Meet the Alumni Awards 2020-21 Judges

David (Dave) Thomas was appointed the Deputy British High Commissioner to Malaysia in August 2018. Prior to his appointment, Dave worked as the Tech Overhaul Programme Director in the Knowledge and Technology Dept in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO). He joined the FCO in 1996 and has served at Posts in Lagos, Pretoria, Washington DC and Madrid. Dave has expertise in safety, security and justice and climate change issues and in Project and Programme Management. 

Winner of Professional Achievement Award, Alumni Awards 2020 & Associate Professor in Molecular Oncology, Institute for Research in Molecular Medicine, Universiti Sains Malaysia

Associate Professor Dr Oon Chern Ein completed her BSc (1st Class Hons) in Biotechnology at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia and furthered her DPhil in Medical Oncology at the University of Oxford, United Kingdom. She then trained at Karolinska Institutet, Sweden as a postdoctoral fellow and now serves as a lecturer at Universiti Sains Malaysia. Chern is a member of the Global Young Academy, a fellow of the Association of Union for International Cancer Control and an ambassador of the European Association for Cancer Research. She served as an EXCO member of the Young Scientists Network- Academy of Sciences Malaysia from 2016 to 2018. In 2014, she won the Exiqon Young Scientist Award- South East Asia. Chern continued to receive numerous awards for her work on molecular targeted therapy in cancer including the prestigious L’Oreal-UNESCO For Women in Science National Fellowship in 2015, the Union for International Cancer Control ICRETT Fellowship and National Cancer Council Cancer Research Award in 2016. In 2018, she was awarded the UK-based prestigious Women of the Future Awards- South East Asia and the National Young Scientist Award (Malaysian Ministry of Science and Technology) for forging new grounds in science and for being a game-changer in her scientific pursuits in the discovery of new potential targeted therapy in cancer. She was honoured with the Promising Academician Award 2019 and the Excellent Service Medal Award by the Malaysian Ministry of Education. More recently, she added the British Council Study UK Alumni Award 2020 (Professional Achievement Category) and the Malaysian Invention and Design Society (MINDS) Women Scientist Award 2020 to her list of achievements. Recognizing the importance of education and its significance in the development of a science-literate society, Chern takes pride in her science communication efforts in contributing layman articles to various publishers and her outreach modules targeting the less fortunate- the orphans and the sick, a programme she has been leading in collaborations with the Global Young Academy, MAKNA National Cancer Council, Corporate Social Responsibility Shangri-La, Young Scientists Network- Academy of Sciences Malaysia, Penang Education Council and Penang Science Cluster. She strongly advocates for girls to pursue STEM and hopes to empower women to follow their dreams no matter what life brings. She has the vision to use her position as a scientist and an educator to improve the research culture, ethics as well as to increase science literacy in Malaysia. 

Zaim Mohzani grew up as a reclusive boy stemming from low self-esteem until someone saw something in him that he couldn’t see in himself. Ever since then, he has made it his mission to see in others what they don't see in themselves. He does this by contributing to 3 areas he's deeply passionate about—public policy, international relations, and youth empowerment. Zaim has 8 years of professional experience in business development, public policy and community-building. He is currently the Director of External Relations for KSI Strategic Insitute for Asia Pacific (KSI), a leading think tank based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Prior to that, he gained tri-sector exposure having worked as in a tech startup, federal minister’s office, boutique consultancy firm and government innovation centre. At the side, Zaim zealous on building communities. He is currently the President of the Chevening Alumni Malaysia. Zaim has established 3 award-winning youth non-profit organisations—namely the Perdana Fellows Alumni Association (PFAA), Nation Building School and Malaysian Youth Diplomacy (MyDiplomacy) - which have collectively impacted over 10,000 youths. Zaim contributes to the growth of the youth ecosystem through a number of advisory positions. He sits on the Board of Trustees of Impact Malaysia (government agency) and chairs the Supervisory Group for Malaysia chapter of AIESEC (world’s biggest student-run organisation). He has been selected for the U.S. State Department’s Professional Fellowship Program, Singapore Government’s ASEAN Youth Fellowship and the Chevening Scholarship awarded by the UK Government’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. Zaim was most recently selected for the Acumen Malaysia Fellowship 2021.  Zaim holds an MSc in International Strategy and Diplomacy (Distinction) from London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) and BA in Political Science from Monash Australia in Australia. He enjoys binge-reading, travelling and still believes he can be a rapper one fine day.