Siti Zaidah Zainuddin is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of English Language. Her primary research interests lie in discourse studies, particularly genre analysis in both written and spoken academic discourse and corpus linguistics. In the field of language learning, she works on second language writing using several perspectives and frameworks as well teacher-learner interaction. Her publications address various topics on academic discourse practices including language and rhetorical strategies in oral defense and thesis writing by postgraduate students, and teacher agency. Zaidah holds several research grants focusing on genre studies in academic and legal discourses and teacher’s agency in language classrooms. She teaches both the undergraduate and postgraduate programmes. In addition to teaching and research, Zaidah has served as a UG program coordinator, Industrial Training coordinator for the English Language Department and the coordinator and consultant for various language programs with private organisations. 

Jillian Ooi started out as an environmental social scientist but shifted to studying marine plants because she is fascinated by the sea. For her Master’s degree in Environmental Management, she explored the effects of disturbances on seaweed communities. She later earned a PhD in Seagrass Biogeography at the University of Western Australia as an Endeavour International Postgraduate Scholarship recipient. Working under the mentorship of Professor Gary Kendrick and the late Dr Kimberly Van Niel, she studied the spatial patterns and ecology of subtidal seagrasslands in the Johor islands. There, she fell irrevocably under the spell of these overlooked yet vital ecosystems. Jillian’s research consists of 3 themes: (1) investigating ecosystem functions of seagrass, particularly their roles as habitats and feeding grounds for fish and megafauna, (2) developing spatial distribution models for seagrass species in Southeast Asia, to provide an understanding of what makes a suitable seagrass habitat, and (3) developing effective restoration methods for seagrass and coral reefs. Her work has contributed to the gazettement of the Kepulauan Lima marine park in Johor (2023), strengthened protection for the Tioman Marine Park in Pahang (2007), and supported the establishment of a dugong sanctuary in Johor (2005 and 2017). Jillian enjoys working with local communities, spearheading and nurturing community-driven seagrass conservation initiatives in the Sungai Johor and Sungai Pulai estuaries. Her efforts focus on empowering local stakeholders through capacity building in seagrass monitoring and mapping. In 2015, Jillian received the Komai Fellowship to study the satoumi approach to seagrass restoration in Japan. In 2022, she was among six global researchers awarded the Pew Marine Fellowship for her work in seagrass restoration and to raise awareness about seagrass in Malaysia through the cultural arts approach. She blended the performing arts with science to create Seruan Setu, a groundbreaking gamelan music concert dedicated to seagrass ecosystems. When she is not underwater watching grass grow, Jillian is the Artistic Director and Music Director of Rhythm in Bronze, an award-winning contemporary gamelan ensemble based in Kuala Lumpur. Founded in 1997, Rhythm in Bronze is known for its pioneering efforts in showcasing the Malay gamelan as its main medium of musical expression. Jillian’s music direction and compositions for the gamelan have won awards and/or received nominations at the BOH Cameronian Arts Awards, which celebrates outstanding performances in music, dance, theatre and musical theatre in Malaysia. She considers the Sea her main source of musical inspiration. 

She graduated BDS (Malaya) 1991, obtained Fellowship in Dental Surgery, Royal College of Surgeons of England (1998) after an Oral Maxillofacial Residency, trained at University of Hong Kong, obtained MOrth (Hong Kong) 2005, MOrth, Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (2006), and FDS RCSEd (2015). She served at Universiti Malaya from 2000, currently Head of Orthodontic Discipline, Head of AOBRRG research group and past Head of Department of Paediatric Dentistry & Orthodontics for 4 years. She has 21 ISI-indexed and 2 Scopus publications. Having supervised 14 postgraduate and 13 undergraduate research projects to completion, with 7 on-going research projects (3 international), her research scope includes growth modification with functional appliances, dentofacial deformities, clear aligners, sleep apnea, and stem cell. She has various national and international industrial and external research group collaborations. She reviews for 9 international ISI journals and 4 national journals, is panel for Malaysian Dental Council, Professional Qualifying Examination and has reviewed for National Specialist Registration for Orthodontic specialists. She is part of the UMRG grant panel review. She is external examiner for Royal Colleges of England and Glasgow, MOrth Part II and MFDS, Master and PhD postgraduate programs at IIUM, UiTM, Universiti Malaya.