Ranita Hisham is a Senior Lecturer at the Department of Library and Information Science, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Universiti Malaya. Prior to joining academia in December 2023, she served for 15 years as a Senior Librarian at the Universiti Malaya Library, where she was primarily based at the Medical Library. During her tenure, she actively contributed to the Medical Librarian Group (MLG) of the Librarians Association of Malaysia, serving as Secretary from 2020 to 2023. She holds a Bachelor's Degree in Library Science and a Master’s in Information Management from Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), and obtained her PhD from the Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Malaya, in 2019. Her doctoral research explored the views and experiences of primary care physicians regarding evidence-based medicine in Malaysia, offering a new paradigm for how librarians can support and engage with evidence-based medical research. She has published in reputable journals and collaborated with researchers from various disciplines. She is trained in evidence-based medicine (EBM) searching skills and has conducted numerous workshops and talks on literature searching for systematic reviews. She also provides consultation services to students and academics on systematic review search strategies. Her current research interests include evidence-based practice support in libraries, medical librarianship, information literacy, user needs and information-seeking behaviour, hospital library services, health information services, systematic reviews, and academic librarianship.

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

Dr. Seong Lin DING is Associate Professor of Sociolinguistics at the Faculty of Languages and Linguistics, University of Malaya. She was formerly an OeAD scholar and a Korean Foundation for Advanced Studies Fellow. She has held visiting positions at the University of Manchester (UK), Lancaster University (UK), Hong Kong Polytechnic University (HK), Yonsei University (South Korea), and University of Glamorgan (University of South Wales, UK). She has also been invited to present lectures and seminars at the University of Zadar (Croatia), University of Graz (Austria), and National Cheng Kung University (Taiwan). Her research focuses on minority/heritage languages and communities. She is also interested in migration linguistics, sociology of education, language and identity, and linguistic landscape. Her academic articles have appeared in leading journals in linguistics (e.g., Applied Linguistics Review; Current Issues in Language Planning; International Journal of Bilingualism; International Journal of Heritage Studies; Language in Society; Lingua; Multilingua; Social Semiotics), and educational research (e.g., Australasian Journal of Educational Technology; Educational Technology Research and Development; Innovations in Education and Teaching International). Her most recent publication examines the migration from mainland China to Malaysia from the perspectives of language, social presence, and politics of identity: Chinese on the Move: Migration, Language, and Identity (2025, Palgrave Macmillan).