Jariah Mohd Jan is Professor in Sociolinguistics at the Department of English Language, Faculty of Languages and Linguistics, Universiti Malaya. She has held several leadership roles at the university as the Deputy Dean of the Institute of Graduate Studies, Deputy Executive Director of the Asia-Europe Institute, Deputy Dean of Research and Development, Deputy Dean of Undergraduate Studies and Dean of the Faculty of Languages and Linguistics. She specialises in sociolinguistics, in particular, gender and power in relation to language. Her recent work focuses on pragmatics, leadership discourse and the relevance of gender and ethnicity in the workplace, and academic concerns and needs of children in foster care. She is Programme Leader of the Impact-Oriented Interdisciplinary Research Grant (IIRG) Programme on documenting the language and culture of the Kerinchi community in Kuala Lumpur. She has also published numerous articles in international journals on topics ranging from gendered discourse, through socio-pragmatic aspects of interaction, to discourse and linguistic features of the Mah Meri, Javanese and Kerinchi communities in Malaysia. Her recent books include Discourse Research in the Malaysian Context (with Zalina Mohd Kasim and Sharon Sharmini Danarajan) (2020, Universiti Putra Malaysia Press), Pragmatics Research in the Malaysian Context (with Siti Nurbaya Mohd Nor, Mohd Ridwan Abdul Wahid, Veronica Lowe) (2021; Universiti Malaya Press), Voices in Texts and Contexts (with Yamaguchi, T. and Sheena Kaur) (2021; Sunway University Press), and Neoliberalization of English Language Policy in the Global South (with Jalalian Daghigh and Sheena Kaur) (2022; Springer).

Mazdida completed her BSc and MSc in Chemistry from Universiti Malaya and later pursue her Ph.D. at the same university in Kuala Lumpur. She has expertise in the field of Natural Products Chemistry (alkaloids, flavonoids), Advanced Material (solid composite electrolytes) and actively involved in writing scientific articles. She started her first career as a Chemistry Lecturer at Kolej Yayasan Pelajaran MARA Bangi in 1998-2001 before attached to Pusat Asasi Sains Universiti Malaya (PASUM). Currently she is a Senior Lecturer at Chemistry Department, Faculty of Science, Universiti Malaya.  She has experienced in teaching Organic Chemistry, Inorganic Chemistry, Physical Chemistry and Analytical Biochemistry. Apart from teaching, she is active in research work involves synthesis and characterization of magnesium and lithium-based composite solid electrolytes, STEM teaching and learning, and the latest research is to develop antimicrobial agents. She welcomes those interested to pursue studies in Masters or Ph.D. either in the field of Chemistry Science or STEM Education. She also welcomes any interested bodies for collaboration and knowledge communication.   https://sites.google.com/um.edu.my/mazdidasulaiman/home https://sites.google.com/um.edu.my/mazdidasulaiman/home

  Dr. Vilashini Somiah is a feminist anthropologist and Senior Lecturer at the Gender Studies Programme at Universiti Malaya. She earned her Ph.D. from the National University of Singapore, an MA from Ohio University, an MRes from Universiti Malaya, and a BA from Universiti Malaya. Her research focuses on underrepresented narratives of women, migrants, and Borneans living in the interiors. She co-edited Revisiting Covid-19 in Malaysia: Plight and Perseverance (UM Press, 2023) and Sabah from the Ground: The 2020 Elections and the Politics of Survival (SIRD/ISEAS, 2021). Her first single-authored book, Irregular Migrants and the Sea at the Borders of Sabah, Malaysia: Pelagic Alliance (Palgrave Macmillan, 2022), won the Universiti Malaya Award for Outstanding Achievement (ACUM) for Best Social Science Book of 2022 and has received international acclaim and reviews. Dr Somiah is currently working on her fourth book which explores the lives and resilience of Bornean women.  In 2024, Dr. Somiah was a Saw Swee Hock Southeast Asia Centre Visiting Fellow at the London School of Economics, supported by the Henry Luce Foundation and SEANNET. In 2025, she was appointed a Harvard Asia Centre Associate (2025-2026) https://asiacenter.harvard.edu/vilashini-somiah . That same year, she was elected to the Southeast Asia Council at the Association for Asian Studies (AAS) in the United States, a position she will hold until 2028  https://www.asianstudies.org/about/governance/councils/southeast-asia-council-seac/.  Beyond academia, she writes ethnographic articles on Malaysia’s socio-political landscape. To learn more about her work, visit www.vilashinisomiah.com.   Dr. Somiah is NO LONGER accepting PhD students for 2025 and 2026.