Dr Woo Yin Ling, a professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at Universiti Malaya made Malaysia proud after winning the prestigious 2023 Rachel Pearline Award for her global contribution to cancer research. The first winner of the award from Southeast Asia, Dr Woo was recognised at the 11th Annual Symposium on Global Cancer Research (ASGCR) as the year’s outstanding professional who embodies virtue and eminence in cancer research, practice, and/or training in a low- and middle-income country.
Dr Woo Yin Ling
Among her list of achievements include conceptualising and executing Program ROSE (Removing Obstacles to Cervical Screening), an innovative cervical screening programme incorporating HPV self-sampling. Besides that, Dr Woo is the clinical lead for the MaGIC study (Mainstreaming genetic counselling for genetic testing of BRCA1/2 in ovarian cancer patients in Malaysia) and the Every Woman Study (EWS-LMIC).
She completed her specialist and subspecialty training in gynaecological oncology in the UK and was conferred her PhD by Cambridge University for her post-doctoral research on HPV immuno-biology. Dr Woo left Malaysia as a teenager and spent 21 years on her education and professional training abroad.
In 2010, she returned to Malaysia as a clinician scientist focusing on service development and research programs with an emphasis on gynaecological cancers. Dr Woo describes her work as ‘Malaysian centric’, whether it be on an individual patient or at a broader policy level.
She is currently Malaysia’s representative for the Asia-Oceania Research Organisation in Genital Infection and Neoplasia (AOGIN), a member of the Asia Pacific Economic Consortium (APEC) Cervical Cancer working group, a committee member for policy at the International Papillomavirus Society (IPVS) and is a founding trustee to ROSE Foundation. In a statement through the ROSE foundation, Dr Woo asserted that the award is a great honour for Malaysia and is a testament to what we can achieve if we work together.
What an incredible achievement! Thank you Dr Woo for being an inspiration to all Malaysians and making our country proud. Malaysia Boleh!
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