Dr Benedict Francis is an associate professor and consultant psychiatrist at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya. He graduated from the Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya and was selected for the Brightsparks scholarship to pursue his Masters in Psychological Medicine at his alma mater, the University of Malaya. Subsequently, he completed a fellowship program in Aged Healthcare Services at St Vincent’s Hospital, Melbourne, in 2019. Dr Benedict is one of the research leads at the Psychological Medicine Research Unit and has been involved as principal investigator and sub-investigator for several international, multi-centre clinical trials including the ESCAPE-TRD, REMISSIO, ASPIRE, SUSTAIN-3, ROUTE 6, and CONNEX-2 trials. He has also published in several international and regional peer-reviewed journals and presented in international congresses. Dr Benedict has and continues to exhibit stellar leadership in his field. He was part of the Ministry of Health’s  National Advisory Board committee that drafted the guidelines for prescribing and dispensing Esketamine, a novel adjunct antidepressant treatment. In addition, he has been part of several steering commitees that paved new directions in mental health. For example, he was appointed to be part of the Southeast Asian steering committee to develop a patient decision aid for people living with schizophrenia. He is also part of the regional Asia Pacific steering commitee to develop a module for cognitive impairment associated with schizophrenia (CIAS). In 2023, he received the Excellent Service Award from the University of Malaya in recognition of his contributions. Dr Benedict is regarded as a Key Opinion Leader in the field of treatment resistant depression and schizophrenia and is a regular invited speaker at both local and regional events. He is actively involved in several associations at various levels. He is a life member of the Malaysian Psychiatric Association and a corresponding member of the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology. He is also a member of the Asian College of Neuropsychopharmacology. He was inducted as Fellow of the Pacific Rim College of Psychiatrists. He currently serves on the editorial board of Scientific Reports, a Q1 journal published by the Nature Portfolio. Besides clinical medicine, Dr Benedict is keenly interested in the various facets of research ethics, particularly in the subfield of Neuroethics. He was recently awarded a scholarship under the auspices of the Fogarty International Centre of the United States National Institutes of Health, in collaboration with Johns Hopkins University, to pursue a Master's in Health Research and Ethics at the University of Malaya. 

Dr. Zaiton Azman is a senior lecturer at the Department of Social Administration and Justice, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, University of Malaya. Her core area of expertise is Criminology. She has been involved in developing and promoting teaching, learning, and research opportunities in the field of criminology and social work. She teaches crime and criminal justice, crime prevention, law and advocacy in human services, and social remedy. Her research interest focuses on crime prevention and community policing programs for children beyond control in Malaysia. She also involves as a consultant team member at National level projects such as Malaysian Social Workers Knowledge and Practice (2018) and Sarawak Well Being Index (2019-2020). 1. She is currently leading the FRGS research entitled Development of a Crime Safety Index Framework Based on a Sense of Safety Approach for Urban Communities (2023-Mac 2026). She is also a committee member of the Malaysian Criminology and Corrections Association (MCCA).            

Dr. Mohd Nasir Hashim is a prominent figure in the University's music arena.  Having served the Cultural Centre in University of Malaya for 32 years, he is a seasoned musician specializing in composition, orchestration and music technology.  Upon graduation from the Mara Institute of Technology (UiTM) in Music, Dr. Nasir later obtained his post graduate degrees at the University of Southampton, United Kingdom. Dr. Nasir also studied under the tutelage of Andrew Llyod Webber in writing scores for musical broadways.  His affiliations with the Cultural Centre began when he was appointed as a Cultural Affairs Officer.  He is today an Associate Professor at the Music Department. Since his postgraduate days, Dr. Nasir has been actively involved in the orchestra both locally and internationally.  During his days at the University of Southampton, Dr. Nasir taught and arranged orchestration on a part-time basic.  In addition, he was also the music director and deputy conductor of a jazz band and a symphony orchestra. It was at time that Dr. Nasir performed alongside the world-renowned composer, Dave Brubek. He toured with Dave Brubeck, the accomplished jazz composer and his big band orchestra in UK and USA. Dr Nasir also participate in several music camps such as the National Music Camps, Asian Music Camp and World Music Camp where he performed as he principal trumpet player. Dr. Nasir was a guest conductor with the London Guildhall Jazz Orchestra. As a result of his wide exposure in UK in conducting and arranging, he believes that whilst every genre of music is special, music can be used as a conduit for the University to reach out to members of society. Apart from conducting, he also copies songs for recording artistes and film soundtracks.  He has composed and arranged numerous scores of various genres for the orchestra. He plays the trumpet, accordion, guitar, piano and a number of traditional instruments.  His involvement in Malay traditional music, Western Jazz, Rock, Rock and Symphony Orchestra gives in a special edge into these genres.  At present Dr. Nasir is also actively producing scores and CDs for publication by the University od Malaya.  He conducts workshop, camps and lectures across the region, with a hope that music can be performed an appreciated as a discipline as well as for leisure.