Dr. Siti Idayu Hasan is a Senior Lecturer in the Family Health Discipline at the Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Malaya. After completing her PhD, she embarked on a significant journey as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at UMCAS, collaborating with the International Tobacco Control project team in Canada. Her work focused on measuring the psychosocial and behavioral impact of key national-level policies under the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). She is a Fellow of Hong Kong WHO Collaborating Centre (Tobacco Control) and Committee Member of Scientific Tobacco Working Group (WHO FCTC Malaysia). Continuing her career, Dr. Siti Idayu became the Impact Project Manager at UMCares. In this role, she led the development and management of frameworks to monitor, evaluate, and enhance the effectiveness of community-oriented projects. Her efforts have been pivotal in ensuring that these initiatives bring about meaningful and sustainable improvements in society. Dr. Siti Idayu’s current research themes include tobacco control, mental health, and impact evaluation. Her work in tobacco control encompasses projects like Smoking Cessation, Organizing, Planning, and Execution (SCOPE), Generational Endgame (GEG), and the International Tobacco Control (ITC) project. She is also deeply involved in mental health research, aiming to address and mitigate mental health issues within the community. Beyond her research, Dr. Siti Idayu consults in the expanding field of public health, with a particular focus on tobacco control and mental health. She enjoys engaging with the community through health promotion activities, such as the Generational Endgame initiative, conducted in various settings (i.e. workplace, school and public) to raise awareness and drive positive behavioral change. Dr. Siti Idayu's commitment to improving public health is unwavering. Her work is not just about research and academia; it’s about making a tangible difference in the lives of individuals and communities. She believes that through collaborative efforts and a deep-seated commitment to health promotion, we can create a healthier, more resilient future for everyone. Her journey inspires others to join in the mission of bettering our communities and making impactful contributions to public health.    

  Professor Dr Puteri Shafinaz Abdul Rahman received her tertiary education at the University of Malaya. She was awarded by the Commonwealth Scholarship and Fellowship Commission United Kingdom, a Split-site Doctorate scholarship to pursue her PhD (Proteomics) at Nottingham Trent University and the University of Malaya. She completed her PhD in 2007 and, shortly after, joined the Department of Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Medicine. Dr. Puteri is a founding member of the Universiti Malaya Centre for Proteomic Research (UMCPR), and she is currently heading the centre. She is actively involved in research and has published over 50 referred publications, with an H index of 14 (WOS). In addition, she receives numerous research grants with a cumulative total of > RM2.5 million as Principal Investigator and collaborative investigator capacity. Since 2009, 8 Masters and 8 PhDs have successfully completed their studies under her guidance. Currently, there 2 Masters and 3 PhDs under her supervision. Dr. Puteri is the Head of the Unit for Central Research Laboratories, a designated facility with state-of-the-art proteomics and genomics research equipment at the Faculty of Medicine. Considering her vast experience in research management, she has also held several administrative posts under the DVC Research & Innovation portfolio. She was appointed Deputy Dean of the Innovative Technology Research Cluster (2015-2018), Deputy Dean of Frontiers of the Natural World Research Cluster (2019-2021) and a reviewer for evaluating various grants at the national and international level. She previously held the position of the Coordinator of the Research Project Monitoring Section under the Research Management Centre Universiti Malaya (2022-2024). In terms of research, as a molecular biologist and proteomic scientist, Dr. Puteri's primary expertise is in comparative proteomics. Her team employs proteomic platforms to develop proteome profiles of biological samples. By comparing the generated proteome profiles (e.g. disease vs non-disease state, treated vs untreated, different stages or time-points), dysregulated or aberrant proteins of interest are detected and identified via mass spectrometry approaches. Using this workflow, her team has analysed profiles of sera from cancer patients with gynaecological, nasopharyngeal and bone cancers in search of potential biomarkers for the detection of cancers at an early stage. Dr. Puteri was acknowledged for her work on proteomics of gynaecological cancer when she was selected as the first prize winner of the coveted Merck Young Scientist Award in 2008. In addition to cancer biomarker studies, her team has utilised proteomics technologies for studies on natural products and herbal medicine to understand the benefits of these extracts/compounds and unravel their mechanistic basis for treating various diseases. Her team is also actively profiling proteins associated with the milk fat globule membrane (MFGM) and soluble fraction of human milk compared to other animal species. Their current project focuses on the proteome, metabolome and circadian profiles of milk from mothers in the early stages of breastfeeding babies up to 2 years of age. The aim is to investigate the interrelationship of the bioactive milk constituents and their roles in young infants' immune protection and cognitive and physical growth development.    

