Noran N Hairi is the Deputy Dean for Research at the Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Malaya, and Professor of Epidemiology and Public Health. Medically trained at Universiti Malaya (UM), she served in Malaysia’s Ministry of Health before earning both an MPH and an MPH (Epidemiology) with distinction from UM, and a PhD from the University of Sydney, Australia. Noran is best known for her work on the epidemiology of ageing, with a particular focus on sarcopenia, and frailty. She has made significant contributions to research on elder abuse, neglect, and financial mistreatment among older adults. She led the Prevent Elder Abuse and Neglect Initiative (PEACE), which adopted a holistic, interdisciplinary approach to address late-life abuse through professional training, public awareness campaigns, and policy advocacy. PEACE provided a platform for legislators and policymakers, leading to calls for better elder protection framework. The PEACE 1.0 study identified financial exploitation as the most common form of elder abuse, prompting the PEACE 2.0 project, a collaborative effort with Agensi Kaunseling dan Pengurusan Kredit (AKPK) under Bank Negara Malaysia. Currently, the PEACE 3.0 team is working with the World Health Organization (WHO) to evaluate elder abuse assessment tools. She has published extensively, supervised over 80 postgraduate students, and held key leadership roles including Dean (Health and Wellbeing Research Cluster), Chair (Research Cluster), and Head of Research Centres such as the Julius Centre University Malaya and the Centre for Epidemiology and Evidence-Based Practice. Dr. Noran has contributed significantly to research, policy development, and public engagement in Malaysia. As a Member of the National Senior Citizens Advisory and Consultative Council (MPPWEN) and a Fellow of the Faculty of Public Health, UK, she is deeply committed to advancing public health and championing critical ageing issues. Her work focuses on elder protection, combating age discrimination, and promoting social inclusion, reflecting her dedication to research excellence, education, and collaborative leadership to improve the lives of older adults.

Norrima Mokhtar received the Bachelor of Engineering (B. Eng) degree in Electrical Engineering from University of Malaya in 2000. After working two years with International Telecommunication Industry with attachment at Echo Broadband GmbH, she managed to secure Panasonic Scholarship which required intensive screening at the national level in 2002. She finished her Master of Engineering at Oita University, Japan under financial support received from Panasonic Scholarship in 2006. Consequently, she was appointed as a lecturer to serve the Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Malaya immediately after graduating with her Master of Engineering. As part of her career development, she received SLAB/SLAI scholarship to attain her Ph.D. in 2012. She held several important positions such as Coordinator for Industrial Training, Coordinator for Research Laboratory, Coordinator for EBA-Consortium(Keio University), Coordinator for Nagaoka University of Technology and Coordinator for Manchester Metropolitan University(UK). Dr. Norrima was also the principal investigator for High Impact Research Grant (MOHE) worth of RM 1 million along with Science Fund and CREST grant. She is the author and co-author of more than 50 publications in international journals and proceedings in Sensors, Automation, Image Processing, Human-Computer Interface, Brain-Computer Interface, UAV and Robotics. To date, she had successfully supervised 4 PhD and 4 Master Engineering Science students (by research). She is also active as reviewer for many reputable journals and several international conferences.

  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.