Dr. Song Sze Looi is a Senior Lecturer at the Institute for Advanced Studies (IAS), Universiti Malaya, specialising in Phylogenomics and eDNA Metagenomics. She obtained her PhD in the field of Algal Biotechnology in 2013. Following her doctorate, she was appointed as a Postdoctoral Researcher on a high-impact research project in Molecular Phylogenetics and Systematics. In 2016, she took on the role of Research Fellow, focusing on Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) and Bioinformatics. In 2019, Dr. Song joined the China-ASEAN College of Marine Sciences (CAMS) at Xiamen University Malaysia as an Assistant Professor. She returned to Universiti Malaya in 2021 and currently serves as the Program Coordinator for the Master of Advanced Studies (MAS) and the Program Director for Future Studies. Dr. Song’s research integrates high-throughput sequencing technologies and advanced analytical tools to explore the evolutionary relationships and biodiversity of a wide range of organisms, including both marine and terrestrial taxa. Her projects examined the phylogenetic and phylogeographic structures of biota of economic, agriculture and public health importance, such as seaweeds, parasites, insects, and vertebrates, as well as microbial communities associated with host organisms and environmental samples. She has published over 60 WoS–indexed journal articles. In addition, she has led or contributed to numerous research projects funded by national, international, and industry bodies, including the Japan Toray Science Foundation, the Fundamental Research Grant Scheme (FRGS), the National Conservation Trust Fund (NCTF), and a Petronas-funded project in collaboration with UCSI University. Her recent work focuses on the application of eDNA for assessing marine biodiversity and ecosystem health, particularly in sensitive estuarine and coastal habitats. Her research excellence has been recognized (1) through multiple awards, including being a co-recipient of the Malaysia Toray Science Foundation 2023 Science and Technology Award, and (2) as a lead speaker at conferences.

Dr Mohd Shahnaz Hasan is a Consultant Anaesthesiologist and Critical Care Physician at Universiti Malaya Medical Centre and an Assoc Professor at the Department of Anaesthesiology, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Malaya. He received his MBBS and postgraduate degree in Anaesthesiology from Universiti Malaya and went on to complete his Fellowship in Emergency & Critical Care Ultrasound. Majority of his time is devoted to clinical work, teaching and research. Over the past 10 years, he has maintained active collaborations with international research institutions and researchers, conducting research in areas related to critical care nutrition, nephrology, mechanical ventilation, sedation, and antimicrobials in critically ill patients. He is currently the PI of the following ongoing international clinical trials and research projects: MEGAROX (MRINZ), SPICE IV (Monash), VICTORY trial (Wurzburg), EFFORT-X(Queens), EQUIP-ICU (Oxford), REMAP-CAP (Monash) and FOIL-INFLAME (Malaysia). He is also the institutional lead in the CCAA project (Collaboration for Research, Implementation & Training in Intensive Care in Asia and Africa) which is supported by the Wellcome Trust. His past and ongoing work with the University of Queensland team in antimicrobial pharmacokinetics and optimisation of antibiotic dosing/delivery includes: BLISS, SAFE-ICU, DECISIVE, BLING III & PK/PD, PNEUDOS, and COLLABORATE. Apart from his significant contribution in the research and care of critically ill patients, he is also heavily involved in the provision of perioperative anaesthesia care for major complex spinal surgery, which include more than 2000 cases of complex congenital, neuromuscular and idiopathic scoliosis deformity surgery in young children and adolescents. Dr Shahnaz has received local and international research grants worth more than MYR 2.27 mil. He has more than 100 publications in high impact journals (WOS) with a H-index of 16 and 2200 total citations, of which 20 as first, senior, or corresponding author. About 43% of the co-authored publications are from international collaboration with researchers in other countries or region and 37% of the publications are in the top 25% most cited worldwide.

Dr. Chui Ping Lei is a registered nurse, completed her Master of Medical Science (Nursing) in 2008, and joined the Department of Nursing Science in 2010. In 2015, she obtained her Ph.D. from the University of Malaya. Apart from teaching undergraduate and postgraduate students, she has been involved in curriculum development/review, coordinating the Master of Nursing Science Program, and serving as an external examiner for program improvement. She is active in research work. Her research interests are cancer care (quality of life, symptom burden/management, CAM, patient education), complementary integrative therapy (oral cryotherapy, mindful breathing, mind-body practices, kangaroo mother care), and issues related to nurses/ nursing education/ nursing management (health behavior, professional quality of life, workplace violence, information literacy, teaching-learning), stoma care, wound care, and adult/ neonatal nursing care. She has published extensively in international peer-reviewed journals. Dr. Chui has been awarded the Universiti Malaya Excellence Award for Ph.D. Graduated in 2015,  Certificate of Excellence Service 2022, Excellence Service Award 2019 & 2023, and Asian University Alliance Scholar in 2020.