Associate Professor Dr. Norhamizan Hamzah is a progressive clinician-academic at the forefront of neurorehabilitation and rehabilitation medicine, known for integrating advanced technologies with evidence-based clinical practice. Serving at the Universiti Malaya’s Faculty of Medicine, she brings a future-oriented vision to healthcare—balancing clinical excellence with academic leadership and cross-disciplinary collaboration. Her research and clinical portfolio spans robotic-assisted therapy, technology-based cognitive rehabilitation strategies and functional recovery in brain injury and neurodevelopmental disorders. She has played a pivotal role in advancing patient care through innovations such as rehabilitation robotics, diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), and personalized cognitive interventions. A dedicated medical educator, Dr. Norhamizan leads knowledge development, chairs academic activities and commitees, and mentors medical trainees, residents, and postgraduate researchers across disciplines. Her supervision has shaped a new generation of healthcare professionals grounded in both clinical rigor and research innovation. Respected for her leadership in academic governance and national/international-level rehabilitation projects, she is committed to transforming rehabilitation into a technology-enhanced, human-centered field—redefining what recovery can look like in the 21st century.

Hanafi Hussin is an Honorary Professor at the Department of Southeast Asian Studies, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Universiti Malaya.  He has received his Master's Degree and PhD in Cultural and Performing Arts Studies.  His current focus is on Southeast Asian anthropology, particularly ritual and performing arts. He actively researches and publishes on rituals and identity of the Kadazandusun community of Sabah, particularly in Penampang and Tuaran Sabah and Bajau and Bajau Laut/Sama Dilaut of the east coast of Borneo and Southern Philippines. He was the Dean of the Faculty of Creative Arts (2022-2024) and Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (2016-2018). Before his retirement, he also served as Head of the Maritime Social Sciences and Humanities Unit, Institute of Ocean and Earth Sciences (IOES) and Head of Universiti Malaya Migration Research Centre (UMMRC), Universiti Malaya. He was appointed and served as a Visiting Professor at various universities, Huazhong Agriculture University, Wuhan, China (2024), Thammasat University (2021), Universitas Indonesia (2020-2021) and Universitas Negeri Yogyakarta, Indonesia (2020). He can be reached at hanafih@um.edu.my.

  Dr Benedict Francis is an associate professor and consultant psychiatrist at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya. He graduated from the Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya and was selected for the Brightsparks scholarship to pursue his Masters in Psychological Medicine at his alma mater, the University of Malaya. Subsequently, he completed a fellowship program in Aged Healthcare Services at St Vincent’s Hospital, Melbourne, in 2019. Dr Benedict is one of the research leads at the Psychological Medicine Research Unit and has been involved as principal investigator and sub-investigator for several international, multi-centre clinical trials including the ESCAPE-TRD, REMISSIO, ASPIRE, SUSTAIN-3, ROUTE 6, and CONNEX-2 trials. He has also published in several international and regional peer-reviewed journals and presented in international congresses. Dr Benedict has and continues to exhibit stellar leadership in his field. He was part of the Ministry of Health’s  National Advisory Board committee that drafted the guidelines for prescribing and dispensing Esketamine, a novel adjunct antidepressant treatment. In addition, he has been part of several steering commitees that paved new directions in mental health. For example, he was appointed to be part of the Southeast Asian steering committee to develop a patient decision aid for people living with schizophrenia. He is also part of the regional Asia Pacific steering commitee to develop a module for cognitive impairment associated with schizophrenia (CIAS). In 2023, he received the Excellent Service Award from the University of Malaya in recognition of his contributions. Dr Benedict is regarded as a Key Opinion Leader in the field of treatment resistant depression and schizophrenia and is a regular invited speaker at both local and regional events. He is actively involved in several associations at various levels. He is a life member of the Malaysian Psychiatric Association and a corresponding member of the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology. He is also a member of the Asian College of Neuropsychopharmacology. He was inducted as Fellow of the Pacific Rim College of Psychiatrists.  Besides clinical medicine, Dr Benedict is keenly interested in the various facets of research ethics, particularly in the subfield of Neuroethics. He was recently awarded a scholarship under the auspices of the Fogarty International Centre of the United States National Institute of Health in collaboration with Johns Hopkins University, to pursue his Master's in Health Research and Ethics at the University of Malaya.