With fewer than 150 Malayan tigers left, Dr. Wan Nor Fitri Wan Jaafar is racing against species' extinction, using stem cell research and Assisted Reproductive Technology to explore cloning as a bold path to species survival.

At Cornell, Dr. Wan Nor Fitri Wan Jaafar cloned an interspecies blastocyst, a major leap in wildlife cloning, and worked with the team behind the world’s first mapped horse genome, placing him at the forefront of reproductive science.

Cloning endangered species demands precision, surrogate species, and overcoming biological odds—but Dr. Fitri is undeterred. Now armed with international exposure and a clear vision, he is determined to ensure our national symbol doesn’t exist in just fairytales.

Wan Nor Fitri received the Merdeka Award Grant for International Attachment in (2021).

Read more about his Grant experience here: