简介
I received my BSc in Zoology (1965) and MSc in Botany (1968) (MSc under the supervision of Prof. R.J. Bandoni) at the University of British Columbia, Canada. After traveling briefly in Asia, I worked for 5 years at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok teaching scientific English while also doing research in mycology at the Faculty of Science, Mahidol University. I returned to Canada in 1974 for Ph.D. studies in mycology at Simon Fraser University, graduating in 1977. I next joined the staff of the Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Science, Mahidol University in Bangkok in 1978 working on industrial applications of fungi, and I subsequently helped in the founding of the Department of Biotechnology that began operation at the Faculty in 1982. Around 1987 I became interested in the burgeoning shrimp industry and turned from research in mycology to research on shrimp pathology. This work grew and expanded to include cooperation with researchers in the departments of Anatomy and Biochemistry and eventually ended in the establishment in 2002 of a multidisciplinary research Center of Excellence for Shrimp Molecular Biology and Biotechnology (also called Centex Shrimp) at the Faculty. It now includes approximately 60 research scientists and post-graduate students. The center is jointly supported by the University and the Thai National Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (BIOTEC). It focuses on biotechnological applications for the shrimp industry.
I have been working on shrimp pathology and shrimp defense mechanisms, particularly for viral pathogens, since 1987. For most of that period, I have been a member of both the Fish Health Section of the Asian Fisheries Society and the World Aquaculture Society and I have been active in regional and international activities related to shrimp health management. I was a co-recipient of an award for Outstanding Achievement in Applied Science, National Research Council of Thailand, 1986 and received the Thai Royal Decorations, Commander Third Class, Most Nobel Order of the Crown in 1988, and Commander Third Class, Most Exhalted Order of the White Elephant, 1994. I also received the Ajinomoto Lecture Award, from theThai Society for Biotechnology in 1997 and a Golden Shrimp Award, Surathani Shrimp Farmer’s Association, 1999. I was also co-recipient of the Thai Toray Science Foundation Science and Technology Award 2000 and co-recipient of the Group Technology Development Excellence Award, Thai Foundation for Promotion of Science and Technology under the Patronage of HM King Phumipol Adulyadet in 2003. I received an Honorary PhD. from Walailak University, Nakornsrithammarat, Thaland in 2005 and an Outstanding teacher award, Faculty of Science, Mahidol University, October 2006.
I became a Thai citizen in 2010. I retired as a Professor in the Department of Biotechnology in 2010 and as head of Centex Shrimp in 2012 and have since served as a consultant to the Thai National Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (BIOTEC) under the National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA). However, I am still located at the same office at Centex Shrimp. In 2013, I received the National Research Council of Thailand award as Outstanding Researcher in Agricultural Science and Biology. In 2014, I received the Thai Royal Decoration, Companion Fourth Class, Most Admirable Order of the Direkgunabhorn. In August 2017 at the 10th Symposium on Diseases in Asian Aquaculture of the Fish Health Section of the Asian Fisheries Society Bali, Indonesia, I receive a Recognition Award, “For your selfless support and guidance to the mission of the Fish Health Section. You have been an exemplary mentor to many and your great contribution (personal and to the advancement of science) are much appreciated. In the following year (2018) I was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Philosophy (Biotechnology), Honoris Causa, by Mahidol University. In 2019, I received the “Outstanding Scientist in Shrimp Aquaculture Award” for “Thirty years of research on shrimp disease control and the paramount danger of translocating pathogens with living aquaculture stocks” from the Foundation for Conservation and Biodiversity of Ecuador, at Aquaculture 2019, New Orleans, Louisiana. Most recently, I was awarded the Dushdi Mala Medal. Highest Thai award for services to the state in science and the arts, presented by HM King Rama X at the Amphorn Throne Hall, 21 March 2019. I continue to do research on shrimp pathology and on the shrimp response to viral pathogens.
