DR. NUR AIRINA BINTI MUHAMAD

Dr Airina is currently a Senior Lecturer at the Institute of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, University Malaya. She earned both her Bachelor of Science (Biochemistry) and Master of Science (Lipid Biochemistry) degree from University Malaya in 2003 and 2008 respectively. In 2013, she graduated from University of Cambridge, United Kingdom with a PhD in Pharmacology. Her PhD thesis work focuses on magnetoreception. A study on how animals having the ability to detect the Earth’s magnetic field whereby her research was to understand the cellular basis and the mechanism underlying the single domain magnetite of magnetoreceptor cells in fish. Her research interests include looking at the uses of natural products especially form Traditional Malaysian plants as an alternative medicine. She is interested in investigating the phytochemistry, molecular biology of medicinal plants and bioassays activity of natural products. Her current research includes the study of various traditional plants that help to reduce hypertension, lowering blood sugar level and oxidative stress. This is an important area to explore as there is still a general lack of knowledge and much misinformation remain about natural products in plants and their uses by people. Besides that, her research interest includes the study of proteolytic enzymes and anti-inflammatory activities of the Butterfly leaf, Christia vespertilionis. Dr Airina is also looking at venturing into projects which involves anti-cancer properties from medicinal plants. Besides doing research, she is teaching undergraduates students of Biohealth Program, Institute of Biological Science, Faculty of Science, University Malaya. Her core teaching subjects includes Pharmacology, Drug Analysis and Analytical Biochemistry. Besides that, she has been teaching various Laboratory courses due to her expertise in Biochemistry. On top of that, Dr Airina has supervised more than 15 undergraduate students for their final year projects and currently supervising and co-supervising up to 4 graduate students. She is the Principal investigator for a research grant and a Co-PI of a research collaborating with MAHSA university. She has authored and co-authored more then 5 research papers with a number of conference proceedings. She was also appointed as the Secretary and fellow of the Fifth Residential college and has been a residential college fellow for almost 10 years. She is dedicated towards helping students to improve in their soft skills abilities and to expose students towards community engagement programs. Dr Airina is the fellow advisor for various established programs such as the Education Malaysia (EDUMAS), Malaysian Blood Donation (NBD) and other community engagement programs.

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DR. NISHAKANTHI A/P GOPALAN

Dr Nishakanthi Gopalan is a Senior Lecturer at the Medical Humanities and Ethics Unit (MedHEU), a newly established unit within the Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Malaya (UM). She is a biotechnologist by training with a PhD in research ethics and policy implication particularly looking at stem cell technology. During this time, she published her key findings in several reputable high-impact bioethics journals. Dr Nisha is the former programme coordinator of the Master of Health Research Ethics (MOHRE), a programme developed in collaboration with the Berman Institute of Bioethics, Johns Hopkins University (JHU). Besides teaching in MOHRE, she also provides ethics lectures in other programmes in the faculty. Dr Nisha also contributes as an external member of the Universiti Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC) Medical Research Ethics Committee. She is one of the instructors for the Introduction to Health Research Ethics, an online course in FutureLearn. She also facilitates the APRU Health Research Ethics course. Dr Nisha’s research interest includes different aspects of ethics such as bioethics, research and clinical ethics on diverse topics ranging from emerging technologies (such as regenerative medicine, stem cells, and genetic testing), health research, and aesthetic medicine. She is an expert in qualitative research methods such as in depth interviews, focus group discussion (FGD), inductive and deductive analysis, thematic analysis, grounded theory, as well as narrative and scoping reviews. Currently, she is working on the Fogarty International Centre (FIC), NIH bioethics training grant with Johns Hopkins University (JHU) as well as on the ethics of genetic testing among Parkinson’s patients (USMC Care Fund). She is constantly on the look out for collaboration on local /regional / international projects on the various topics involving ethics. 

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DR. NORFADIRA BINTI WAHIB

Dr. Norfadira binti Wahib, Ph.D. (UNSW, Australia), MSc (UM, Malaysia), BSc (UM, Malaysia) is a senior lecturer in the Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, University of Malaya. She specializes in Radiation and Materials Physics, with expertise in passive dosimetry, luminescent materials, and radiation–matter interactions in solid-state systems. Dr. Norfadira has collaborated with leading academic and research institutions, including the University of New South Wales (Australia), Sunway University (Malaysia), and Universiti Teknologi MARA (Malaysia), advancing research in radiation physics, optical materials, and optical spectroscopy, while also teaching and mentoring in fundamental and applied physics. Her research journey began with the study of naturally occurring radioactive material (NORM) in marine organisms and seawater, which has since progressed into advanced investigations on thermoluminescent and optical materials for retrospective and medical dosimetry, and next-generation optical data storage technologies. Her contributions have been presented at international conferences in Malaysia and Australia, and her innovations in radiation detection materials have been recognized with multiple awards, including the Gold and Special Award at Malaysia Technology Expo (MTE 2025) and the Gold Award at the International Invention & Innovation Exhibition (ITEX 2016).Her research strongly supports the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): SDG 3: Good Health & Well-Being – through the development of passive dosimetry systems and luminescent materials for safer medical imaging and radiation monitoring. SDG 9: Industry, Innovation & Infrastructure – by advancing radiation detection technologies and optical materials for industrial and scientific applications. SDG 12: Responsible Consumption & Production – by promoting sustainable radiation practices and materials for safer environmental monitoring.   Her long-term vision is to pioneer next-generation passive dosimetry systems and luminescent materials that strengthen radiation and medical safety, as well as environmental monitoring, while actively contributing to the training of future physicists and more collaborative research her field.

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