Associate Prof Noran N Hairi [MBBS, MPH, MPH (Epidemiology), PhD] served for several years with the Ministry of Health, Malaysia before becoming an academic in the University of Malaya in 2004. Double distinctions for her Masters degrees and a PhD put her on track to be an outstanding researcher particularly in the field of chronic diseases, geriatrics and gerontology.
Collaborative research work with Ministry of Health researchers in subsequent National Health and Morbidity Surveys led to a development of a policy brief on improving the effectiveness of Pictorial Health Warnings on cigarette packages.
Her interest in chronic diseases, geriatrics and gerontology led to her active involvement in several large-scale research projects such as AGOPHS (Alor Gajah Older People Health Survey), STeMM (Spatio-Temporal Modelling and Meta-analysis), MELoR (Malaysia Elder Longitudinal Research), CLUSTer (Clustering of Lifestyle risk factors and Understanding its association with Stress on health and wellbeing among school Teachers) and HELP (Health promotion, Education and Lifestyle interventions in special Populations).
An important achievement of STeMM has been the historic formation of the Malaysian Cochrane Network in collaboration with five other local institutions as a part of the Australasian Cochrane Network.
Noran has published widely in peer-reviewed journals, book chapters and editorials across a wide range of areas including public health, epidemiology, geriatrics and gerontology. Noran has also served as a Guest Editor in Preventive Medicine (a world leading public health journal) and is currently an Editor with the Asia Pacific Journal of Public Health, Asia’s leading public health journal. Noran is currently heading the Julius Centre University of Malaya, South-East Asia’s leading centre for clinical epidemiology and evidence-based medicine.
Her outstanding contributions to public health in such a short span of time contributed significantly to her election as a Fellow in the Faculty of Public Health, Royal College of Physicians in the UK, one of only a handful of fellows from Malaysia.
