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).  

Nor Badrul Anuar is an accomplished academic leader with a wealth of experience in various leadership positions. He currently serves as the Associate Vice Chancellor for Infrastructure and Information Services and acts as the Chief Information Officer at Universiti Malaya, where he leads various university services, including ICT, physical infrastructure, sports, and library services. As a senate member, he also chairs many ICT and infrastructure development committees. In addition, he leads the Centre of Research for Cyber Security & Network (CSNET). Nor Badrul Anuar began his academic journey at Universiti Malaya, earning his Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Computer Science in 2001 and 2003, respectively. He obtained his PhD at the Centre for Information Security & Network Research, University of Plymouth, UK 2012. After joining Universiti Malaya as a tutor in 2001, he was promoted to lecturer in 2003, senior lecturer in 2008, and associate professor in 2017. In 2022, he was promoted to full professor at the Faculty of Computer Science and Information Technology at Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur. In addition, he is also serving as a visiting professor at the Institute of Informatics and Computing in Energy (IICE), Universiti Tenaga Nasional, Malaysia. He has supervised numerous post-doctoral fellows and research students, including eighteen PhD and six master's research students, in the computer network security and applications domain between 2012 and 2022. He has published extensively on computer security and applications, with his work being featured in academic journals both domestically and internationally. As of January 2023, his 152 published papers have attracted 7,670 citations and obtained an H-index of 41, making him a highly cited scholar. He is recognised as an expert in several subject categories, including computer science, engineering, science & technology - other topics, telecommunications, and information science & library science, by Web of Science. In 2022, Stanford University recognised him as one of the world's top 2% scientists. Currently, he serves on the editorial board of two journals, including the Journal of Network and Computer Applications (JNCA), which has an impact factor of 7.574. He has received numerous honours and recognitions throughout his illustrious career. He was honoured by Universiti Malaya for eight consecutive years, from 2012 to 2019, for his outstanding service. In 2015, he was recognised as an outstanding lecturer in science at Universiti Malaya and was awarded the university's highest honour, the Universiti Malaya Excellence Award (Anugerah Cemerlang Universiti Malaya). His research interests are intrusion detection systems, high-speed networks, and management information systems. Specifically, he focuses on intrusion detection systems, intrusion response systems, security events and management, digital forensic and network security, switching, routing, IPv6, and multicast. His current research explores network traffic classification and its applications and the role of federated learning in enhancing network security.    

Dr. Sharifah Muhairah Shahabudin is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Political Science, Public Administration and Development Studies at the Faculty of Business & Economics, University of Malaya. She earned her PhD from the same university’s Faculty of Economics and Administration in 2014, following a Master of Science in Administration from Universiti Teknologi MARA (UITM) and a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Canterbury University, New Zealand. Her research focuses on socioeconomics, social stratification, gender, youth development, and entrepreneurship, with numerous publications in both local and international journals, as well as media contributions in these areas. She is also an active member of the Gender Budget Group, an initiative led by Engender Consultancy and Women’s Aid Organisation to advance gender-responsive budgeting in national policy. Before joining academia, Dr. Sharifah spent a decade in various professional roles, including as a Research Assistant with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Malaysia, where her work on the *Empowering Women Through Entrepreneurship* project sparked her interest in research, ultimately leading to her doctoral studies. Her commitment to development issues continues to drive her research and publications today.