As the founder and editor-in-chief of The Petri Dish, Malaysia’s pioneering science newspaper, Dr Mahaletchumy Arujanan firmly believes in helping the public become more science-literate and better empowered to make decisions that will affect their health and well-being. Holding a PhD in science communication and a master’s degree in biotechnology from the University of Malaya, she actively influences policies, facilitates research commercialisation, and encourages greater involvement of women and youth in agribiotechnology and biosciences. She is also the global coordinator of the International Service for the Acquisition of Agribiotech Applications, a non-profit organisation committed to disseminating crop biotechnology advantages to the farming sectors in developing countries.

She is responsible for developing Malaysia’s first science communication training programme tailored to scientists, as well as the Asian Short Course on Agribiotechnology, Biosafety Regulations, and Communication. In 2023, she initiated the Short Course on Biosafety for Engineering Biology in the Middle East, Asia, and Latin America in 2023.

Named as one of the “100 Most Influential People in Biotechnology” in the world by the Scientific American Worldview in 2015, Mahaletchumy embodies the essence of a modern influencer, dedicated to making science and its benefits accessible to all.