NSM Council
Members of the 18th Council (2020-2022)
The 19th Council of the Nutrition Society of Malaysia was elected for the 2022 – 2024 term, during the 37th Annual General Meeting of the Society which was conducted on 18th March 2022.
| President | : | Dr Tee E Siong, AMN, KMN, FNSM, FMSA |
| Vice-President | : | Associate Professor Dr Mahenderan Appukutty, FNSM |
| Honorary Secretary | : | Associate Professor Dr Chin Yit Siew, FNSM |
| Honorary Treasurer | : | Dr. Roseline Yap Wai Kuan, FNSM |
| Assistant Honorary Secretary | : | Assistant Professor Dr Satvinder Kaur Nachatar Singh |
| Council Members | : |
Dr Wong Jyh Eiin, FNSM |
To contact the Nutrition Society of Malaysia, please write in to :
| Dr Tee E Siong | Assoc Prof Dr Chin Yit Siew |
|
President |
Honorary Secretary |
| Email : president@nutriweb.org.my | Email : secretary@nutriweb.org.my |
Biodata
Dr Tee E Siong
President, Nutrition Society of Malaysia
Tee E Siong, PhD, is nutrition consultant for TES NutriHealth Strategic Consultancy, a sole proprietor company he established in 2004, upon his retirement from the Institute for Medical Research in 2002, after serving for almost 30 years. He was Head of the Cardiovascular, Diabetes and Nutrition Research Centre of the Institute for Medical Research (IMR) at the time of leaving the IMR. He served as the protem Honorary Secretary of NSM and was elected to serve in the 1st NSM Council from 1985 till present.
He has been appointed as member of the Malaysian Allied Health Professions Council (MAHPC), for 2020-2023. He represents NSM in several Technical Working Groups in the Ministry of Health Malaysia, including the National Coordinating Committee for Food and Nutrition (NCCFN) and the Technical Working Group for Nutritional Guidelines. He is a member of several sub-committees related to food regulations and Codex Alimentarius of the Food Safety and Quality Division of the Ministry of Health Malaysia. He is also a member of the Board of Scientific Directors of the International Life Sciences Institute (ILSI) (Southeast Asia Region) and is Scientific Coordinator for ILSI Malaysia Country Committee.
He is chair of the Southeast Asia Public Health Nutrition (SEA-PHN) Network which he initiated the formation in 2014. He is also co-chair of the Southeast Asia Probiotics Scientific and Regulatory Experts Network (SREN), a network which he co-founded in 2019.
Associate Professor Dr Mahenderan Appukutty
Vice President, Nutrition Society of Malaysia
Mahenderan Appukutty, is a lecturer at Faculty of Sports Science & Recreation, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Shah Alam. He holds a PhD in Nutritional Sciences focusing on nutrition, immunity and exercise performance from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, MSc in Sports Science from Universiti Sains Malaysia and BSc (Hons) in Nutrition and Community Health from Universiti Putra Malaysia. In 2016 he was elected a Fellow of NSM. He also serves as Vice President of the Malaysian Association of Sports Medicine (MASM), Vice President of the Malaysian Society of Body Composition (MSBC) and Council Member of the Malaysian Association for the Study of Obesity (MASO). He was also elected to the Federation of Asian Nutrition Societies (FANS) as the Executive Council Member 2019-2023. In 2021, he was elected as the Scientific Advisor of the International Life Sciences Institute (ILSI) Southeast East Asia Region. He has also served on the Clinical Care Committee for the World Obesity (WO) Federation since 2017 and the Malaysian Journal of Nutrition (Mal J Nutr) as an Associate Editor since 2020.
His research interests and focus are on functional food and exercise science. He chairs the Malaysian Vegetarian Dietary Guidelines which was commissioned by the Ministry of Health Malaysia and contributed as a key writer for the Malaysian Dietary Guidelines. He has worked closely in the capacity building of Nutritionists in the region (Southeast Asia Nutrition Leadership Program, SEAMEO-RECFON, Indonesia and also serves as Chairperson of the Technical Working Committee of the Malaysian Nutrition Leadership Program (MyNLP) and South East Asia Public Health Nutrition Leadership Programme (SEAPHN LP).
