Associate Prof. Dr. Thabet Ahmed Abdallah Abu-Alhaj, Specialized Lecturer And Researcher In Islamic And Qur’anic Studies Education and Academic Experience Ph.D. in Tafsir and Qur’anic Sciences, Yarmouk University, Irbid, Jordan — 2009 MA. in Usuluddin, University of Jordan, Amman, Jordan — 2003 PA. in Da’wah and Usuluddin, World Islamic Sciences and Education University, Amman, Jordan — 1995 Associate Prof. Dr.  Abu Alhaj has been serving at the University of Malaya since 2012, where he has gained extensive experience in teaching, supervision, curriculum development, and international research collaboration. His contributions have significantly advanced the field of Islamic and Qur’anic Studies within a global academic context. Professional Summary: A distinguished academic specializing in Islamic Studies in general and Qur’anic Studies in particular, proficient in both Arabic and English. He has dedicated his career to advancing the field of scientific research methodology, teaching and supervising research in both languages, and promoting intellectual integration between Islamic and modern sciences. He has authored and published over 86 scholarly works in reputable international journals and academic platforms in Arabic and English. He has supervised more than 50 postgraduate students from over 25 different countries, guiding them to complete their master’s and doctoral theses with excellence. His academic leadership extends beyond teaching and supervision. He serves as an editor for several highly ranked international scientific journals, and as a reviewer for numerous master’s and doctoral theses at both local and international levels. He is also recognized as an international trainer in scientific research and academic writing, and has actively participated in more than 70 international scientific conferences. Scientific Research Interests and Specializations Islamic Studies in general. Qur’anic Studies in particular. Contemporary and Comparative Intellectual Studies. Applied Islamic Studies. Traditional and Contemporary Scientific Research Methodologies. Management and Implementation of Scientific Research Projects Teaching Philosophy and Vision for Academic Development: He firmly believes in the universality and purposefulness of scientific research and the need for its continuous development. His academic philosophy emphasizes linking Islamic Studies with other scientific disciplines to achieve cognitive integration and holistic understanding. He advocates for innovative, non-traditional academic approaches that are closely connected to contemporary realities, aiming to provide practical and objective solutions that serve humanity as a whole. His vision for academic development centers on: Integrating undergraduate education with field-based learning; Connecting postgraduate research with applied and real-world contexts; and Promoting collaborative teamwork and academic excellence within the global research community. Through his academic, supervisory, and editorial contributions, he continues to play an influential role in shaping the future of Islamic and Qur’anic Studies at both the regional and international levels.

Professor Dr. Yvonne Lim Ai Lian is the Associate Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic and International) at Universiti Malaya and a Senior Professor in the Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine. She is also a member of the University Senate. A Fellow and former Council Member of the Academy of Sciences Malaysia (ASM). She was the co-chair of the APRU Asia Pacific Women in Leadership (APWiL) Programme and currently serves on the International Advisory Committee of the Association of Pacific Rim Universities. Throughout her distinguished career, she has held several key leadership roles at both university and national levels, including Deputy Dean (Research) at the Faculty of Medicine, Director of the International Relations Office, and Associate Vice-Chancellor of Global Engagement at Universiti Malaya. She has also served as President of the Malaysian Society of Parasitology and Tropical Medicine and as a Council Member of the Academy of Sciences Malaysia. Her research focuses on deciphering the intricate host-parasite-environment interactions that contribute to disease in indigenous and underserved communities, aiming to develop multi-targeted solutions. Additionally, she investigates the diversity of gut and skin microbiomes across populations spanning various socioeconomic and ecological landscapes, from traditional to industrialized societies. For nearly three decades, she has dedicated her work to studying infectious diseases among the Orang Asli (indigenous) communities of Peninsular Malaysia, collaborating closely with Hospital Orang Asli Gombak. Her contributions to national policy, including the Orang Asli Development Policy (DPOA), reflect her deep commitment to community welfare. Her collaboration with New York University led to a groundbreaking discovery, published in Science (2016), revealing how low levels of helminth (worm) infections promote the growth of probiotic gut microbiota. Her gut microbiome research has since expanded to studies among HIV and cancer patients. More recently, in partnership with the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in the USA, she has deepened investigations into parasitic infections, gut microbiome dynamics, and the relationship between skin infections and the skin microbiome which resulted in a publication in Cell (2025). Her work is supported by numerous national and international grants, including the prestigious US NIH R01 grants. She was recently awarded another NIH R01 grant as the principal investigator. She has published over 250 peer-reviewed scientific articles, contributed to nine book chapters, and authored three books. As a dedicated mentor, she has supervised more than 40 postgraduate students to completion and hosted researchers through extensive collaborations with institutions in the US, UK, Australia, Germany, Japan, the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, and Singapore. She has also held visiting research and academic positions at leading institutions, including the Scottish Parasite Diagnostic and Reference Laboratory in Glasgow, Scotland; the Department of Veterinary Science at the University of Melbourne, Australia; the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), USA; and the Department of Molecular Parasitology and Tropical Diseases at Taipei Medical University, Taiwan. She has earned numerous accolades, including the MSPTM Medal for outstanding young scientists, the Universiti Malaya Excellent Lecturer Award for Science Disciplines, the Top Research Scientists of Malaysia Award and inducted as a Fellow of the Academy of Sciences Malaysia. She has been consistently recognized in Stanford University's list of the top 2% of scientists globally in her field. She was also awarded the Fulbright Scholar Award for a fellowship at the Laboratory of Parasitic Diseases at NIAID, NIH, USA. More recently, she received the prestigious Sandosham Gold Medal Award, the highest honour from the Malaysian Society of Parasitology and Tropical Medicine, in recognition of her outstanding contributions to parasitology and tropical medicine. Deeply passionate about her work with the Orang Asli communities, she remains committed to inspiring and empowering her colleagues and students to reach their fullest potential.  

Wenn-Chyau Lee received his BSc (Hons) degree in Biomedical Sciences from University of Malaya, Malaysia in year 2011, and graduated with his PhD in Medical Sciences from University of Malaya in year 2014. Subsequently, he joined Singapore Immunology Network (SIgN, A*STAR) as a research fellow in Laurent Renia’s Laboratory. He was appointed as SIgN fellow after receiving OF-YIRG grant awarded by the National Medical Research Council (NMRC) of Singapore in year 2018. He joined the newly formed A*STAR ID Labs as an investigator in year 2021. Not long after that, he joined the Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya as a senior lecturer. As a parasitologist, he has involved in studies encompassing a number of medically important parasites and disease vectors. His main research interest revolves around the immuno-pathobiology of malaria. He has been investigating and deciphering the roles of rosetting (a phenomenon where a red blood cell infected with malaria parasite is stably adhered to uninfected red blood cells, forming a flower-like structure called ‘rosette’) in the pathogenesis of malaria. He also involved in research projects that contributed the draft genomes of Brugia pahangi, Toxoplasma gondii, Anopheles cracens and An. maculatus. He has been working as a research fieldworker in different places including the Thai-Burmese Border, China, peninsular Malaysia and Malaysian Borneo. As different laboratory settings are equipped differently, he enjoys adapting and improvising facilities available in the field sites to conduct experiments. To date, he has published (as first/ corresponding author) in a number of highly reputable journals such as Blood, eLife, EBioMedicine, Frontiers in Immunology, and Frontiers in Microbiology, and has become reviewers for journals such as Scientific Reports, Tropical Biomedicine, PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, Acta Tropica, Bio-protocols, Journal of Blood Medicine, Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology, and Frontiers in Medicine. He is also a review editor of Frontiers in Microbiology.