Malaysian Researcher Wins Fish technology Award

Ms. Clara Bah, a researcher at the Department of Food Science, University of Otago in New Zealand  has won the first ever Peter Howgate Award for young fish technologists. The prize of EUR500 will help Clara to attend the New Zealand Institute of Food Science and Technology (NZIFST) conference in Rotorua, New Zealand at the end of June 2011, at which she will present her MSc research findings on the bioactivity of fish roes from five commercial New Zealand fish species.  She hopes her paper download here will help to publicise how the extraction of useful bioactive compounds, from parts of fish which are often discarded, can help to improve the commercial value of fishery products, reports www.megafishnet.com with reference to MegaPesca.

Clara, who has a B.Eng in Chemical-Bioprocess Engineering from the Technological University of Malaysia, arrived in New Zealand in 2008, and obtained her MSc from the University of Otago at the end 2010.  She hopes that her ongoing research will lead to a PhD in future. Her supervisor, Dr. Alaa el-Din Bekhit, praised her penchant for hard work and learning, and her commitment to developing new approaches to improving utilisation of undervalued fishery resources. The Award Committee thought that her application not only met all of the criteria for the Award, in that that attendance at the conference would expand her experience and allow her to meet colleagues in field of fish technology, but that it would also help to promote this important field of research.

The aim of the annual Peter Howgate Award (www.peterhowgateaward.com ) is to support young scientists and technologists who have shown a promising start to their career in fish technology. The award provides financial help for travel which will contribute to advancing the candidates experience, skills and knowledge. The award is specifically aimed at those in a junior position (under 30 years).