Pharmacology Student to Receive Perdana Scholar Award from Malaysian Prime Minister

Yvette Joon Ying Boon, a Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics doctoral student, has been selected to receive the Perdana Scholar Award by the Education Department of Malaysia for students studying in the United States. The goal of the program is to identify, document and promote Malaysian students who have excelled in areas including academics, leadership, sports, entrepreneurship, invention and research. The Prime Minister of Malaysia will present the award Sept. 26 in New York.

 A member of Phi Beta Kappa, Boon graduated from BU College of Arts and Sciences summa cum laude with distinction. She conducts her doctoral research in Dr. Benjamin Wolozin’s laboratory studying the post-transcriptional regulation of Alpha-Synuclein by Leucine-Rich Repeat Kinase in Parkinson’s disease. 

 “Joon’s selection for this award is a tribute to her many stellar qualities,” says Wolozin, BUSM professor of Pharmacology.  “Joon is one of those rare scientists who is passionate about science and people.  Her work on Parkinson’s disease is revealing novel mechanisms through which micro-RNA contribute to the pathophysiology of the disease process.  At the same time, Joon’s enthusiasm for helping her friends and colleagues benefits everyone around her. Three cheers for Joon!”

  An award winning Taekwondo Master with a fourth-degree Black Belt, Boon coaches the BU Taekwondo Team. She has displayed her artwork and photography during BUSM Art Days, at Graduate Medical Science Art Day and in the BUSM literary and arts magazine. Chosen as the recipient of the first Graduate Medical Science Student Organization (GMSSO) Representative Award this year, she served as secretary of the GMSSO for two years and the pharmacology representative for the past five years. She volunteers in the greater Boston area, including with the Alzheimer’s Association, teaching Taekwondo and women’s self-defense seminars, and at fundraising events for the China Care Fund.