Associate Professor Dr Chin Yit Siew
Honorary Secretary, Nutrition Society of Malaysia
Chin Yit Siew, PhD, is the Head of Community Nutrition Unit, Department of Nutrition, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM). Her field of specialisation in community nutrition has prompted research interests that include i) child and adolescent nutrition and body composition, ii) early nutrition and allergic diseases, and iii) nutrigenetics and metabolic syndrome. She is one of main researchers of the Research Centre of Excellence Nutrition and Non-Communicable Chronic Disease (RCOE-NNCD), in UPM. She serves on the Editorial Boards of BMC Public Health and Malaysian Journal of Nutrition (Mal J Nutr). She is also Hon. Secretary of Malaysian Society of Body Composition (MSBC). She also serves as a member of several Technical Working Groups (TWGs) under Ministry of Health of Malaysia.
As a community nutritionist, she has been actively organising various nutrition and health promotion programmes in various community settings. Currently, she is a member of Nutrition Month Malaysia National Steering Committee, and expert committee of both Healthy Kids Programme, and ‘Good Nutrition – Key to Healthy Children’ (GNKHC) Programme and ‘Malaysia School Nutrition Promotion Programme’ (MySNPP). She also leads several research-driven community programmes, such as Program Cara Hidup Sihat, ‘Eat Right, Be Positive About Your Body and Live Actively’ (EPaL) intervention programme, School Nutrition Programme (SNP), ‘Eat Right to Play Right’ Programme and ‘PUTRA Community Nutrition Ambassador’ Programme. She believes that continuous efforts in nutrition and health promotion are crucial in improving nutritional status and well-being.
Dr Roseline Yap Wai Kuan
Honorary Treasurer, Nutrition Society of Malaysia
Roseline Yap, PhD, is currently the Managing Editor for Malaysian Journal of Nutrition. She was previously a Senior Lecturer in the Food Science with Nutrition programme, School of Biosciences at Taylor’s University, Malaysia. She received her BSc in Dietetics and MSc in Nutrition and Food Science from University of Kentucky, USA. She further obtained her PhD in Nutritional Science from University of Nagasaki, Japan. She started her career as an academic since 2005, teaching nutrition-related modules and supervising final year projects for undergraduate students.
Her research interests are directed toward public health nutrition and nutritional epidemiology with the emphasis on dietary patterns, food consumption, lifestyle habits and incorporation of nutrigenetics in diet-related chronic diseases. She has received various international awards and has publications as conference proceedings and peer-reviewed papers in major nutrition-related journals including book chapters.
She served as the Council Member of NSM since 2012. Her passion is in the field of community nutrition therefore she is involved as an expert committee representing NSM in several projects such as Nutrition Month Malaysia, Positive Parenting, Maternal and Infant Care (Mi-CARE) and NSM Roadshows 2.0 programme.
Dr Satvinder Kaur Nachatar Singh
Assistant Honorary Secretary, Nutrition Society of Malaysia
Satvinder Kaur, PhD is a senior lecturer in Nutrition with Wellness programme at the Faculty of Applied Sciences, UCSI University.
Her research interests include childhood obesity, maternal and child nutrition. Her main area of research is circadian rhythm and chrononutrition. She serves as a member of the Ministry of Health of Malaysia Technical Working Group (TWG) on Malaysian Dietary Guidelines and Nutrition Research Priorities. She is also a member of the Technical Working Group (TWG) for a collaboration between the Ministry of Health and Universiti Putra Malaysia for optimizing gestational weight gain for the prevention of Gestational Diabetes Mellitus in Malaysia.
She is passionate about delivering nutrition education and has conducted many health talks for the community. Her interest lies in empowering young children in preparing healthy meals and has conducted several workshops on this.
Dr Wong Jyh Eiin
Council Member, Nutrition Society of Malaysia
Wong Jyh Eiin, PhD, is a senior lecturer at the Nutritional Sciences Programme, Faculty of Health Sciences, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM). She is a Life member of the Nutrition Society of Malaysia (NSM) and has served as a Council Member of NSM since 2017.
She is a certified instructor anthropometrist and her research interests include development and evaluation of dietary methods, body composition and physical activity assessment. She also serves as a member of the Ministry of Health of Malaysia Technical Working Group (TWG) on Malaysian Dietary Guidelines and Nutrition Research Priorities.
