Afiq received his First-Class Honors Degree in Biotechnology from the Malaysia University of Science and Technology (MUST) in 2013. He received the MUST President's Award for academic excellence and being the most accomplished student in his class. In 2014, he decided to follow his passion for research and enrolled in an MSc program in Genetic Manipulation and Molecular Cell Biology at the University of Sussex, UK. After completing his MSc program, Afiq gained valuable research experience by working as a research assistant at the Cancer Research Center (CaRC), Institute for Medical Research (IMR) in Kuala Lumpur. In 2015, he was awarded an Academic Training Fellowship (SLAB/SLAI) by the Malaysian Ministry of Higher Education to pursue his PhD at the University of Glasgow, Scotland. His doctoral research focuses on the discovery of new antiviral HIV-1 and VSV restriction factors. His findings have been published in reputable scientific journals and have gained the interest of the global scientific community. After completing his PhD in 2019, he worked as a post-doctoral researcher at the MRC-Centre for Virus Research (CVR) at the University of Glasgow, Scotland, UK. In 2020, he returned to Malaysia to work as a senior lecturer in the microbiology program at the Institute of Biological Sciences, Universiti Malaya (UM), Kuala Lumpur. He currently teaches public health microbiology, diagnostic microbiology, microbial pathogenesis, and virology to undergraduate students. In addition to teaching, he also conducts research on various aspects of microbiology, with a particular focus on viral diseases. His research aims to understand the mechanisms of viral replication and pathogenesis as well as develop novel strategies for the prevention and treatment of viral infections. He actively collaborates with other researchers, both locally and internationally, to contribute to the global understanding of infectious diseases. In 2023, he was awarded a prestigious ASEAN-India Research & Training (A-IRTF) Fellowship from the Department of Science & Technology, Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India for 3-month research attachment at the Indraprastha Institute of Information Technology Delhi (IIIT-Delhi).

Dr. Nurshafarina serves as a senior lecturer in the Department of Building Surveying at Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Housing, Building, and Planning (Building Surveying), a Master’s in Building Technology, and a PhD in Construction Materials and Technology, all conferred by Universiti Sains Malaysia. Before joining Universiti Malaya, Dr. Nurshafarina amassed considerable industry experience with a leading construction chemicals firm, where she specialized in designing sustainable concrete solutions and developing advanced chemical admixtures for both ready-mix and pre-cast concrete applications. Her research portfolio encompasses a breadth of cutting-edge construction technologies, with particular focus on sustainable cementitious materials, concrete admixtures and durability enhancement.

Dr. Nina Sakinah Ahmad Rofaie is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Decision Science at the Faculty of Business and Economics, Universiti Malaya. She earned her Ph.D. in Statistics from the same institution, where her doctoral research focused on evaluating the performance of LED road lighting compared to traditional HPSV lighting using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). Since completing her Ph.D., Dr. Nina has continued to specialize in performance measurement, particularly with the DEA approach. Her current research interests have expanded to include Halal talent development and the growth of the Halal industry in Malaysia. Additionally, she has been invited to lecture at both local and international institutions, sharing her expertise in quantitative research methods and data analysis. Her dedication to rigorous research and academic excellence is evident in her contributions to both the academic and professional communities. Dr. Nina's research portfolio reflects her commitment to addressing significant societal and economic issues through data-driven insights and innovative approaches.