Prof. Dr. Sarinder Kaur is a distinguished academic at the University of Malaya, where she serves as Associate Professor at the Data Science & Bioinformatics Laboratory, Institute of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science. She is also an Adjunct Professor at Kings University College, Malaysia. Her academic journey and research career have been driven by a commitment to harnessing data for impactful, real-world solutions, particularly in the domains of AI, data science, bioinformatics, health informatics, and database technology. Dr. Sarinder earned her PhD in Bioinformatics as well as her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Computer Science from the University of Malaya. Over the years, she has made substantial contributions to biomedical research and digital health, publishing over 145 scientific articles, including 49 indexed in Web of Science. Her work has been cited extensively, earning her an H-index of 13 (WoS) and 16 (Google Scholar). Her research has spanned diverse topics—from AI-driven cancer data ecosystems and bioinformatics meta-analyses of COVID-19 gene expression, to EMR optimization, radiology text mining, and traditional medicine data systems. She has led multi-institutional research collaborations involving the University of Cambridge, University of Saskatchewan, University Malaya Medical Centre, and Homi Bhabha Cancer Institute, among others. One of her key contributions is the development of digital frameworks and health data platforms that support clinical services, research, and policymaking. A passionate educator, Dr. Sarinder has supervised over 30 postgraduate students and teaches extensively at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. Her courses cover computer networking, big data, advanced database systems, bioinformatics tools, and digital health technologies. Beyond academia, Dr. Sarinder plays an active role as a consultant in the Malaysian public and private sectors. She served as Project Director for Sigma Teguh Sdn Bhd, leading the development of machine learning algorithms to analyze national issues such as inflation and the PerantiSiswa program. She also partnered with the Ministry of Health to develop bioinformatics pipelines for analyzing COVID-19 variants and vaccine responses—demonstrating her ability to bridge science and policy through data-driven insights. She is a respected contributor to national and international academic development. Dr. Sarinder has served on academic accreditation panels for UTAR, IMU, and Multimedia University, and has been invited to speak at high-level forums including Monash University’s Data Science Seminar, MOH’s Digital Health Workshops, and the Health Informatics 2024 webinar. She is currently the Treasurer of the Asia Pacific Bioinformatics Network (APBioNet) and serves on the editorial boards of two prestigious journals: BMC Bioinformatics and BMC Medical Informatics and Decision Making. Dr. Sarinder’s accomplishments have been recognized with multiple honors, including the Hind Rattan Award (2014 and 2017), the University of Malaya Excellent Service Award, and medals for innovation at national exhibitions such as INATEX and INNOVATE. In 2020, she was awarded the Khidmat Setia (Loyal Service) Award by the University of Malaya. Her commitment to education extends into the community. She has organized coding and STEM workshops for schoolchildren across Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, and Putrajaya, and actively contributes to social initiatives through her leadership roles in the Malaysian Consumer Movement and Pertubuhan Pembangunan Insan Sikh Perak, where she champions women’s development and digital literacy. Through her academic, consultancy, and community service work, Dr. Sarinder Kaur continues to be a trailblazer in advancing data-driven innovation in healthcare and education—both in Malaysia and internationally. Currently, Dr. Sarinder is contributing to the development of a Healthcare Data Safe Haven Infrastructure as part of the AI in Medicine Initiative at the University of Malaya. 

Farid Mohammadi is a Lecturer at the University of Malaya, Malaysia, specialising in 19th-century British literature, travel narratives, and environmental aesthetics. His research focuses primarily on British aesthetic traditions of the 18th and 19th centuries, particularly the Sublime, the Picturesque, Victorian material culture, and the works of J.R.R. Tolkien. He completed his PhD at the University of Malaya with a dissertation on Tolkien’s literary landscapes. Since 2023, Farid has served as Deputy Editor for the English Department’s journal, SARE: Southeast Asian Review of English.Farid has published several papers on Tolkien, with manuscripts appearing in leading WoS-indexed journals including Oxford University Press’s British Journal of Aesthetics, Wiley’s Literature Compass, Routledge’s Critique: Studies in Contemporary Fiction, The Explicator, International Feminist Journal of Politics, Johns Hopkins University Press’s Victorian Review, Routledge’s Journal of Postcolonial Writing, Edinburgh University Press’s Victoriographies, and the Oxford Literary Circle’s Journal of Inklings Studies. He is currently working on two monographs: one on Tolkien’s literary landscapes and another on Tolkien’s engagement with philosophy.

Dr. Syakirah Rifa’in@Mohd Rifain is a Senior Lecturer for Department of Arabic and Middle Eastern Languages at the Faculty of Languages and Linguistics, UM. She graduated from Islamic Science University of Malaysia in Arabic Language and Communication Studies. She obtained her Master in Modern Language Studies in Arabic Language, Universiti Malaya. She completed her PhD in Arabic Language at Faculty of Languages and Linguistics, UM. Her research interest area includes Balaghah, Pragmatic and Semantic. Currently, she is involved in research related to Arabic for Specific Purpose in University Malaya.