Siti Aqlima Ahmad, PhD

What’s the work that you do?

I am a polar scientist specialising in environmental remediation, focusing on the potential of Antarctic microorganisms to address pollution. I lead the EcoRemediation Technology Laboratory at Universiti Putra Malaysia and am a fellow researcher at the Centro de Investigación y Monitoreo Ambiental Antártico, Chile. I represent Malaysia in SCAR’s Life Sciences group and UPM at the National Antarctic Research Centre. In 2022, I received the Young Polar Scientist Award from YPASM for work on bacteria and microalgae for hydrocarbon degradation, heavy metal sequestration, and microplastic biomonitoring, translating these systems into sustainable, nanotechnology-driven environmental solutions with strong emphasis on scalable global impact.

What keeps you going?

What keeps me going is purpose and impact. I am driven by using microorganisms to develop sustainable solutions to pollution. I am passionate about nurturing future polar scientists, having supervised and graduated more than 30 undergraduate and postgraduate students nationally and internationally. I take pride in having published, to date, over 50 Antarctic research papers and actively engaging in global conferences and industry collaborations. Beyond research, I engage with the community to raise awareness on Antarctic conservation and climate change through physical programmes and online media.

What’s your message to the world?

Bioremediation can help save our world. Nature already holds the solutions – we just need to understand and apply them wisely. By learning from polar microorganisms, especially those that survive in extreme environments, we can develop sustainable technologies to clean pollution, restore ecosystems, and combat climate change. My message is simple: protect what we have, learn from nature, and act responsibly. The polar regions are not distant- they are deeply connected to our planet’s health. If we care for them, we care for our future.