She believes in leadership grooming and is convinced that empowering nutrition champions is the key in shaping nutrition landscape. She is the co-Chair of the Technical Working Committee of the Malaysian Nutrition Leadership Programme (MyNLP).
Dr Yasmin Ooi Beng Houi
Council Member, Nutrition Society of Malaysia
Yasmin Ooi, PhD is a senior lecturer in nutrition at the Nutrition Programme, Faculty of Food Science and Nutrition, Universiti Malaysia Sabah. She is a member of the Ministry of Health Malaysia’s Technical Working Group for Nutritional Guidelines. She is also a member of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industries’ National Advisory Council for Agriculture. She is also the country representative for Malaysia for the Sustainability Initiative in the Marginal Seas of South and East Asia under the International Science Council’s Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific. She was the coordinator of AgriSolutions for Universiti Malaysia Sabah which comprised of groups of researchers who provide technological interventions to communities to help solve problems in the food supply chain brought about by the covid-19 pandemic.
Her research interest is in nutritional epidemiology and working in a trans-disciplinary manner on issues from farm and sea to plate. Together with her colleagues and collaborators, they try to identify the relationship between nutrition and environmental causes of diseases among various communities in Sabah. She is currently working on childhood iron deficiency anaemia as part of a cluster of research projects on sustainable development. She believes that nutritionists need partners in the community to build a movement towards healthy eating and well-being for life.
Ms Khairul Zarina Mohd Yusop
Council Member, Nutrition Society of Malaysia
Khairul Zarina Mohd Yusop is the Principal Assistant Director in the Nutrition Division, Ministry of Health Malaysia. She received her BSc. (Hons.) Nutrition and Community Health from Universiti Putra Malaysia and MSc. of Heath (Nutrition) from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. She is a senior nutritionist working with Nutrition Division, Ministry of Health Malaysia since 2003. She has 17 years of experience in development of nutrition policy and programme planning for the country. Her work at the ministry particularly focuses on multi-sectoral collaboration with other ministries and agencies in integrating nutrition concerns and considerations into their development policies and programmes. She is also advocating for nutrition-sensitive activities to be implemented in various sectors. She has been involved in the development of the 10th, 11th and 12th Malaysia Plan for the health sector and the Nutrition Research Priorities for Malaysia. Currently, she is involved in the national agenda related with food and nutrition security as well as promoting sustainable food system for healthy diets to all relevant stakeholders.
Her major contribution in nutrition for the country is on the development of the National Plan of Action for Nutrition of Malaysia (NPANM) II, 2006-2015 and NPANM III, 2016-2025. She is also played a major role in the review of National Poverty Line Income (PLI) 2019 for food component and the review of the Malaysian Dietary Guidelines 2010 and 2020. Apart from that she is a member of Technical Working Group (TWG) for Nutrition Research, Nutrition Policy and Joint Secretary for TWG for Food and Nutrition Security. She is also a nutrition focal point for the Food Safety and Nutrition Council (Majlis Keselamatan Makanan dan Pemakanan Kebangsaan, MKMPK), National Council for Cost of Living, NACCOL (Majlis Tindakan Sara Hidup Negara), and Cabinet Committee on Food Security Policy (Jawatankuasa Kabinet Mengenai Dasar Sekuriti Makanan Negara).
Dr Amutha Ramadas
Council Member, Nutrition Society of Malaysia
Amutha Ramadas, PhD has been an academic with the Jeffrey Cheah School of Medicine & Health Sciences at Monash University Malaysia since 2012, and currently serving as a Senior Lecturer in the School.
Her fields of research interest include clinical and community nutrition, health education, health promotion, and biostatistics, given her academic and professional training in these areas. She is particularly interested in nutrition for preventing metabolic diseases. Her research targets the identification of nutrition and lifestyle behavioural risks for metabolic diseases and modification of these behaviours to reduce the risk for chronic conditions. She has since published and presented her scientific findings in various national and international journals, including noteworthy high-impact journals. She is also an independent reviewer and academic editor for a number of international journals.
She played a vital role as one of the key writers in the Technical Working Committee of the Malaysian Dietary Guidelines for Vegetarians commissioned by the Ministry of Health Malaysia. She is a member of the Malaysian Society of Body Composition and a life member of the Nutrition Society of Malaysia.
She is regularly featured in media, where she shares her research work and recommendations for healthy eating and living.