Song-Quan Ong 王松灌

Entomologist, Chemist and Data Scientist 

ChM Ts Dr Ong Song-Quan is a Senior Lecturer at the Institute of Tropical Biology and Conservation (ITBC), Universiti Malaysia Sabah. He is one of the pioneers in Malaysia using next generation technologies in precision biodiversity and digital health. In recent years, his research has focused on the digitisation of insect specimens, including a 3D model that can be used in a computer-generated environment such as virtual reality and the metaverse. His expertise extends to cross-disciplinary research that impacts the community, including the application of artificial intelligence and data analytics in biodiversity conservation and public health. He holds a PhD in Medical and Veterinary Entomology, a Masters in Molecular Entomology and a second Masters in Data Science and Analytics. As a data scientist, licenced chemist and medical entomologist, he is able to leverage the overlap between these disciplines and make a meaningful contribution to biodiversity conservation and public health. Dr Ong's research has been published in numerous publications including prestigious journals such as 'Parasites & Vectors', Nature Research's 'Scientific Report'/ 'Scientific Data', 'Pest Science Management', etc.

About me

I was born in Johor, where I also spent my childhood. I attended my secondary school in Seremban, Negeri Sembilan, and completed my undergraduate and postgraduate studies in Penang. I started my career as an entomologist and chemist specialising in insect toxicology and semiochemical extraction. Currently, I am focusing more on applying computer vision, data mining and machine learning to solve problems in public health, biomedicine, biodiversity conservation and ecology.

 Conference video

A novel approach to estimate the abundance of house fly larvae