LONDON: A Malaysian born scientist, Dr Ling Felce (nee Suet Ling Wong), 35, died in a road traffic collision in Oxford on Tuesday.
Her tragic death was reported in a release by the Thames Valley Police.
Ling who was born in Malaysia in 1986 moved to London in 1991 with her parents and older sister.
She studied Biochemistry in 2005 and stayed on in Oxford to pursue a PhD in the department of Clinical Pharmacology.
During her time there, she represented the university in both the rugby union and rugby league.
The young mother of two small children aged three and five, worked for the university as a research scientist since finishing her PhD in 2013, and most recently researched the details of the immune response against Covid-19 and against cancer.
Her husband of eight years, James, was reported as saying: "Ling was the light of our family and we are devastated to lose her so young when she had so many dreams for herself and her children that she was beginning to realise.
"I am lost without her warm presence, but she will live on through the love that she has given to us and to so many others.
"Her whole family loved and loves her desperately, and we will always keep her in our hearts. She was the most caring and devoted mother there could be.
"We are all coming to terms with her death, and the fact that her children will grow up without their beloved mother."
Ling was described by friends as an extremely bright, friendly and optimistic person, who brought joy to many people and who had so many hopeful aspirations for the future.
She was a highly promising young scientist who was taking a leading role in the establishment of a new institute based within the university.
The Oxford Mail quoted Professor Tao Dong and colleagues from the Nuffield and Radcliffe Departments of Medicine at the University describing her as an "incredibly kind and delightful colleague".
They said: "Dr Ling Felce joined our team in September 2020 as a postdoctoral scientist, and immediately made significant contributions to several of our research projects studying the immune responses to the SARS-CoV-2 virus infection. Due to the pandemic, most of Ling's interactions during her first year with us were via Zoom, but she made such an effort to get to know all of her new colleagues, and quickly became a beloved member of our lab family.
"Ling provided invaluable help and advice on several scientific projects, and her contributions will be greatly missed. She was always willing to help and support her colleagues and especially the students within the group, and she laid the foundations for our Bioinformatic research platform (soon to become a dedicated Bioinformatics centre within the newly established CAMS-Oxford Institute at Oxford University).
The Oxford Mail reported that Ling suffered serious injuries and died at the scene.
According to another report by the BBC, Ling died at the roundabout junction of St Clement's Street and The Plain in Oxford.
A driver, Robert Whiting, 39, appeared at the Oxford Magistrates' Court on Thursday, charged with causing her death by careless driving whilst unfit through drugs.
He has also been charged with causing death by driving unlicensed and without insurance.