Dr Mahar Diana binti Hamid is a senior lecturer in the Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Malaya. Her areas of research interest include Safety, Health and Environment (SHE), Indoor Air Quality, combustion technology, process safety and risk engineering, inherent safety and risk management. She has also served as a safety consultant to the Department of Occupational Safety and Health, Ministry of Human Resources, Malaysia. She has co-authored two book chapters and over 50 research articles in peer-reviewed journals and conferences on combustion air emissions, process safety, risk, and reliability engineering.

Prof. Lim is the leading scientist in the region on Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) research. His scholarly contributions extend beyond mere publications, encompassing groundbreaking scientific discoveries, capacity building, and impactful networking through his involvement in HAB-related national and international organizations. He has published over 170 scientific papers, including 111 ISI papers. His impressive H-index of 28 (Web of Science), and >2467 total citations (WoS) reflect the influence of his work.   Prof. Lim plays an active leadership role internationally in various HAB-related bodies. He has been the Vice President of the International Society for the Study of Harmful Algae (ISSHA) for three consecutive terms (2018-Present); a Council member of ISSHA (2016-2018); the Vice-chair and Committee member of UNESCO IOC SCOR GLOBALHAB Program (2016-2019, 2020-2023); the Co-chair of the UNESCO-IOC WESTPAC Harmful Algal Blooms Program (WESTPAC-HABs) (2010-Present).   To date, he has secured and completed over 20 research projects, with research grants amounting to more than 5 million received from national and international funding agencies. His research has led to the identification of more than 15 harmful algal species that are new to science and many new records in the country. Notably, several of these species are named after him to recognize his achievements in HABs research for the past two decades, including Pseudo-nitzschia limii, Heterocapsa limii, and Alexandrium limii, a testament to his enduring impact in this field. He contributes to various national and international working groups in his area of expertise, serving as a task team member of UNESCO IOC IPHAB, an expert panel in the National Technical Working Group of Biotoxins and HABs, and the Task Force of Import/Export Seafood Product and Safety (DOF Kelantan).  He is an international advisory committee member of T-SMART Marine Station of Xiamen University (2016-Present), and an Adjunct Professor at the University of Tokyo (2019-present). Dr. Lim's expertise extends to editorial responsibilities. He serves as an associate editor to ISI journals, Elsevier’s Journal of Harmful Algae (Q1) (2018-Present), and Plankton and Benthos Research (PBR). His outstanding contributions have garnered national and international acclaim. He was awarded the ASM Top Research Scientist of Malaysia (TRSM) in 2021; and recognized as a senior scientist under the Chinese Academy of Science, President International Fellowship Initiative (CAS-PIFI) in 2024. He was awarded the Senior Visiting Fellowship of the State Key Lab in Marine Environmental Sciences (MEL), by Xiamen University for three consecutive years (2018-2019, 2020-2021). Dr Lim has delivered >150 presentations at national and international conferences, including a plenary talk at the International Conference on Harmful Algae, Hiroshima Japan in 2023. He has also been invited to deliver an ASM Fascinate Talk, and numerous seafood safety and biosecurity outreach and educational talks to relevant authorities. In his academic career over the two decades, he has been responsible for teaching and course development at undergraduate to postgraduate levels. More than 60 final-year project (FYP) students, 37 MSc students, and 12 Ph.D. candidates have completed their studies under his supervision.    Po Teen is a registered consultant under the Natural Resources and Environmental Board (NREB) and a registered subject specialist under the Department of Environment Malaysia (DOE). He is actively involved in consultancy projects whenever his expertise in marine science is needed.    Dr. Lim Po Teen began his academic career at Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS) in 2000 and was promoted to Senior Lecturer (2008) and Associate Professor (2013).  He joined  UM in January 2014 to lead the newly established Bachok Marine Research Station at the Institute of Ocean and Earth Sciences, UM, and was promoted to full Professor in 2024.    updated December 2024

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 Executive 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. 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 180 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 received the Certificate of Excellent Service in 2018 and the Excellence Service Award in 2019 from Universiti Malaya. In 2020, he was awarded the Nadchatram Medal in recognition of his outstanding contributions to parasitology and tropical medicine. He is also listed among the world’s top 2% scientists in the field of tropical medicine (2025).