A Malaysian abroad has made the country proud after making it into the Forbes 30 under 30 Asia list for his contribution to the field of healthcare and science.

A lot of hard work

According to a report by Free Malaysia Today, Kedah-born Ashiwin Vadiveloo, who is currently residing in Murdoch, Western Australia, is a postdoctoral research fellow and the Deputy Director of the Algae R&D Centre at Murdoch University.

Ashiwin’s journey to be named in the list is really inspiring: the 29-year-old enrolled in the biotechnology course and aced his undergraduate degree. He even got into the dean’s list multiple times.

He later scored a gold medal from the Malaysian Biotechnology Information Centre (MABIC) for his final year research project.

He also got a local scholarship, with which he pursued his PhD in Algal Biotechnology at Murdoch University in 2013.

“Undertaking a PhD at the young age of 23 in a foreign country was the most daunting task I’ve ever taken on,” Ashiwin was quoted as saying, but he persevered, completing his PhD in 2017.

Along the way, he was also among the top ten finalists for the 2014 and 2015 MASCA-EMA Award for Excellence in the field of Life Sciences & Health Care, emerging as the winner in 2015.

In the same year, he also won the prestigious 2015 BASF Asia Pacific PhD Challenge, thus establishing collaboration with the biggest chemical manufacturer in the world (BASF).

Staying grounded

Despite all his success, the lad from Sungai Petani remains grounded.

“This recognition means a lot to me as it affirms my career in the field of science (R&D) and it also provides a great deal of motivation to work harder in the future.

“It is truly inspiring to be placed side by side with so many talented, young individuals who are working towards making positive changes in the world and are being recognised for it.”

Ashiwin is currently focusing on his latest project, which is the use of microalgae for the successful treatment of wastewater.