Khoo Ying Hooi, PhD, is an Associate Professor of International Relations and Human Rights at Universiti Malaya (UM). Her research centres on human rights and democracy in Southeast Asia, with a particular focus on civil society, Southeast Asian politics, and the domestic politics of Malaysia and Timor-Leste. She also examines how the geopolitics of Southeast Asia shapes domestic political developments, rights discourses, civic spaces, and institutional contestations. In addition, she works extensively on human rights education and academic freedom. She is the author of “The Bersih Movement and Democratisation in Malaysia” (SIRD/ ISEAS/ Lexington Books, 2020) and “Seeds of Dissent (Gerakbudaya, 2015). Furthermore, Ying Hooi has also co-edited several volumes, such as “Social and Political Deglobalisation: Covid-19, Conflict and Uncertainties in Malaysia (Palgrave Macmillan, 2023), “Marginalisation and Human Rights in Southeast Asia” (Routledge, 2022) and “Rethinking Human Rights and Peace in the Post-Independence Timor-Leste through Local Perspectives” (Palgrave Macmillan, 2022). Her co-author paper (with C. Leong, I. Faik, F. Tan and B. Tan, 2020), “Digital organising of a global social movement: from connective to collective action," won the 2021 Best Paper Award at the Information and Organization and was Runner-Up in the 2021 Special Interest Group-Grounded Theory Methodology (SIG-GTM).  Ying Hooi is the Editor-in-Chief of the Malaysian Journal of International Relations (MJIR) and sits on the Editorial Boards of the Journal of Current Southeast Asian Affairs, the Journal of Southeast Asian Human Rights (JSEAHR), and the Indonesian Law Review (ILREV).  Ying Hooi has been appointed to the International Advisory Council by the Timor-Leste government for Centro Nacional Chega! (CNC), a public institute tasked to institutionalise memory and promote human rights. She is also a founding member of the Southeast Asian Coalition for Academic Freedom (SEA-CAF). She received several fellowships, including the Mellon/ SAR Academic Freedom Fellowship by Scholars at Risk (SAR), the International Center on Nonviolent Conflict (ICNC) Curriculum Fellowship, and visiting fellowships at Kyushu University, Mahidol University, Humboldt University of Berlin and Beijing Foreign Studies University. She has served as a judge in several local and international human rights awards, including the Amnesty International Philippines Ignite Awards and Suara Rakyat Malaysia (SUARAM) Human Rights Awards. Between 2013 and 2016, Ying Hooi was involved in the diplomatic training course for the Institute of Diplomatic Studies (IDS), Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation in Timor-Leste. Additionally, she has contributed to consultancies for organisations like the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR), the Democracy Academy of Malaysia, and Strengthening Human Rights and Peace Research and Education in Southeast Asia (SHAPE-SEA). In addition to her academic roles, Ying Hooi has extensive experience in the field of human rights and democracy in Southeast Asia. These roles include serving as a Scientific Member in the Observatory of Political Alternatives in Southeast Asia (ALTERSEA), Vice-Chair in the Society for the Promotion of Human Rights (PROHAM), and Board Member in the Innovation of Change - East Asia Governance Circle (EAGC). Before entering academia, Ying Hooi garnered experience in corporate sectors and served as the Head of International Issues and Cooperation at the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (SUHAKAM). Her involvements include the ASEAN human rights body (now AICHR) in the ASEAN Charter, the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) on Malaysia in Geneva and the SUHAKAM Amendment Bill 2009.  

