About Us

Asia Research News is the largest research news platform in Asia. We are focused on our mission to increase diversity in international research news, elevating new voices and spreading knowledge.

Our journey so far....

By Maggie Pokar

Connecting research with the wider world, we bring first insight into the latest breakthrough from the best researchers.

The service came about in the early 2000s when I heard from several prominent journalists that information about research in Asia was difficult to come by. Being an Asian researcher, and having worked as a journalist, the comments planted a seed that would germinate into Asia Research News. 

After discussions with many university leaders, press officers, researchers and journalists, I realized that Asia needed a mechanism enabling researchers and journalists to connect directly with each other. In 2005, we launched ResearchSEA.com as Asia’s first research news portal, creating a framework for institutions to share their news and thrive independently. Researchers gained greater recognition for their work and journalists benefited from a centralized resource for a wider variety of news to interest their readers, viewers and listeners. Read our origin story here.

Over the years, we listened to our clients and evolved to provide a complete suite of communication services and training for research institutions looking to expand their international presence. Our flagship Asia Research News print magazine, published since 2009, has been so popular that we adopted the title as our brand name with a redesigned Asia Research News website in 2019.

We are proud to support Asia's research community by continuing to increase awareness of the innovation throughout the region.

Learn more about Asia Research News - Newsroom, Magazine, Services and Blog.

Meet Our Team

Our experienced team of science writers, editors, designers and communicators span the globe and time zones, sharing a passion for science, excellent communication and service. If you would like to increase awareness about your research, please get in touch @ info AT asiaresearchnews.com.

Dr Magdeline Pokar, CEO and Founder 

Maggie oversees all aspects of this innovative startup. Before life as an entrepreneur, she investigated the impacts of garbage, groundwater and climate change. Her interest in journalism grew from reporting stories in Malaysia to contributing features to international science magazines. Being able to combine research and news is a dream job for her. Maggie is also a Salzburg Global Fellow, Japan Airlines, Chevening and NESTA Scholar. She loves trying out new restaurants and going to the beach.

Read how Maggie pioneered Asia's science communication in Asia Research News - How it all began.

Dr Daniel Raymer, Director

Dan is a director of Asia Research News, leveraging his deep experience as an active research scientist, software developer, data processor and business developer. He is a geophysicist, who for the last 20 years actively investigated and deployed microseismic monitoring technology. He has a truly global perspective, having worked with teams worldwide and been involved with projects on all seven continents. Dan is a NESTA and Monbusho Scholar. He enjoys making a good coffee in the morning, and recently, baking cinnamon rolls to go with it.

Aya Kawanishi, Journalist & Japan Liaison 日本担当

Aya oversees distribution of content bringing her insight and experience as a member of Asia Research News since 2012. With the knowledge gained over five years as a journalist in Scotland, she delivers research to the right media outlets and reporters. Originally from Japan, she is happy to correspond with researchers and institutions in Japanese. Her curiosity takes her around the world while mastering local cuisine and languages: her third tongue is Italian, the main language spoken where she now lives.

国際研究広報について何でもお気軽にご相談ください。

 

Christine Gapuz

Christine is an editor and digital content professional with a background in education. She has worked on content across a wide variety of disciplines, from healthcare to information technology. She enjoys sunsets, stargazing and a good mystery or sci-fi novel. Her summers are spent organizing youth-oriented workshops and exploring some of the Philippines' 7,000+ islands.

Vivien Chiam, Partnerships

Vivien oversees our media partnerships with conferences all over the world. She brings more than 20 years of experience in international development and networking in South East Asia. Having previously worked with a research funding agency, she fully understands the importance of communicating research results well to gain support from stakeholders. Vivien helps build meaningful relationships with our conference partners and is always looking out for new partnership opportunities. She is also an active volunteer in her local community.

  

Nadia El-Awady, Editor and Senior Science Writer

Nadia is a science journalist with 23 years of experience. After studying medicine, she went on to earn a master's degree in journalism. She is a past president of the World Federation of Science Journalists and the Arab Science Journalists Association. She has spent most of her career writing about science developments in the Middle East, and more recently about research from institutions all over Asia. She is also now involved in covering medical news for healthcare professionals in Europe. When she is not writing at lightning-fast speeds, she is hiking, diving and triathloning. She is the proud mother of four grown children.

Read "A career worth doing, a life worth living" - Nadia's journey to become a top-notch science writer.

Aisha Nizam, Malaysia Liaison

Aisha brings her experience in psychology, languages, data analysis and Malaysian culture and business to Asia Research News. She is forever curious about all things related to science and education. She loves animals, good books and her lovely island hometown of Penang. You will often find her in the garden having a conversation with her myriad of plants, or arguing with her cats and rabbits.

Stephen Dale

Stephen is a journalist and author of five books of non-fiction. He’s served as Canadian correspondent for InterPress Service, an international news agency, and made radio documentaries for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. As both a journalist and writer for public interest agencies, much of his focus has been on global challenges and solutions. Away from the keyboard, he’s a big fan of dogs, trees, and hammocks.

Ruth Francis

Ruth leads our guidance and training services, offering her expertise based on 20 years in communications for academia and publishing, including Springer Nature, BioMed Central, Cancer Research UK and King's College London. Don't miss her monthly columns in Beyond the Journal. Have a comms question you are dying ask? Be sure to send it in to Ruth. She loves travel and exploring new places, often below the waves as a keen diver. 

Asia Research News provides everything needed for international press releases, from writing and disseminating to monitoring. Their service has become indispensable for our international outreach.
Public Relations Chief Coordinator, Hokkaido University