Amira Firdaus is an Associate Professor at Universiti Malaya’s Department of Media and Communication Studies, Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences. Amira's core expertise is Positive/Constructive Communication with practical and conceptual applications across three fields: Communication, Higher Education, and Positive Psychology. Within these areas, Amira's interest in positive/constructive communication is implicitly integrated into her work in digital ethnography, e-learning, constructive journalism, positive education, positive organizations, and active ageing.   Amira's current multidisciplinary foci include: Adult ADHD/ADD media and communication; faculty wellbeing & happiness; online learning instructional design & communication; empathetic/inclusive instructional communication. Amira recently completed her term as Deputy Director for Professional Development / Head for Teaching & Learning at UM's Academic Development & Enhancement Centre (ADEC) (2014-2022). Amira holds a PhD in communication from the University of Melbourne. *Students seeking PhD or MA supervision with Amira Firdaus are kindly encouraged to email amira_firdaus@um.edu.my before submitting your application online.  ______________________________________________________________________    

Dr Jaime Jacqueline Jayapalan is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Molecular Medicine at the Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Malaya (UM). She has extensive professional experience in academia and research, including visiting scholar positions in Sri Lanka and India. Dr Jayapalan's academic journey began with a bachelor’s degree in biomedical science from the School of Health Sciences at Universiti Sains Malaysia, where she graduated with First Class honours in 2005. She then pursued a master’s degree in medical sciences from the Faculty of Medicine at UM (2009). Subsequently, she obtained a PhD in Biochemistry/ Proteomics (2015) and recently, a Master of Business Administration degree in Human Resource Management from the same institution (2021). In addition to her academic pursuits, Dr Jayapalan has been actively involved in securing research grants and has successfully obtained funding from various sources. These grants have provided essential financial support for her research endeavours and have facilitated the advancement of scientific knowledge in her field. Notably, she received funding from the Ministry of Higher Education, Malaysia, for projects such as the identification of prostate cancer biomarkers, the exploration of predictors for early detection of cardiovascular changes in high-adiposity female adults, and the investigation of biochemical, metabolic, and proteomics changes in different phenotypes of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. She has also been awarded scholar grants by the Asian Universities Alliance for her outstanding research contributions. With over 725 citations and an H-index of 16 according to Google Scholar, Dr. Jayapalan has made a significant impact on her field. Dr Jayapalan's dedication to research, combined with her impressive academic credentials, publication record, and extensive funding success, establishes her as a prominent and respected figure in the field of molecular medicine. Her expertise and contributions have greatly advanced the understanding of cancer biomarkers and hold significant potential for improving diagnostic methods and treatment strategies in the future.

Rizal was part of the very first batch of Sport Science students that graduated from University of Malaya in 1999. In year 2000, he went on to pursue an MSc (Human Movement) at the University of Western Australia, graduated the following year and started to teach in UM in 2001. He formally completed his Phd from the Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Malaya in 2012; investigating the critical parameters of the ten-pin bowling delivery. Rizal’s primary focus is in on technical performance enhancement of various sport skills. More recent research include studying the reliability of the taekwondo scoring system, designing an apparatus to help the visually impaired exercise and; looking at the effects of leg length discrepancies on gait. He has also done work related in anthropometry and talent identification. Moreover, Rizal has a particularly keen interest in investigating and finding solutions for applied problems in an array of different fields. He was the Deputy Director of Undergraduate Studies & Development at the Centre for Sport & Exercise Sciences, UM from 2016 to 2019. He has also lead the transformation of UM sports facilities, which has seen a near ten fold increase in fixed monthly income in the last two years. At the same time he was instrumental in establishing the UM Sports Science Support Services (UM4S) which is the current commercial arm of the sports science labs.  On the sporting side, Rizal is an accomplished floorball and hockey player that played at all age group levels for KL hockey up to national junior’s team. Now an active coach, recently winning the 2018 National U14 gold with the KL ladies hockey team. The highlight of his coaching career thus far is being the assistant coach for the national mens hockey team in 2008/09. He was also the coach cum player for the Malaysian Floorball Team and won a bronze medal at the 2015, 2019 & 2023 SEA Games, and currently serves as the president of the Malaysian Floorball Association.