Prof. Dr. Chan Kok Gan is a distinguished Malaysian microbiologist and interdisciplinary scholar whose work bridges molecular biology, genomics, microbial communication, and biosafety regulation. He is currently a Professor at University of Malaya, where he leads research in microbial genomics, quorum sensing/quenching, and next-generation sequencing and biosafety laws and intellectual property law in biotechnology. His contributions span genomics, microbial communication (QS/QQ), and conceptual innovation rather than single isolated discoveries.  Dr. Chan earned his double Bachelor and Master degrees in Microbiology and laws, and PhD in Molecular Microbiology, with a rare combination of science and law. Prof. Chan is prolific researcher,  with >485 WoS WoS publications in high-impact journals including Nature, Nature Communications. His work has garnered tens of thousands of citations (e.g., his Google Scholar profile shows >27,130 citations, h index 83). Prof. Chan has received numerous research awards and recognitions, including a consistent ranking in Research.com’s listings of Top Scientists in microbiology and biology/biochemistry in Malaysia; Malaysia Toray Science Foundation Science and technology Award, JSPS Award, he was listed as the World’s Top 2% Scientists by Stanford University/Scopus in 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025 in both categories of “Current Year” and “Career”. He is even listed as World’s Top 0.1% Scientist by ScholarGPS.com, and he is ranked first in the categories of “quorum quenching”, “genomes” , “multidrug resistant pathogens” by Google Scholar. Prof Chan made several first discoveries in Malaysia and globally, including (i) introducing the concept of, and coining, bacterial “signalling confusion”; (ii) coexistence of quorum sensing and quorum quenching in some bacteria, and (iii) quorum quenching molecules from Malay, Chinese and Indian medicinal herbs and secured several patents,  (iv) characterising novel quorum sensing and quenching genes, (v) novel bacterial genus and species, (vi) he published Malaysia’s first complete bacterial genome 13 years ago when next-generation sequencing was still globally scarce. Prof. Chan is also an elected Fellow of the Academy of Sciences Malaysia (FASc) in 2017, and other international learned academies. A novel bacterial species of a novel genus was named in honoured of Prof Chan’s contribution in microbiology:  Chania multitudinisentens gen. nov., sp. nov. Prof. Chan is world’s leading expert in bacterial quorum sensing, quorum quenching, genome biology, biosafety laws and whole genome sequencing. After publishing the first bacterial complete genome in 2013, Prof Chan then pioneered into multi-OMICs technology, providing a new dimension of research in microbiology and genome biology. To date, Prof Chan is the leading expert in NGS, multi-OMICs (genome, plasmidome, resistome, virome, oncogenome, transcriptome, methylome, microbiome, metagenome, lipidome, metabolome).

Mrs. Nor Zehan Ahmad is a Lecturer in the Department of Nursing Science, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Malaya. She holds a Bachelor of Nursing Science (BNSc) degree from Universiti Putra Malaysia and a Master of Nursing Science from Universiti Malaya. With over two decades of experience in critical care, she brings a wealth of clinical expertise to her academic role. Over the past 15 years, Mrs. Nor Zehan has made significant contributions to both teaching and research in nursing education. In addition to her academic and clinical roles, she has served as the advisor for the Nursing Society for more than a decade, demonstrating her ongoing commitment to student development and leadership. Currently, she serves as the Department Coordinator for the Unit of Visibility, Information, and Communication, Faculty of Medicine (VICFOM), as well as the Student Mobility Coordinator for the department. She is also actively involved in international education, including teaching responsibilities for nursing students in Jiangsu, China. She is a dedicated life member of the Malaysian Association for the Study of Pain (MASP).

I earned my PhD in Chemistry and a Master’s degree in Material Chemistry from Universiti Malaya, and hold a Bachelor’s degree in Biomedical Science (Honours) from the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM). My research interests center around ionic liquids synthesis and applications, biomass, and drug delivery systems, areas where I aim to explore innovative, sustainable solutions. As a member of the Chemistry Division at the Centre for Foundation in Science, Universiti Malaya, I’m particularly excited about the potential of ionic liquids in both environmental and biomedical applications. I believe these novel compounds could revolutionize various fields, from energy-efficient processes to drug delivery systems, by offering more targeted and efficient therapeutic solutions. My passion for drug delivery systems complements my broader research in ionic liquids and biomass, as it allows me to bridge chemistry with biomedical innovations that can improve healthcare outcomes. I’m deeply motivated to contribute to meaningful advancements that have a real-world impact and to collaborate with like-minded researchers in these exciting areas.