Moh Pak Yan was born in Malacca, Malaysia in 1975. He earned his BSc. degree (1999) and MSc. degree (2002) at Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM). In 2008 he joined the group of Michael W. Anderson in Manchester focusing on crystal growth of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) through the state-of-the-art atomic force microscopy. He then joined Univesiti Malaysia Sabah in 2012 as senior lecturer of the Industrial Chemistry Programme, Faculty of Science and Natural Resource. Currently, he is Head of the Water Research Unit (WRU) which focuses on the freshwater monitoring, water quality, water treatment, and the water analysis. He is also a Charted Chemist under the Malaysian Institute of Chemistry (IKM), research fellow of Small Islands Research Centre, Sustainable Palm Oil Research Unit (SPOR) and Centre of Natural Disasters Research at UMS. These involvements have brought him many CSR activities such as Kota Kinabalu After-Quake Talk in 2015 and 2016, and the Citizen-Science activities at the Moyog River, Penampang from 2015 till 2017. The most current CSR, which is still on-going, is the joint programme between UMS, DBKK and DoE on the water quality monitoring of Likas Lagoon and Likas Bay.

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His research interests are synthesis and applications of novel MOF-based materials and graphene-based materials for the advanced oxidation processes, dye-sensitized solar cells, and wastewater treatment (See Research Interest and Publications).

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He is a keen badminton player and also enjoying gardening, hiking, and walking.