Dr. Lai Meng Yee graduated with Bachelor of Science degree (Microbiology) in 2006 from Universiti Sains Malaysia. She obtained her Master of Biotechnology in 2011 and Doctorate degree in 2018 from Universiti Malaya. She served as post-doc research fellow at the Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine from 2019 to 2024. She is currently serving as a senior lecturer at the same department since July 2024. Dr. Lai’s area of expertise are molecular parasitology, molecular epidemiology and diagnostic kit development. Dr. Lai carries out host parasite interaction study to investigate the relationship between parasites and its’ host cell receptors/ligands. She successful find out the potential host cell binding partner of Toxoplasma gondii during the invasion. Dr. Lai is also interested in exploring the mechanisms of malaria infections and the interactions between infected patients and malaria parasite invasion using a molecular epidemiology approach. She also interested to investigate the distribution of zoonotic malaria parasites, originally transmitted from non-human primates through mosquito bites. Other than that, Dr. Lai also works on the identification and differentiation of human malaria and zoonotic malaria parasites using various molecular techniques, such as real-time PCR analysis, recombinase polymerase amplification (RPA) and Loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP). By employing these molecular techniques, Dr. Lai has developed numerous diagnostic methods for malaria, SARS-CoV-2, and dengue. These methods and primers had been patented. Dr. Lai’s dedication and hard work have resulted in more than 40 ISI-Cited publications, making substantial contributions to science and technology. Dr Lai also also have been awarded a few times for the innovation in research including Gold, and Medal prizes from Korea Creative Invention Contest, CIC 2017, Cabaran Inovasi  Inklusif 2018 Zon Tengah, World Invention Innovation Contest (WiC) 2018, International Invention Innovation Competition in Canada, iCAN 2022 and Innovasi Kreativiti Teknologi Keusahawanan dan Masyarakat (organized by Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia and Universiti Malaysia Kelantan). To date, she has published more than 40 ISI-cited publications with total citations index of 470 and H-index of 13. Also, she has assisted more than 25 PGs in their research projects. 2 Master and 1 PhD students have completed their study. Recently, she is awarded a research grant from the Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia, to further her zoonotic malaria research. Overall, Dr. Lai’s steadfast dedication to scientific research and innovation has propelled significant progress in disease detection and prevention, highlighting her as an outstanding young scientist and a role model for the scientific community.

Faridah Othman is a registered Professional Engineer (PEng, Malaysia) and a Certified EIA Consultant (DOE, Malaysia).  She obtained her Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from Missouri (USA), Master and PhD from the University of Newcastle Upon Tyne (UK).  Her field of specialization is Water and Environmental Engineering. Her research interest includes water resources and management, water security, floods, river conservation and pollution control, water supply and sewerage, as well as hydro-environment. She has vast experience in computer modelling and simulations which includes flood, river and surface water quality. She is also interested in the Artificial Intelligence and Optimization models, along with  GIS and remote sensing application. She has over 25 years of teaching and supervising experience at undergraduate and postgraduate levels., and successfully supervising more than 30 postgraduates inclusive of PhDs, Masters and Post Doctorate.  She has authored and co-authored more than 180 articles including journals, conferences and technical  reports in national and international publications.    She is a passionate and self-motivated researcher with a strong desire to build a career within the research  industry. In her career, she has been actively involved in numerous consultation projects with the relevant authorities and private companies, local and international.  Moreover, she is also doing research collaboration with industries, other universities, research institutions, and communities, to ensure that her research would benefit not only to the academic world but the nation, societies, and communities.    

    Dr Mohd Hafiz bin Mohd Saadon is an astrophysicist and an astronomer. He received his BSc (Hons.) in Applied Physics (2009) and MSc in Astronomy (2014) at University Malaya. Later, he was awarded the Doctorate Degree (PhD) specializing in Astrophysics at the University of New South Wales in 2021. The area of expertise also includes Islamic astronomy and specializing in galactic archaeology, astronomical spectroscopy, galactic and stellar formation and evolution, and stellar chemical behaviour. Dr Mohd Hafiz is experienced in using big data analysis for the research and the study of chemical behavioural patterns in stellar clusters and galactic populations.