as saying, “Work smart, play hard and live life to the fullest.”

Wise words from a wise young woman we must say! For more inspiring stories, stay tuned to RAAGA!

Source: star2