Dr. Lucky Goh Poh Wah

Dr. Lucky Goh Poh Wah became a member of the Biotechnology Programme, Faculty of Science and Technology, Universiti Malaysia Sabah in 2020. He completed his academic training at Universiti Malaysia Sabah. In 2013 he graduated with a BSc (Hons) in Biotechnology, followed by an MSc in Biotechnology in 2015. In 2015, he continued at the same institution to pursue his doctoral research, receiving his PhD in Biotechnology in 2019 for work on molecular markers and gene expression profiling in cancer and population genetics. He joined UMS as a Postdoctoral Fellow in 2020 before being appointed Senior Lecturer in 2021 and in 2023 he is being appointed as the Head of Programme in Biotechnology. Dr. Lucky has worked on numerous research projects, including genetic polymorphism studies in Sabah's indigenous populations, metabolomic profiling of colorectal cancer, and the isolation and characterisation of lactic acid bacteria from stingless bees. In 2023, he established a dedicated research line in antimicrobial resistance and has since developed a strong interest in the molecular detection of resistance and virulence genes in clinically significant pathogens. His current research focuses on carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii and Burkholderia species in Sabah, and on the development of quantum dot-based FRET assays for rapid pathogen detection. Academically, he has taught across the core molecular sciences curriculum in the biotechnology programme, delivering Microbiology, Genetics, Molecular Genetics and Medical Biotechnology courses by using blended learning approach for these courses. He served as Head of Programme in Biotechnology from 2023 to 2025, and has contributed as an chairperson or member in various university committees. As a Principal Investigator, he has graduated 4 MSc students and is currently supervising 2 PhD and 10 MSc candidates. As of 2026, he has published more than 40 indexed research articles, attracting 491 citations and an H-index of 11. He has received a total of 14 research grants amounting to over RM3 million. In 2023 and 2024, he was awarded the Anugerah Khidmat Terpuji by Universiti Malaysia Sabah. In 2025, he won an international innovation competition entry advancing rapid pathogen detection through quantum dot technology which is currently intellectual property pending. At present, he is the Honorary Treasurer of the 50th International Meeting of the Malaysian Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, and a Co-opted Executive Committee member of the Malaysian Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (MSBMB) for the 2026–2028 term.