Dr. Masita binti Arip

• Medical Microbiology

• Autoimmune Diseases: Diagnosis and management of systemic and organ-specific autoimmune conditions.

• Allergy Diagnostics: Specialized in skin prick testing and in-vitro allergy assessments.

• Primary Immunodeficiency (PID): Providing expert consultation on PID diagnostic services.

• Transplantation Immunology: Focused on HLA matching and pre-transplant crossmatching

• Infection control and Anti-Microbial Stewardship

1.   Master of Pathology (MPATH): Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 2008.
2.   Advanced Autoimmune Techniques: St Thomas Hospital, London, 2009.
3.   Fellowship in Autoimmune Research: Johns Hopkins University, USA, 2015.
4.   Fellowship in Vaccine Development : Baylor College of Medicine, USA, 2022.

1. Lead Assessor for Medical Laboratory MS ISO 15189 accreditation by Department of Standards Malaysia since 2018
2. Technical Assessor for Medical Laboratory MS ISO 15189 accreditation by Department of Standards Malaysia since 2009

• Medical microbiology: Culture and sensitivity test for bacterial identification; serology test – bacteriology, virology, parasitology, molecular test for microorganism detection and viral load

• Skin Prick Testing: Local development of allergens (MyAllergen) for clinical use.

• Autoimmune Serology: Implementation of IIF, ELISA, and Immunoblotting for autoantibody detection.

• Transplantation Immunology- HLA typing, HLA antibody, HLA crossmatching

• Primary Immunodeficiency – flowcytometry for lymphocyte enumeration, lymphocyte function test, neutrophil function tests

• Infection control and anti-microbial stewardship

• Quality Management System for Medical Laboratory

1. Head of Malaysian Stem Cell Registry: Leading national hematopoietic stem cell donor coordination.

2. Exco and life member Malaysian Society of Infectious Diseases and Chemotherapy:

3. Chairperson for MSIDC- Immunology Interest Group (MyIMIG)

4. Vice President of Institute for Medical Research (IMR) Club

Doctor of Medicine (MD) Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (1999)

Dr. Masita Arip has received numerous awards and recognitions for her research, clinical contributions, and professional service, particularly in the fields of immunology, vaccinology, and diagnostic innovation.

Major Innovation Awards (2024–2025)

• Dr. Masita and her team won 14 awards for the locally developed seafood allergen product MyAllergen:

1.     Malaysia Grand Invention Expo (MAGIEX) 2025: Grand Diamond Award (Grand Inventor), Top 5 Award (Grand Inventor), and Gold Medal (Stage 4).

2.     Kuala Lumpur International Invention & Innovation Symposium (KL3IS) 2025: Diamond Award (Ideator), Top 5 Awards (Ideator), and Gold Award (Ideator).

3.     International Invention & Innovative Competition (InIIC) 2025: Diamond Award in the Professional Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics category.

4.     Malaysian Technology Expo (MTE) 2024: Gold Winner in the Detection & Diagnosis category and the Toronto International Society of Innovation & Advanced Skills (TISIAS)  Special Award.

5.     Other 2025 Awards: Gold Award at the International Development, Research Innovation Exhibition (**iDRIVE '25**) and Silver Award at the International Education Innovation Competition (**EDU@INNOVATE**).

Scientific & Research Recognition

• Grant Award (2025): Received a RM 3,025,000.00 research grant from the National Vaccine Development Fund (MOSTI) as Principal Investigator for the Pre-clinical mRNA COVID-19 Vaccine project.

National Service Awards

•  Anugerah Perkhidmatan Cemerlang (APC)  for the year 2010.
• Certificate of Appreciation for contributions to the Malaysian Stem Cell Registry (MSCR) during its Silver Jubilee (2025).
• Certificate of Appreciation for developing the **MyPRICISE instrument for vaccine selection (2025).

Postgraduate & Training Awards:

• Hadiah Latihan Persekutuan (HLP)** for her Master of Pathology (2004–2008).
• Multiple **Latihan Dalam Perkhidmatan (LDP) awards for international attachments in Australia (2001), UK (2009), and the USA (2015, 2022).

Conference Presentation Awards

• First Prize (Poster): Neuromyelitis Optica Spectrum Disorder (NMOSD) Conference 2026 for A Nationwide NMOSD in Malaysia: Insight into incidences and demographic trends.
• First Prize (Poster): Neuroimmunology & Neuroinfection Conference 2024 for "Mapping The Landscape Of Neuromyelitis Optica Spectrum Disorder".
• First Prize (Poster): NIH Scientific Conference 2021 for a study on PKD2 gene mutation.
• First Prize (Poster): 17th Scientific Meeting of MSMBB (2008) for "Identification of major allergens of Megalaspis cordyla".
• First Prize (Oral): Annual Workshop National Science Fellowship (2002) for "Production and characterization of allergens of local marine fish".

Other Prizes**: Won RM 500 prizes at the NIH Scientific Conference 2021 for COVID-19 vaccine surveillance and Natural Killer cell research. She also took Third Place for a poster on Neuronal Auto-antibodies in 2011.