Che Zarrina Sa’ari, who graduated from the University of Malaya (Bachelor's and Master's degrees) and Edinburgh University (PhD), is currently the Professor at the Academy of Islamic Studies, University of Malaya, Malaysia, working in the Department of Aqidah and Islamic Thought. She served several times as the Head of the Department of Aqidah and Islamic Thought and as the Deputy Director (Development and Research) at the same Academy, and currently she is the Deputy Director (Research) until December 2024. She was also a visiting scholar at Leiden University (2004) and Edinburgh University (2010). Dr. Che Zarrina’s broad academic and research interests involve Sufism, Islamic Psychospiritual, Islamic Psychotherapy, and Islamic Ethics. She has produced over 300 publications, including books, chapters in books, articles in journals, short articles in mass media, and conference proceedings that were presented nationally and internationally. Dr. Che Zarrina has been invited many times by national as well as international universities to deliver lectures or talks on Islamic Psychospiritual and Psychotherapy. She has also been invited to be a keynote speaker, plenary speaker, or invited speaker in seminars, conferences, and workshops nationally and internationally in her area of expertise. She has presented papers in seminars and conferences and delivered motivational talks as well as religious talks to the public from time to time, and written short articles in magazines and newspapers. Dr. Che Zarrina has produced about 50 master's students and 53 doctorate students in her field. The graduates, national and international, became her successors in the dissemination and enhancement of their expertise and have contributed to the academic world, government, and community, especially in spiritual and mental well-being. In research, she has been awarded about 105 internal and external research grants, for instance, ERGS, FRGS, MAIS Fatwa Research Grant, IIRG, MRUN, JAKIM Fatwa Research Grant, RACE, USM, JAIS Fatwa Research Grant, GP LPPKN, UMRG Project, and UMRG Programme. The outputs of the research could be seen through the graduation of graduate research assistants, publications, curriculum designs, and reviews for new courses or module improvements. In addition, those outputs have also been utilized to assist government institutions. For example, in developing modules, manuals, guidelines, policies, and fatwas. Furthermore, many of the outputs of Islamic Psychospiritual and Psychotherapy have been applied and carried out publicly by the community and non-governmental associations (NGO). To impart this knowledge to the relevant communities, Dr. Che Zarrina has been invited to facilitate the training of the trainers (ToT) workshops and intervention sessions that are usually organized by the government, such as JAKIM, Malaysian Ministry of Health, Jabatan Perpaduan Negara dan Intergrasi Nasional, state religious councils and departments, non-governmental organizations, and the public. In the professional field, based on her expertise and involvement with the stakeholders, she has gained their trust and has been appointed to one of JAKIM’s prestigious committees as an Expert Panel for Aqidah (PPA) with terms of reference to respond to current issues of `aqidah and school of thought in society and give an initial view on the issuance of a fatwa for Muzakarah Jawatankuasa Fatwa, Majlis Kebangsaan Bagi Hal Ehwal Ugama Islam Malaysia (MKI). She has been involved in various committees and has been appointed as an expert panel, among others in Expert Panel for Programme Standards: Islamic Studies by Malaysian Qualification Agency (MQA), Expert Panel of the Field of Aqidah and Sufism, Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, Top Management Committee for KSKCare Centre JAKIM, and Dini Curriculum Development for Ministry of Education Malaysia. In academic linkage, Dr. Che Zarrina has been involved as an academic advisor for several local universities, journals editor-in-Chief, advisory board member, member of journal editorial boards, postgraduate external examiner, and member of the British Society for Middle Eastern Studies (BRISMES). She is the Editor in Chief for AFKAR: Journal of Aqidah & Islamic Thought, indexed in WoS-ESCI and SCOPUS. She has also been appointed Editor in Chief for Qalbu: International Journal of Sufism published by PERTAMA, the advisory board for the Journal of Islamic Theology Pakistan and the Journal of Islamic Research Turkey, and has become a reviewer for WoS and SCOPUS journals. She also contributes to society through her involvement with several national and international non-government organizations (NGO) such as the Islamic Psychospiritual Association Malaysia (IPSA) as Deputy President, Majlis Dakwah Negara, Persatuan Kaunseling Syarie Malaysia, and the International Association of Islamic Psychology. She has obtained several certificates as a certified practitioner, such as Psychological First Aid, Mental Health Coach, and Crisis Intervention and Trauma Counseling. Among her significant contributions to the country is her involvement from the beginning in setting up the KSKCare Centre@MTMZA JAKIM which is a community referral center that provides professional and free services to the community.  Since then, she, who leads the Islamic Psychospiritual Team, has always performed training of the trainers (ToT) managed by JAKIM and others for related persons.

