The Asian Conference on Transcription (ACT) will be hosted in Penang from August 1-4. The ACT which is an on-going meeting of Asian scientists since 1990 and hosted in various Asian cities is being hosted in Malaysia for the second time around. It was hosted in Kuala Lumpur in 2002. Co-chairs of the upcoming Penang meet, Prof Kalai Mathee and Dr Nethia Mohana-Kumaran give a glimpse of what is to come in this Q & A with The Petri Dish Editor-in-Chief MAHALETCHUMY ARUJANAN
Give us a historical background of this conference. How did it get started and why?
Kalai: It has a long history. Please check this website for details: https://www.asianconferencetranscription.com/conference-history
How did you get involved as the Organising Chair for this year? And what would you like to do differently?
Kalai: I was very much encouraged to stay in touch with the Asian scientists and to represent Malaysia by one of the founders, Prof Akira Ishihama. On his encouragement, I attended the ACT 4 meeting in Japan. I was impressed beyond words. I always knew Ishihama and his famous contribution to science; his experiments are legendary in the field of transcription. During this time, Prof Koh Chong Lek was on sabbatical in Osaka. Koh joined us and was roped into becoming one of the International Organising Committee member.