Professor Ir. Dr. U. Johnson Alengaram is the Director of the Centre for Innovative Construction Technology (CICT), a Research Centre under the Faculty of Engineering, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. He is listed among the top 2% of the world’s scientists by Stanford University through Elsevier Data Repository and is also the recipient of outstanding achievement awards in most of the institutions he served. He has been serving as a research fund evaluator of different countries, including South American, Asian, and European countries. He is also recognized as an external examiner for doctoral theses and an evaluator for promotional exercises. He was the programme coordinator for developing a new MEng by coursework at the Universiti Malaya. He is also an advisor and examiner for the MEng programme in other universities. His industrial collaboration resulted in bringing research projects from industries to solve some of the imperative issues in material, mechanical, durability, and structural properties.  He is a Chartered Civil Engineer of the world-renowned Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE, UK) and the Engineering Council (UK); he is also a Companion Member of the Institution of Engineers Malaysia (CIEM), a member of the American Concrete Society (ACI-Kuala Lumpur Chapter), and a life member of the Concrete Society of Malaysia (CSM). Professor Ir. Dr. U. Johnson Alengaram has supervised 32 research candidates, including Doctoral (PhD) and Master of Engineering Science by Research Mode (MEng Sci.), to graduation. In addition, he has a number of patents and copyrights for his inventions. His current Web of Science (WoS) h-index stands at 56 based on the publication of over 190 journal articles from the Web of Science Core Collection. He started the University of Malaya's Institution of Civil Engineers Student Chapter (UMICESC), and currently he is the staff advisor. UMICESC serves as the professional student body for undergraduate students to enhance their professional attributes, so they can strive towards becoming CEng MICE after graduation and appropriate training. In his Master of Engineering in Structural Engineering, as part of his MEng thesis, he utilized jute as a sustainable replacement material for conventional wood. His MEng research project was acclaimed as one of the best innovative works, and the specimens of his research project, Sandwiched Plywood, were displayed at the International Exhibition held in Delhi, India. Dr Manmohan Singh, former Prime Minister of India (then Union Finance Minister) who inaugurated the exhibition, had a special word for his work on jute; he continued his research for his doctoral research using sustainable industrial by-products and investigated mechanical and structural behaviour that provided in-sight into vital characteristics on the ductility behaviour of oil palm shells—that he went on to develop as a blast-resistant concrete—using oil palm shell as a whole replacement for normal aggregate. Professor Ir. Dr. U. Johnson Alengaram has been in academic, consultancy, research, and administration for over twenty-five years and has contributed to society in different capacities in India, Bahrain, and Malaysia. His current research involves the utilization of industrial by-products, low-carbon footprint materials, and waste materials in the development of one-part geopolymer, low-carbon cement, and limestone calcinated clay cement (LC3) in mortar and concrete; other research aspects include lightweight aggregate, material characteristics, crack-healing mortar using microalgae, lightweight aggregate concrete, foamed concrete, geopolymer concrete, and impact & blast-resistant concrete. His experimental works revolve around investigations on microstructural behaviour, mechanical properties and durability characteristics, structural behaviour, functional behaviour etc. He is the recipient of outstanding achievement awards in most of the institutions he served. He and his research team won gold and silver medals at international and national exhibitions on concrete engineering & technology. He was the project director of two housing projects at the University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, that utilized industrial by-products. His decade-long research work on geopolymer concrete enabled him and his team to construct the first cement-free house (superstructure) in Malaysia with the collaboration of Vinci Construction, a French-based construction conglomerate; this house is currently being used by bus drivers and serves as a research hub. He is the Principal Investigator of many research projects and has received numerous research grants from the University of Malaya research fund, the Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia, and national and international grants, including the prestigious Newton-Ungku Omar Coordination Fund: UK-Malaysia Research & Innovation Bridges Competition. He has a research collaboration with various universities in Malaysia, Australia, Bahrain, Brazil, China, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, India, Japan, Jordan, Oman, Singapore, South Korea, and Vietnam. He has been invited by various universities in different countries to give keynote lectures at international conferences, seminars, and research workshops.  Prof. Ir. Dr. U. Johnson Alengaram serves as an Associate Editor in the Journal of Sustainable Cement-Based Material, Australian Journal of Civil Engineering, and Editorial Board Member of the Jordanian Journal of Civil Engineering (JJCE); he also served as Chairperson of the SIRIM Committee for "Eco Labelling of Criteria for Reused By-Products Aggregates" and reviewer of multiple international journals. He has organized workshops, conferences, and seminars and trained school students to win local and international awards; further, as the Director of CICT, he has pioneered the activities of the centre to contribute to society, and thus many national and international researchers and students are being trained regularly in the centre.  He has been the organizing secretary, co-chair, and advisor of international conferences and workshops.