Professor Emeritus Datuk Dr Shad Saleem Faruqi is a Malaysian legal scholar and professor of law at the University of Malaya, currently holding the Tunku Abdul Rahman Chair as Professor of Constitutional Law. He is also the fourth holder of the Tun Hussein Onn Chair in International Studies at the Institute of Strategic and International Studies (ISIS) Malaysia effective July 2019 to June 2021. He is an Emeritus Professor of Law at Universiti Teknologi Mara, Shah Alam. He has served Universiti Teknologi MARA in Shah Alam, Selangor in various capacities from 1971 onwards. He served as the Head of the Diploma in Law programme (1979–1984), as Assistant Rector (1996–1999), Assistant Vice-Chancellor (1999–2001) and Legal Advisor (1996–2006, 2010–2017)                                                                                                      He has also served in the faculties of law at the International Islamic University Malaysia, part-time at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia and a visiting professor/Honorary Legal Adviser/Holder of the Tun Sambanthan Chair at Universiti Sains Malaysia and adjunct professor at New England University, Australia.  

Lucas Low VL received his bachelor’ degree in Biodiversity Management with first-class honours from the Universiti Malaysia Terengganu in 2010. He then earned his PhD with ‘distinction thesis’ from the University of Malaya (UM) in 2013, for his studies on the molecular and biochemical basis of insecticide resistance in medically important group of mosquitoes. Currently, he is the Excecutive Director and an associate professor at Tropical Infectious Diseases Research and Education Centre (TIDREC), a Higher Institution Centre of Excellence (HICoE) in Malaysia. His current research interests include insect vectors of medical-veterinary importance such as mosquitoes, flies, ticks, fleas, lice and mites; and their associated infectious disease agents. In his scientific career, he has been fortunate to work under the mentorship of the world-renowned black fly taxonomist, Prof. Emeritus Dr. Hiroyuki Takaoka for the discovery of new species and taxonomic classification of black flies in the Oriental region. At present, he owned taxonomic authorities for 11 new species of black flies discovered in Southeast Asia. In recognition of his research excellence in vector-borne diseases, and significant advancement in molecular phylogenetics and systematics of black flies, two new species of black flies Simulium vanluni from Malaysia, and Simulium lowi from Vietnam were named after him in 2017. In March 2020, he organized and chaired the 3rd Asian Simuliidae Symposium which was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. His expertise in the field of insecticide resistance is recognized by the Malaysian Ministry of Health. He has been appointed as a member of the Technical Working Committee for Insecticide Resistance, which aims to provide mitigation plans against insecticide resistance issue throughout the country. He was also appointed as a consultant for testing commercial mosquito repellent products in a private company. His reputation has convinced local and international funders, with the awarding of 19 research grants to him with a value of at least RM3 million. Notably, he is the principal investigator for the Tick Cell Biobank Asia Outpost project funded by the prestigious research foundation, Wellcome Trust (2022-2026). The Asia Outpost (the only one in Asia) provides insect cell line resources and training to fellow researchers in Asia. His role is important in increasing regional capacity in the implementation of research in tick-borne diseases. He is also the principal investigator of the black fly DNA barcode project in Southeast Asia funded by the Global Biodiversity Information Facility, Denmark (2021-2023). His role is to establish and strengthen black fly biodiversity information facilities and increase the capacity of researchers in Asia in accessing data needed for biodiversity management. He has strong research networks in both local and international institutions and has authored more than 160 articles in ISI-indexed journals. He has been a reviewer of several world-leading scientific journals. He is an Associate Editor of Tropical Biomedicine and a Section Editor of Parasitology Research, both of which are the WoS indexed journals. He is an active member of the Malaysian Society of Parasitology and Tropical Medicine (MSPTM). Currently, he serves as the President for the society.  He shows high commitment in educational activities, as well social responsibility in increasing the level of public awareness of vector-borne diseases. He is involved in various talks to raise awareness among students, Orang Asli, pet owners and the general public at disease outbreak areas. He is also a facilitator in the development of national biosafety and biosecurity policies and guidelines. Since 2018, 3 Masters and 7 PhD students have successfully completed their studies under his supervision. A total of 3 Masters and 5 PhD students are still under his supervision. He was a recipient for Certificate of Excellent Service in 2018, and Excellence Service Award in 2019, UM. He was also a Nadchatram Medal 2020 recipient for his outstanding research in the field of parasitology and tropical medicine.