Persatuan Genetik Malaysia

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Prof Dr Zilfalil Alwi

Department of Pediatrics

School of Medical Sciences

Universiti Sains Malaysia

16150 Kubang Kerian

Kelantan, Malaysia

Tel : 09-7676531

Fax : 09-7676543

Professor Dr Zilfalil Bin Alwi was born in Mentakab, Pahang on 22nd July 1963. He started his medical career as a medical officer after completing his Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) degree at University of Dacca, in 1990. He joined Universiti Sains Malaysia

(USM) School of Medical Sciences as a Trainee Lecturer in 1994, and was later awarded the Master of Medicine (MMed) in Pediatrics from USM. He then obtained his second Master degree (MSc) in Medical Genetics from University of Glasgow, United Kingdom and then continued his studies at University of Aston, United Kingdom, where he was awarded Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Pharmacogenetics.His research interest includes genetics of childhood Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMN genes & NAIP gene), population genomics (genetic diversity of the Malay race), and genome wide studies on diseases common to the local population. He has published more than 100 papers in international and local journals and presented more than 200 papers at local and international conferences. He is a member of the Pan-Asia SNP research consortium (PASNPI) which studies the genomic profile of the Asian population. Professor Zilfalil is the founder and Head of the Malaysian Node of Human Variome Project (MyHVP). Human Variome Project (HVP) is a global project which aims to collect, collate and organize genomic data from all the ethnic groups in the world to create a database that can be accessed for general use . This global project has received recognition and support from UNESCO and WHO. MyHVP was also listed among the high -impact projects in Universiti Sains Malaysia. Based on his ability to introduce Malaysia to the international arena, especially in promoting Malaysia's expertise in the field of genetics and genomics, Malaysia has been given the mandate to organize the Human Genome Meeting (HGM) in 2015. Professor Zilfalil has been appointed as the chairman of the local organizing committee of this conference which is among the largest in the world. This success has given international recognition to Malaysia in the field of genetics and genomics. At the university level, he was appointed as Head of Research Cluster for Genetic Diseases at the Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) Health Campus. He has also served as the Director of USM Human Genome Center from 2005 to 2009. Based on his extensive experience in the field of academic research he was appointed as the Chief Editor of several journals including the Malaysian Journal of Pediatrics and Child Health and GENETIK, which is the official Bulletin of the Genetics Society of Malaysia. He was also appointed as a member of the editorial board of the Journal of Genetic Testing and Molecular Biomarkers Journal based in the United States of America and the Journal of Pediatric Frontiers, based in Switzerland. He was also appointed as a member of the editorial board of the Journal of Integrative Computational Biosciences (JICB). He was also appointed as a reviewer and evaluator for a variety of international and local journals. Professor Zilfalil has held key positions in several professional associations and societies. He is the founder and President of the Malaysian Society of Human Genetics (MSHG). He is also the Vice President of the Genetics Society of Malaysia (PGM) and has served as Vice Chairman of the Malaysian Medical Association (Kelantan branch) and Executive Council member of the Malaysian Pediatric Association. He is also a member of the Executive Council of the Asia -Pacific Society of Human Genetics (APSHG) and a member of the British Society of Human Genetics and the Human Genome Organization (HUGO). Recently, he was elected as a council member of the College of Pediatrics, Academy of Medicine of Malaysia and later was appointed as a Fellow of the prestigious Academy of Medicine Malaysia. In honour of his immense contribution to the development of the Human Variome Project in Malaysia and South-east Asia, Prof Zilfalil was recently appointed as a member of the Board of Directors for the Human Variome Project International and the co-chair for the International Confederation of Country Advisory Council. Professor Zilfalil is also active in community work. He is consultant and advisor to the Down Syndrome Centre, Kota Bharu and has helped to establish the Kelantan branch of the Down Syndrome Association of Malaysia (PSDM). He has also been involved in many medical camps as a volunteer for the free screening of diseases in the local community. He is the deputy chairman of the Parents- Teachers Association (PIBG) of Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Dato’ Ahmad Maher, Kota Bharu and a member of Parents-Teachers Association (PIBG) of Sekolah Rendah Zainab 2, Kota Bharu.