Prof. Dr. Chee Hui Yee Honoured as National Exemplary Worker (Executive Category) 2025

Prof. Dr. Chee Hui Yee has been awarded the prestigious National Exemplary Worker Award (Executive Category) in conjunction with the 2025 National Labour Day celebration held at Axiata Arena, Bukit Jalil. The award recognises her outstanding contributions to the nation, society, university, and the fields of science and public health.

Prof. Dr. Chee is a lecturer and researcher at the Department of Medical Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM). During the COVID-19 pandemic, she played a pivotal role in establishing the SARS-CoV-2 PCR Diagnostic Laboratory at Hospital Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah (HSAAS), UPM, which served as one of the university’s key screening centres.

In addition to her technical contributions, she was also a prominent public health advocate, delivering health information to the public through various media platforms and public talks to raise awareness on COVID-19 prevention. For her extraordinary dedication, she received the Women of Excellence Award 2022 from the Malaysian Chinese Women Entrepreneur Association.

Her contributions extend beyond Malaysia. From 2021 to 2024, Prof. Dr. Chee served as a Laboratory Consultant for the World Health Organization (WHO) in Malaysia, providing technical expertise to strengthen laboratory response systems for infectious disease outbreaks in Malaysia, Brunei, and Singapore. She is also actively involved in international humanitarian missions under the Tzu Chi Foundation Malaysia, volunteering in relief efforts in the Philippines, Nepal, Serbia, and France.

At UPM, she has received multiple accolades, including the 2018 Vice Chancellor’s Fellowship Award (Journal Publication Category), nomination for the 2018 National Academic Award, and the 2020 High-Performance Researcher Award. Her research focuses on the pathogenesis of dengue virus, including the development of in vitro models to study secondary infection and vascular permeability, as well as molecular diagnostics and antiviral development for infectious diseases such as dengue, leptospirosis, and respiratory viruses.

Collaborating with researchers from the University of Cambridge, UK, she has contributed to the development of low-cost diagnostic kits for point-of-care detection of multiple pathogens. Her research achievements have led to two patents and several innovation awards, including the Inclusive Innovation Challenge 2018, Selangor R&D and Innovation Expo 2019, and PECIPTA (2019 & 2022).

In teaching, Prof. Dr. Chee was awarded a medal at the Putra InnoCreative International Carnival in Teaching and Learning (PicTL) and was nominated for the Teaching Excellence Award 2019/2020 and the Graduate Supervision Excellence Award 2021, reflecting her strong commitment to student mentorship and academic excellence.

Prof. Dr. Chee’s holistic dedication to academia, research, innovation, and community service has earned her wide respect in the scientific and public service communities. Her unwavering passion serves as a powerful inspiration to the younger generation, especially women, to contribute to national development through knowledge and expertise.

Date of Input: 07/05/2025 | Updated: 07/05/2025 | wansuzana