Board

PROF ABU HASSAN AHMAD

BORG Advisor and Founder

abu
Abu Hassan Ahmad is a Professor in entomology in the School of Biological Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia and has served the university since 1980. He is one of the founders and advisors of BORG. Abu Hassan is a medical entomologist by training. He has graduated more than 40 postgraduate students in the medical entomology field. His interest in agricultural pest management started in 1998, when he led the project of developing biological control of cocoa pod borer, an important pest of cocoa in Sumatra, Indonesia. The project was fully funded by P.T.P Lonsum London-Sumatra (LONSUM) at Bahlias Sumatra, Indonesia. 
Later in 2002, he led a project funded by Yayasan FELDA on developing sustainable management of important pests; the rhinoceros beetle and leaf eating caterpillar, in FELDA oil palm plantations. Abu Hassan was also involved in a project developing termite and bunch moth management in oil palm plantations in peat soil in Sibu, Sarawak. With his expertise in agricultural pest management, he was appointed as a plant protection consultant at FELDA Holding Group in 2004. Additionally, Abu Hassan is passionate about barn owl conservation, with the emphasis on barn owls as a biological control agent for controlling rat population in agricultural fields and urban setting. Abu Hassan is a member of the FGV-UPM-BORG project for translocation of barn owl to Lahad Datu, Sabah. Furthermore, in 2014 he initiated the barn owl urbanization project in Subang Jaya, Selangor and in 2016, led a project introducing barn owls in Rawa Island, Johor. 
 
 

  

ASSOC. PROF. DR HASBER SALIM

BORG Coordinator and Co-founder

dr.hasber 
Hasber Salim is a senior lecturer at School of Biological Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) and is one of the founding members and current coordinator of BORG. He was once a senior plant protectionist in FGV Research and Development group, one of the key players of the oil palm industry, before he joined academia. Hasber Salim obtained his doctorate in vertebrate pest management from Universiti Putra Malaysia in 2014. His research was on toxicity and sub-lethal effects of first and second generation anticoagulant rodenticides on barn owl in oil palm plantations. The finding of the research has improved the implementation of integrated rat management and practices by most of FELDA oil palm plantation group.
His research interest focuses on biological control of rats using barn owl, Tyto javanica javanica, and the conservation of the species, which has been threatened with the widespread usage of highly toxic chemical rodenticides in Malaysian agricultural areas. Currently he heads the rodent pest laboratory USM, the only independent laboratory that is capable of conducting efficiency tests and secondary poisoning assessment of rodenticides on non-target organisms. Hasber has also been working on biological control of agricultural pest, in particular vertebrate pest, for the past 15 years.
 
 
DR INTAN HASLINA ISHAK

 

Resistance Expert

dr.intan
Intan Haslina received her doctorate in Medical Entomology from the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine. Her PhD research was on the insecticide resistance mechanism in Malaysian Aedes mosquitoes. Her findings showed that there were significant resistance level in Aedes mosquitoes throughout Malaysia and this was the stepping stone that led her to focus her research in Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) on the study of insecticide resistance mechanism. 
She is particularly interested in using molecular approaches in understanding the underlying mechanisms causing resistance especially in insect and rodent pest. Intan is currently working on developing methods in pesticide resistance management as well as applying biological tools against urban and agricultural pest population. She has also participated in several local and international training and workshops. Intan is a fellow of the Vector Control Research Unit (VCRU), USM and a senior lecturer in School of Biological Sciences, USM. 
 
 

 

ASSOC. PROF. DR MOHD GHOWS MOHD AZZAM

Molecular Biology Expert

dr.ghows

Ghows is a senior lecturer in School of Biological Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM). He joined BORG for his expertise in molecular biology and genetics. Ghows completed his MSc in Developmental Cell Biology from University of Sussex and DPhil (PhD) from the Department of Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics in University of Oxford. Following this, he was then appointed as a postdoctoral researcher for another two years in the Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine (WIMM), University of Oxford. 
In 2014, he started working in USM where his lab focuses on molecular genetics and cellular biology. He is currently working on developing an accurate sexing method of barn owls using molecular techniques and morphological features. Dr Ghows is also an appointed fellow in the Vector Control Research Unit (VCRU) and Advance Medical and Dental Institute (AMDI). He was also awarded the Young Investigator Award from the Young Scientist Network – Academy of Sciences Malaysia during the 11th Malaysia Genetic Congress in 2015.
 
Contact: ghows@usm.my
 

 

ASSOC. PROF. DR HAMDAN AHMAD

Animal Sciences Expert

dr.hamdan
Hamdan Ahmad graduated in Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) from Universiti Putra Malaysia in 1990. In 1994, he pursued his advance study in Applied Parasitology and Entomology from SEMEO-TROPMED and then his PhD in Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) on biological control program of insect pest in poultry farms in Malaysia. During his career, Hamdan joined a company on veterinary-related business and later served as a veterinarian at the Department of Veterinary Sciences, Malaysia.
In 2010, he joined Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) as a senior lecturer and continued his research on Pest Management, focusing on biological control of vertebrate and invertebrate pests. He is one of the founding members of BORG. Currently Hamdan is the Coordinator of the Vector Control Research Unit (VCRU) under the School of Biological Sciences, USM. VCRU is a World Health Organization (WHO) collaborating center for insecticide evaluation program and the only center that produces test kit for insecticide resistance monitoring program.  
 
 
 

DR KAMARUL ZAMAN ZARKASI

Microbiology expert

dr kamarul

Kamarul is a senior lecturer in School of Biological Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM). He joined BORG for his expertise in microbiology, microbial ecology and genomics. Kamarul completed his MAppSc in Microbiology from University of Tasmania, Australia and PhD in Agriculture Sciences from the Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture (TIA) in the University of Tasmania, Australia. Previously, he was a Research Officer in the Institute of Medical Research, Ministry of Health, Kuala Lumpur.
In 2015, he started working in USM, where his lab focuses on microbial ecology, marine microbiology and genomics. He is currently working on the impact of different diets on the the gut microbes associated with the gut health of barn owls using metagenomics and microbiology techniques. Dr Kamarul is also a lifetime member of the Malaysian Society for Microbiology. He has been awarded the ASM-BD Award from Australian Society for Microbiology (2014) and Anugerah Sanggar Sanjung from Universiti Sains Malaysia (2016 and 2018).

Contact: kamarul.zarkasi@usm.my

DR ONG SONG-QUAN

  Artificial intelligence and data analytics biologist

dr ong

 

ChM. Dr. Ong Song-Quan, a Senior Lecturer at Institute for Tropical Biology and Conservation (ITBC), Universiti Malaysia Sabah, has a passion for cross-discipline research that impacts the community. In recent years, his research has focused upon pest control and biodiversity conservation by using artificial intelligence and data analytics. He holds a Ph.D. in Medical and Veterinary Entomology, M.Sc in Molecular Entomology, and second Masters in Data Science and Analytics.

As a data scientist, licensed chemist, and medical entomologist, he comes equipped to leverage the intersection between these disciplines and make a meaningful contribution to advancing pest control and conservation. Dr. Ong’s research has been published in numerous publications including top journals such as ‘Parasites & Vectors’, ‘Scientific Report’ by Nature Research, ‘Pest Science Management’ etc.

Contact: songguan26@gmail.com