5 minutes with Sanussha, our industrial trainee
Q: Could you tell us a little bit about yourself?
My name is Sanussha Ananthan, 22, a final year student of Bachelor of Science in Bioinformatics from Universiti Malaya. I did my final year internship project at Cancer Research Malaysia (CRMY) under Cancer Prevention and Population Science department. The experience gave me a chance to utilise my academic knowledge and gained even more valuable knowledge and skills from the scientists.
Q: What inspired you to become a scientist?
I am naturally an inquisitive person and Biology became my favourite subject in school. Hence I decided to continue my study in the field of Biology and eventually got into the school of Biological Sciences. There’s a saying, the more you learn, the more you realise how much you don’t know. That’s exactly how I felt because the more I learned, the more questions I had which made me feel inclined toward the research field.
Q: Why did you choose to do your industrial training at CRMY?
As the name suggested, CRMY heavily focused on cancer research and I wanted to experience how a career in the field of cancer research will be. Plus, I got to work side by side and be trained by some of the best scientists in the country who specialised in cancer research.
Q: Can you walk us through your first day of orientation at CRMY’s office in Subang Jaya?
I had a virtual onboarding session on MS Teams where the HR introduced me to the organisational structure, the departments, a glimpse of what they do in CRMY and the workplace etiquette. My supervisor, Dr Tai Mei Chee brought me around the office and gave a small briefing of the surrounding when I first attended the office physically. Then later, I was given a literature review to work on my first project by Dr Mei Chee.
Q: What have you learned during the past 4 months?
I have learned how to conduct unsupervised learning on the data of Asian Breast Cancer Patients and studied some interesting topics such as Integrative analysis between polygenic risk score and gene expression of breast cancer patients. Apart from that, I had the opportunity to learn about the projects of my other teammates where I gained experience on how working life will be in the field of Cancer research. My training here also helped improve my communication and interpersonal skills as I have learned how to present my findings in a way that will enable ease in delivery and understanding.
Q: Did it change you in any way or do you look at things/life differently?
My time in CRMY has taught me that we should contribute to society, in one way or another because it will make an impact on someone’s life. We should be thankful and utilise every opportunity that has been given to us so we could help those in need and subsequently make the world a better place.
Q: How would you encourage the youth to study science?
I think there are a few ways to persuade the new generation to take an interest in studying science. First, we need to make it relevant as many youths do not see the real-world application of science. We need to show them that science is broad and it can help with everyday or major issues such as climate change to healthy eating. Second, by providing more opportunities for youth to explore science through internships, mentorships, or graduate programs. These experiences can help the students gain hands-on experience and inspire them to pursue their studies. Third, to be a positive role model so we can inspire and motivate the youths to further their studies in science. Last but not least, we should encourage the students from a very young age to explore their curiosity and reassure them that it’s okay to ask questions as they are trying to understand how things work. Parents and teachers could play their role by creating a conducive environment for the child’s interests to grow.
Q: What is your next plan for the near future?
I am planning to continue my Master’s while looking for an entry-level job as an Informatician.
Q: What do you want to achieve and what are your life goals?
My life goal will be to further pursue the field of Informatics and be a specialist in it. Hopefully, my work will allow me to contribute to the community. When it comes to personal goals, I want to be able to support my family and establish a stable life where I am confident that the needs and necessities are sufficient.
Q: Will you come back and work with us?
If there is a good opportunity to learn and grow more, of course I will come back and join CRMY!
Sannusha is one of many successful industrial trainees who have a deep passion for science and instil an interest in science subjects for the new generation.
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