As CEO of Cancer Research Malaysia, Ms Janet Yap is responsible for creating, implementing and integrating the strategic direction for Cancer Research Malaysia.

Ms Yap has a proven executive management track record and over 20 years of experience in the corporate world. Prior to joining Cancer Research Malaysia, she has been part of Accenture for 31 years, building a career in systems implementation and consulting, and is the first female country Managing Director of the same organisation. She is also a strong proponent of Inclusion and Diversity and is a mentor to executive women in various programmes. She has made several contributions in ensuring greater participation of women in the workforce by being actively involved as a mentor for the ICAEW’s Women in Leadership 2015 program and a member of the steering committee for The 30% Club, Malaysian chapter. Ms Yap also held the position of CSR lead for Accenture Malaysia during her tenure in Accenture and is passionate about developing skills to succeed for underprivileged children and youths.

Ms Yap serves as a Trustee of World Vision Malaysia and holds the position of non-executive Director of OCBC Bank Malaysia. She earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Arts, majoring in Computing & Information Science and Economics from the University of Guelph, Canada.

Chief Executive Officer Professor Dr Teo obtained a First Class Honours Degree at the University of Cambridge in 1992, where she was supported by Yayasan Sime Darby – Cambridge Commonwealth Trust Scholarship. In 1998, she won the prestigious Royal Society Dorothy Hodgkin Research Fellowship to continue her work at the University of Cambridge.

Together with Tan Sri Tunku Ahmad Yahaya, she started working on plans to establish Cancer Research Malaysia in 1997 and returned to Malaysia in January 2001 to lead the first non-profit Cancer Research Malaysia laboratory. She was appointed as Adjunct Professor of Universiti Malaya in 2008 and as Fellow of the Academy of Sciences in 2014.

In 2018, Professor Dr Teo was awarded the Darjah Kebesaran Datuk-Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah (DSIS) which carries the title Datin Paduka. She was also awarded the Honorary Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) by Queen Elizabeth II. The OBE is particularly significant as she is the only female scientist in living memory to have won the award in Malaysia.

She served as the founding Chief Executive of Cancer Research Malaysia and with Ms Yap’s appointment as CEO, Professor Dr Teo will assume the role of Chief Scientific Officer to continue leading scientific programmes in the organisation.

A graduate of the University of Cambridge, Ms. Yoon has been involved in the Malaysian Breast Cancer (MyBrCA) research project at Cancer Research Malaysia since 2003. She is one of two certified Genetic Counsellors in Malaysia, and is accredited by the Human Genetics Society Australasia (FHGSA).

Her current focus is on hereditary cancers, such as breast and ovarian cancer patients and their families in Malaysia, with a research interest in the psychosocial aspects of genetic testing and counselling in Malaysia.

As Head of the Head and Neck Cancer Research Programme, Professor Dr. Cheong establishes and implements Cancer Research Malaysia’s research programs in these cancers.

Receiving her First Class Honours Degree in Biochemistry from the National University of Malaysia (UKM), her research in oral cancer at Cancer Research Malaysia has resulted in the development of an immunotherapy that is currently in preclinical testing.

A recipient of the L’Oreal for Women in Science Award, she is also Co-Chair of the Young Affiliate Network of The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS). Professor Dr. Cheong also serves as an Adjunct Professor at University of Malaya.

As a trained accountant, Fui Fong has worked in a number of German and USA companies in Malaysia and Singapore and she brings with her experience in establishing accounting systems to ensure the operational backbone of Cancer Research Malaysia.

Jan has been in the advertising industry for 18 years. She began her career in Baker Spielvogel Bates and has since had the opportunity to work for multiple organisations which include Grey (1994 to 1996), J. Walter Thompson (1996 to 1999 & returned in 2015 to 2019 ) and Intel (2000 to 2009). Among her notable achievements include running a successful radio campaign for The AIDS Foundation, rebranding Ford that resulted in brand awareness and an increase in sales for Ranger, and launched the EPF “One Home One PC” campaign which resulted in an increase of 80,000 PC sales.

In 2010, Jan served in UNICEF as campaign manager for six months to launch The Stop Child Abuse integrated campaign that mobilised and drove supporter loyalty. Here, she worked with the Ministry of Women and Community Development to raise awareness on child abuse and was played a key role in a nation-wide research on the prevalence of child abuse.

Jan also initiated an off-roading club for Ranger called “Lanun Darat” which was a tremendous success. In 2015, she moved back to J. Walter Thompson as Business Director after working on the PETRONAS account in dnaComm for 3 years where she built the team and successfully launched PETRONAS’ Eco Centre in Terengganu to save the mangroves.

Jan was appointed as Head of Communications for Cancer Research Malaysia in September 2019 and will be working to increase brand awareness on the work that we do, especially for Asian cancer patients.