Dr. Alwani Ghazali is attached to the Department of Aqidah and Islamic Thought at the Academy of Islamic Studies, University of Malaya. Her teaching, publication, research and supervision are focused on the issues related to Comparative Religion such as interreligious dialogue, diversity and peaceful co-existence. Previously, she served the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) between 2002-2015 before joining Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM) in 2016. She graduated for PhD from the University of Melbourne, Australia where she was a recipient of two competitive university awards, Melbourne International Research Scholarship (MIRS) and Melbourne International Fee Remission Scholarship (MIFRS) (2009-2012). Her PhD thesis entitled Dialogic Thinking in the Sirah: Its Significance and Application in Contemporary Muslim Discourse was suggested by the external examiner to be nominated as a winner of Chancellor’s Prize for Excellence in the PhD Thesis.  In her Bachelor Degree at IIUM, she majored in Usuluddin and Comparative Religion whereas her minor was Psychology. She then pursued Masters Degree in similar institution with the same specialization and graduated with a dissertation on a philosophical topic related to hermeneutics.  Apart from dialogue and interfaith relationship issues, Dr. Alwani is also interested in areas of Islamic Thought in issues such as contemporary framework for research in Islamic Studies and historical hermeneutics. Being an advocate of dialogue and peaceful co-existence, she is a research fellow at Islamic and Strategic Studies Institute (ISSI).

I am a researcher in human genetics specialising in copy number variations (CNVs) and the impacts of such genetic variations in human health. I am equipped with a comprehensive research background which include biotechnology (BSc), human molecular genetics, population genetics, genomics, cytogenetics, molecular and cellular biology, bioinformatics, high-performance computing and biostatistics (MSc, PhD). My aim is always to promote wellness and lifestyle solutions through scientifically-driven values and tools in providing personalised disease screenings, therapeutics and preventive strategies, specifically using structural genomic variations (and other genetic variations) as potential therapeutic and screening targets for non-communicable diseases, also known as NCDs (i.e. cancer, obesity, diabetes). As an educator, I always believe in the importance of education to create long-lasting awareness in health.  Specifically, I am interested to investigate differential patterns of structural genomic variations in order to identify the plausible causes, or origins of NCDs in our Malaysian population. I am fascinated by the diversity of our ethnic composition and intrigued to see the genetic patterns of such diverse background. Given the opportunity and the right collaborations, it is hoped that together, we could delineate the genomic architecture of our unique population, which could eventually provide more informative data that are beneficial in our fight against such diseases. My previous work thus far has involved the integration of various bioinformatics components in genetic analytics, and I would like to continue doing so since big data technology is becoming a norm in current and future biological scientific research.

Dr. Julian Wong Joon Ip is a psychiatrist and medical lecturer with the Department of Psychological Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Malaya. He graduated with Honours in Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) (Hons) from Monash University and later obtained his Master of Psychological Medicine (MPsy.Med.) from Universiti Malaya. Dr. Wong is actively engaged in undergraduate and postgraduate education, clinical practice, and academic research. He serves as a practicing psychiatrist at Universiti Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC), providing comprehensive inpatient and outpatient care. His clinical interests include psychiatric comorbidities, with a particular emphasis on consultation-liaison psychiatry, community-based mental health services, and psychotherapy. He is currently part of both the consultation-liaison psychiatry team and the Community Mental Health Services (CMHS) at UMMC. Dr. Wong is a certified Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I) clinician, having completed a training program by Dr. Gregg Jacobs (University of Massachusetts Medical School). He has also completed Pre-Core Training in Intensive Short-Term Dynamic Psychotherapy (ISTDP) under Dr. Samuel Cheng at Changi General Hospital and is embarking on a 3-year Core Training program in ISTDP as a subspecialty focus from 2026 to 2029. He is also a certified TMS clinician, having completed the International Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) Certification Course in London, organised by the Academy of Brain Stimulation. Dr. Wong actively promotes mental health literacy and wellness in the community. He frequently speaks at public forums, conferences, and symposia (locally, regionally, and internationally) to discuss latest evidence based clinical practices, promote mental wellness and improve mental health literacy in the community.