Author: Jaydev Jayakumar
Affiliation: JDK Creations
Date: 20 November 2025
Thirukkural 391 :
கற்க கசடறக் கற்பவை கற்பின்
நிற்க அதற்குத் தக
(Karka kasadara karpavai karpin
Nirka atharkuth thaga)
Learn thoroughly and without flaws; then conduct yourself in accordance with that learning.
Classical Interpretation
True learning is that which is acquired with complete clarity, free of doubts or errors. But learning alone is not enough. One must live in a manner that reflects and honours that learning. Knowledge becomes meaningful only when one’s conduct aligns with it.
Real-Life Application: Prof. Serena Nik-Zainal — The Genome Detective Who Redefined Cancer Research
In the world of modern medicine, few Malaysian names echo as powerfully as Prof. Serena Nik-Zainal, a pioneering clinical geneticist and world-leading expert in cancer genomics. Her work analysing mutational signatures in DNA has transformed how the world understands cancer development, diagnosis, and treatment.
Born in Malaysia and later moving to the UK, Serena’s academic journey stands as a textbook example of Kural 391 ; learning deeply, then living and working in full alignment with that knowledge. After her medical degree at Cambridge, she pursued a PhD in cancer genomics, becoming one of the earliest researchers to map mutational signatures, unique patterns left in DNA by specific biological processes. These signatures provide clues to how cancers form and evolve just like a detective reading hidden footprints.
What sets Serena apart is not just brilliance, but meticulous discipline. Her research demands precision at the highest level, exactly what the kural emphasises: “learn without flaws.” Every dataset she analysed, every tumour genome she decoded, refined the world’s understanding of cancer.
Her groundbreaking discoveries earned global recognition, including the Cancer Research UK Future Leaders Award, the Francis Crick Medal, and fellowship in both the Academy of Medical Sciences and the Royal Society. Through every milestone, she embodies the second half of Kural 391: living by one’s learning. Serena uses her knowledge not for personal gain, but to push medicine forward—helping doctors craft more accurate diagnoses and personalised treatments for patients worldwide.
Her journey teaches this generation that learning is not just about absorbing knowledge, but applying it with integrity. True education, as Thiruvalluvar wrote centuries ago, becomes meaningful only when it shapes how we think, work, and uplift society.
Final Thought
Learn deeply. Live your learning. Let knowledge shape who you become.
Scientect 