Prof Ratnavelu obtained his BSc (First Class Hons) and his MSc by research from the Department of Mathematics, University Malaya and furthered his PhD study in Atomic Physics at Flinders University in 1985 with a Flinders Research Scholarship. He started as a Lecturer in 1989; was promoted to Associate Professor in 1994 and subsequently as Professor in 2001. Prof Ratnavelu’s research and academic achievements has been recognized and he was awarded the Malaysian Toray Science Foundation Science & Technology Award in 2004 and also the Young Scientist Award (Strategic Sector) in 1996 by MOSTE. He was elected as a Fellow of the Academy of Sciences Malaysia in 2005. In 2006, he was awarded the Inaugural Distinguished Alumni Award by Flinders University.   His main research interest is in Theoretical Atomic Collision Processes with specific interest in positron collisions with atoms.  His outstanding contributions are in the recent development and the demonstration of an optical potential method to positron-hydrogen atom scattering process and its extension to other hydrogenic-type atoms. Another major contribution is his joint theoretical work with Jim Mitroy on anti-hydrogen formation in 1995. His scientific contribution’s is evidenced by his international publications; as a reviewer for international journals and his collaboration with eminent international researchers.   He has contributed to the scientific community in Malaysia as the Associate Editor of the Jurnal Fizik Malaysia (the leading physics journal in Malaysia) and the Associate Editor of Malaysia Journal of Science (one of the oldest journal in Malaysia). He has immensely helped in the professional development of Physics and Mathematics in Malaysia since the 1990’s in his capacity as the Honorary Secretary of the Institut Fizik Malaysia (1996-now) and Malaysian Mathematical Society (PERSAMA) respectively.   At University of Malaya, he has served as a Deputy Dean of Science (2003-2006) and acting Deputy Dean (1999-2000).

BIOGRAPHY : Dr. Chong Pan Pan is highly qualified with B.Sc. (Hons) in Microbiology (2001), M.Sc. in Biochemistry (2004) and completed her Ph.D. in Tissue Engineering (2013). After that, she worked as a post-doctoral research fellow (2013-2016) and was later inducted as a senior lecturer (2016-present) at the National Orthopaedic Centre of Excellence in Research and Learning (NOCERAL), Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya (UM), Malaysia. Additionally, she is in charge of setting up the Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) Laboratory in NOCERAL. She has also been put in charge of the newly provided clinical service using platelet-derived extracellular vesicles (P-EVs) to treat lateral epicondylitis, plantar fasciitis, osteochondral defect, delayed union, knee osteoarthritis, etc. The P-EVs service is provided in the University Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC) and the University Malaya Specialist Centre (UMSC). Her research interest involves the current and innovative area of tissue engineering and manipulating adult mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) for future use as biological therapies for poorly regenerating tissues. Her work focuses on driving the adult MSCs from bone marrow, peripheral blood, and adipose tissue along chondrogenic lineages for later transplantation to replace worn-out joint cartilage in patients suffering from joint disorders, including trauma or osteoarthritis. To attest to her work, Dr. Chong has published in several high-quality (Q1/high impact factor) peer-reviewed journals and presented her works extensively and globally at numerous international conferences. At that time, she also won several awards, including top prizes at the regional level, such as the Young Investigator Awards, Young Investigator Best Paper Award, L’Oréal Malaysia for Women in Science, Best Poster/Oral Presentations and travel fellowships, etc. In addition, she has participated in several biotechnology exhibitions and business idea competitions. Furthermore, she won many innovation awards for her work on MSCs and P-EVs as biological therapies for tissue regenerations. She has also developed intellectual property related to the novel work, which has been successfully patented.  

  Rumana Akhter Saifi, MSS, MA, MPH (Epid-Biostatistics), PhD (Demography) Area of Interest: Demography, Implementation Research, Population and Reproductive Health, Epidemiology and Bio-statistics   CAREER SUMMARY: I come with 17 years of experience in research, teaching, and research administration. I am a Faculty at the Department of Social and Preventive Medicine Faculty of Medicine (FOM), Universiti Malaya (UM), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. My present teaching portfolio at FOM includes (1) Medical statistics (2) Research Methodology (3) Practicum in Health Research Ethics (4) Qualitative Inquiry In Public Health (5) Ethics, Law, and Health (6) Principles and Methods of Social Epidemiology and (7) Implementation Research. Over the years, I have also been developing and teaching courses on the Philosophy of Health Systems and Health Policy Research, Applied Statistics in Social Research, and Time Series Analysis. I am committed to expanding the local reach of Implementation Science and have been serving as a Faculty Scholar for the Malaysian Implementation Science Training (MIST) program, a collaborative effort of UM and Yale University, US. As the former Head and Associate Head of CERiA: Centre of Excellence for Research in Infectious Diseases and AIDS. Faculty of Medicine (FoM), Universiti Malaya (UM), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, I have overseen the entire research portfolio of CERiA. CERiA has been the leading Centre in Malaysia conducting HIV and infectious disease-related research in various fields including bio-medical, social-behavioral, clinical, and implementation research. In my role, I have overseen the progress of research projects starting from grant writing to IRB submission, to data collection, to analysis, to dissemination, ensuring efficiency and smooth workflow. Additionally, my responsibilities include review of grant agreement(s) to ensure compliance; review of financial statements; and preparation of financial audit, and program reports. During my time at CERiA, it has been identified as the most productive research centre of the Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Malaya that conducts innovative and interdisciplinary research combining epidemiological, biomedical, and socio-behavioral approaches, focusing HIV prevention and treatment in key populations. With an excellent academic background, I started my career with ICDDR, B in Bangladesh. I stood 9th in Secondary and 6th in Higher Secondary Examination in Dhaka Board, Bangladesh. Over time, I specialized in mixed-method research. My major research expertise includes designing and conducting primary research projects, monitoring of outcomes, evaluation of programs, scaling-up interventions, analyzing and interpreting quantitative and qualitative data, designing and conducting large data collection surveys, managing and analyzing large data sets, and data trend analysis. For the last 17 years, my research focus has been on population health and health policy across diversified cultural contexts from cross-border areas of irregular migrants to conservative Muslim rural areas to urban metropolitan to urban slums to hard-to-reach areas; and across various disadvantaged population groups from young adolescents in early marriage to men who have sex with men (MSM) to sex workers to transgender to injection drug users to prisoners to fishermen. Working in Bangladesh, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and New Zealand for the last 17 years gave me the opportunity to understand both developing and developed country settings. I’m acting as a faculty member of the Master of Health Research Ethics Program, jointly developed by Berman Institute of Bioethics, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, US, and the Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, supported by the U.S. National Institutes of Health, Fogarty International Center. I’m acting as a faculty scholar on a Fogarty Science of Implementation Training program jointly developed by Yale School of Public Health and Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, and Universiti Malaya, Malaysia which ultimately aims to create a regional implementation research center hub in Malaysia. My academic background is a blend of Demography, Public Health, Epidemiology, and Social Science. I hold a Doctor of Philosophy in Demography and Masters in (1) Public Health (Epidemiology and Bio-statistics) (2) Population and Reproductive Health Research and (3) Social Science.