Professor Chong Mei Chan, PhD, is an accomplished nursing academic and leader with over 20 years of expertise in gerontology, maternal-child health, and e-learning innovations. Currently a Professor at the University of Malaya (UM), she holds a BSc in Nursing (UM, 1995), MSc in Community Health (UPM, 2005), and PhD in Nursing (Monash University, 2014). Her research addresses critical public health issues, including Time banking for community-dwelling older adults, Chronic disease management, and nursing education adaptations during the COVID-19 pandemic. Beyond academia, she actively engages in community health promotion and has established international collaborations with institutions in Australia, China, Taiwan, Jordan, Iran, UAE, UK, Japan, Hong Kong, and Indonesia. As Head of UM’s Nursing Department (2018–2023), Prof. Chong led transformative initiatives that elevated the program into the QS World Rankings (150–200) and achieved top departmental status in research publications for two consecutive years. Her leadership extends to national policy, having served on the Malaysian Nursing Board, Nursing Council for Higher Education, and the Health White Paper Advisory Council (2022–2023). She also co-authored Malaysia’s strategic roadmap for health workforce development as a member of the Ministry of Health’s Strategic Engagement Group on Health Workforce and Governance. An internationally recognized scholar, Prof. Chong has published 100+ papers (70+ in WoS/ISI journals), authored 6 textbooks, and supervised 66+ postgraduate candidates (40 PhDs graduated). With 2,130+ citations (h-index: 25, Google Scholar), she is a frequent keynote speaker and external examiner for nursing programs across the Asia-Pacific. Her dedication to advancing nursing education is further demonstrated through her mentorship of early-career researchers and ongoing roles in interprofessional healthcare initiatives.  

Rozie Sarip, originally from Shah Alam, Selangor, completed her BSc in 2004 and MSc in 2007 at Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM). She earned her PhD in Inorganic Chemistry in 2012 from University College London, working with Dr. Graeme Hogarth FRSC and Prof. Gopinathan Sankar FRSC. Rozie began her career at SIRIM Bhd. as an Associate Researcher in August 2006 before becoming a Research Officer at the Institute for Medical Research (IMR) in Kuala Lumpur. After completing her PhD, she returned to IMR for another year and then joined the University of Malaya (UM) as a lecturer on March 10, 2014. She is a member of both the Royal Society of Chemistry and the Institut Kimia Malaysia. Her research focuses on: - Binuclear and cluster chemistry - Homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysis - Synthesis of phosphines and diphosphines stabilized clusters - Synthesis of thiazoline derivatives Rozie's group studies the chemistry of transition metals, emphasizing the synthesis of new transition metal complexes using NMR spectroscopy and X-ray crystallography. Their research includes designing new ligands and developing nanomaterials, with applications in catalysis and bio-inorganic fields, such as drug delivery systems and anti-cancer treatments. They collaborate widely with various local and international partners. Clusters, which contain three or more metal ions, are central to her research, particularly low-valent compounds that exhibit unique properties when combining different metal ions. Their work aims to leverage these compounds as precursors for metal nanoparticles, with a recent achievement in synthesizing small gold nanoparticles from gold-phosphine clusters. They also study the interface between large clusters and small nanoparticles to gain insights into their properties.

Dr Lai Lee Lee, BNurSc (Hons) (Major Teaching), MMedSci (Anesthesiology) and PhD MedSci (Medicine) Dr Lai is a senior lecturer at Universiti Malaya and Clinical Researcher in Oncoplastic Breast Unit at Universiti Malaya Medical Center (UMMC). She is actively involved in different areas of clinical research at Universiti Malaya. Her area of interest is mainly in Clinical Breast Surgical Oncology such as new techniques such as minimally invasive breast surgeries (endoscopic), ERAS in Breast Reconstruction, and developing Decision Aid in Breast Reconstruction. Apart from this, she is very active in clinical trials such as breast cancer oncological treatments such as few clinical trials such as the risk for breast cancer, Intraoperative Radiotherapy (TARGIT B Trial), improving outcomes for breast-conserving surgery and oncology treatment for breast cancer, Biomarkers research for breast cancers, Epidemiology research, Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Fatty Liver Disease (MAFLD) and Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) research.