Dr. Anand Ramanathan graduated with a Bachelor of Dental Surgery from Saveetha Dental College & Hospital under The Tamil Nadu Dr. MGR Medical University, Chennai, India in 2002. He then pursued his Master of Dental Surgery, specializing in Oral & Maxillofacial Pathology at Rajah Muthiah Dental Collage & Hospitals, Annamalai University, Chidambaram, India in 2009. He then migrated to Malaysia where he did his spouse program at the Faculty of Dentistry, University of Malaya to obtain his practicing license in Malaysia in 2011. From 2009 to 2011 during his spouse program he was actively involved in research with Oral Cancer Research & Coordinating Center (OCRCC), Faculty of Dentistry, University of Malaya. His passion for teaching and research led him to join the Faculty of Dentistry, here at University Malaya and he has since become a valuable senior lecturer and clinical specialist in the Department of Oral & Maxillofacial Clinical Sciences. He has been the module head of various integrated modules such as oral malignancy & potentially malignant disorders, tumours and tumour-like lesions of the jaws and undergraduate discipline coordinator for oral medicine and oral pathology. He has been a member of curriculum review for undergraduate and postgraduate programs in oral pathology and oral medicine at the Faculty of Dentistry, University of Malaya. He is also a trainer of the OralDetect which is a training and calibration program for early detection of oral cancer and oral potentially malignant disorders. He has successfully conducted OralDetect program in Malaysia, Indonesia, Cambodia, Nepal and India training undergraduate students, general dentist, postgraduate students and various specialist in dentistry. He is an adjunct faculty member in Faculty of Dentistry, University of Puthisastra, Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Tagore Dental College and Hospital, Sri Ramachandra University Dental College and Hospital and Sree Balaji Dental College and Hospital, Chennai, India. An ardent researcher, he has 54 papers in indexed international peer reviewed journals, with a h-index of 11. He is involved in numerous research projects and has supervised PhD, Masters and graduate research students for the past 10 years. He was awarded the outstanding researcher in Oral & Maxillofacial Pathology at the 3rd Venus International Healthcare Awards 2020 (VIHA, 2020) by the Venus International Foundation. He also received the Sijil Perkhidmatan Cemerlang (Certificate of Excellent Service) by University of Malaya in 2021. He is currently an active member of OCRCC, Malaysian Association for Orofacial Diseases and Asian Society of Oral & Maxillofacial Pathology. His research interest are oral cancer, oral potentially malignant disorders, oral pathology, oral medicine, immunohistochemistry, adjunct diagnostic tools, natural products and drug toxicity, oncoimmunology, homeobox genes and odontogenic lesions. 

Prof Nur Aishah Taib (Taib NA, Mohd Taib NA) is a senior consultant breast surgeon and professor of the Department of Surgery at University Malaya since 2012. She is currently Head, UM Cancer Research Institute (2019-present). She graduated with MBBS in University of Malaya in 1995, Master of Surgery(UM) in 2001. She graduated with Doctor of Medicine, Universiti Malaya in 2011 with her thesis “Why Women Present with Advanced Breast Cancer- A Mixed Method Study”. She is employed in Universiti Malaya as a Professor in Department of Surgery since 2012.   She has 234 publications in peer-reviewed journals with a H-index of 36. Her areas of interest are strongly correlated with patient care and outcomes. Prof Nur Aishah is a trainer for Master of Surgery in Malaysia and is on the board of examiners for the exit viva for the Breast and Endocrine Surgery Subspecialty Exams in Malaysia. She has supervised the completion of 8 PhDs, 11 Master of Science (research mode) and 23 Clinical Masters (General Surgery).   She also a member of the National Committee for Breast and Endocrine Surgery Specialist Evaluation, Malaysian Medical Council. Chairperson and founder member of the Breast Chapter of the College of Surgeons of Malaysia (2015-2018). She is a Fellow of the Malaysian Academy of Medicine since 2016 and past Honorary Treasurer and Council Member of the College of Surgeons of Malaysia (2015-2019). She is a council member of Breast Surgery International.   She is the local lead in the Greater Petaling City Cancer Challenge application and city executive member and technical committee lead. City Cancer Challenge Foundation (C/Can) supports cities around the world as they work to improve access to equitable, quality cancer care. She is the principal investigator (PI) of REBUNG (Reducing Barriers in Cancer Early Diagnosis in Urban B40 Group), a community study funded by UM Interdisciplinary Impact Research Grant (2020-present). She is also co-PI of ENPHaSIS ( Exploration of Needs of Patient and Health Systems in Implementing a Breast Cancer Survivorship Care Plan in Malaysia) (2020-present).   She is active in advocacy and the president of Together Against Cancer (2023-2025), a Malaysian NGO.