Dr. Yoong Soo May received her Bachelor degree in Remedial Education; both Masters and Ph.D. in Special Education. She is currently a Senior Lecturer at the Department of Educational Psychology and Counselling, Faculty of Education, Universiti Malaya, where she began her appointment on 26 September 2025. Prior to joining Universiti Malaya, she served as an Assistant Director at the Special Education Division, Ministry of Education Malaysia from 27 December 2022 to 25 September 2025. Dr. Yoong’s research interests include special education, learning disabilities, specific learning disorders, and inclusive education. She has obtained 3 copyrights for her innovative works: Dyscalculia Module, Metic Board, and Dyscalculia Checklist. In addition, she had received 9 international awards and 7 national awards. Among them are: Platinum Award in 2nd Innovation for Disability-Inclusive Education Competition (iDIEC2025), Excellent Paper Award in International Conference on Arts, Education and Social Science (ICAES 2023) in Paris, Top 20 Finalist in Special Education Innovation Award (SEIA) 2022, and Best Paper Award in International Conference on Education, Ethics, Legal, Social Science and Technology (ICEELST2020). Dr. Yoong has actively participated in innovation competitions, where she has received 4 Gold, 4 Silver, and 1 Bronze medals. Dr. Yoong was also actively participated in 3 Minute Thesis Competition, where she was also the Third Place Winner at the National Level Virtual Three Minute Thesis (3MT) Competition organised by Universiti Malaya in 2022. She has published 30 articles, (4 Scopus, 13 ERA, 13 refereed journal), 2 articles in conference proceeding, 8 books, 2 chapters in book, and 1 living reference work entry in Encyclopedia of Educational Innovation (SpringerNature Link). She had conducted many presentations either as invited speaker, workshop presenter, conference presenter at international and national conferences. Dr. Yoong also contributes to academic leadership as an External Examiner for the Diploma in Early Childhood Special Education Programme at Tunku Abdul Rahman University of Management and Technology (TAR UMT), from 1 July 2024 to 30 June 2027. Her community engagement includes delivering workshops, conducting train-the-trainer programmes for special educators and parents, serving as a jury member in innovation competitions, and reviewing for several reputable academic journals. Currently, she supervises Ph.D. students (Thesis), Master’s students (Project) and Bachelor Degree students.

Originally trained as an algal molecular taxonomist and phylogeneticist, Dr Poong has a diversified research portfolio specializing in gene and metabolites expression studies using omics tools, genetic diversity and population structure of fish and seaweed, algal physiological and biochemical stress response and adaptation to climate changes, and shifts in microbiome using metagenomics. Dr Poong plays a key role in developing research proposals to attract local and international funding, managing research grants, organization of international conferences and workshops. She is an Honorary (Lifetime) Member of the International Society for Applied Phycology since June 2024.

Born in the vibrant royal town of Klang, Selangor, Professor Mohd Fakhrul Zamani Bin Abdul Kadir (MFZKadir) is an accomplished individual. He earned his Bachelor's Degree in Computational and Electronics Physics from the esteemed Universiti Malaya in 2006, setting the foundation for his academic journey. Demonstrating his determination and drive, he wasted no time in launching his career as a manufacturing executive at Texas Instruments (M) Sdn. Bhd. Shortly thereafter, in 2007, he eagerly pursued his Ph.D studies. What truly sets Professor Kadir apart is his exceptional achievement of completing his Ph.D. program at the Universiti Malaya in less than three years. This remarkable feat exemplifies his dedication and intellectual prowess, earning him a distinguished award in 2010. His scholarly accomplishments have undeniably positioned him as a trailblazer in his field. From 2010 to 2016, he served as a Senior Lecturer at the Physics Division, Centre for Foundation Studies in Science, Universiti Malaya, and since then, he has been promoted to the position of Associate Professor and subsequently to Professor at the Department of Physics, Faculty of Science. Additionally, he held the position of Deputy Director (Academic and Development) at the Centre from November 2014 to July 2016. His research aligns with SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy) and 9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure), as it focuses on developing innovative and sustainable materials for energy storage devices. Biopolymer electrolytes offer a promising alternative to traditional materials, contributing to a more accessible, environmentally friendly, and technologically advanced energy landscape. Throughout his tenure at the Universiti Malaya, he has secured funding and grants totaling nearly RM 2 Million, authored 188 journal papers indexed in WoS, boasting a remarkable H index of 55. Moreover, he has successfully supervised the completion of 8 Ph.D. and 6 MSc. candidates. Demonstrating his commitment to academic rigor, he actively serves as a reviewer for prestigious journals, including those published by Springer and Elsevier. Since 2010, he has held the esteemed position of Head of the Advanced Materials Lab in the Centre for Foundation Studies in Science. Notably, his exceptional achievements during his postgraduate studies garnered him several prestigious awards, both domestically and internationally. Among his notable accolades are the Prize Ministry of Education and Science of The Russian Federation and the Silver Medal at the International Trade Fair 2007 (Iena) in Nuremberg, Germany, awarded by the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Government. Continuing his pursuit of research excellence, his work gained international recognition once again during his tenure as an academician at the university. His research on "Electrical analysis of amorphous corn starch-based polymer electrolyte membranes doped with LiI" was acknowledged with the exclusive 'Physica Scripta Highlights of 2013' Collection by Institute of Physics (IOP).  He has received several gold, silver and bronze medal awards in international and local invention exhibitions, including IENA, ITEX, MTE, DSSS, PECIPTA and PITRAM. Additionally, in 2020, 2022, 2023 and 2024, he was listed as one of the world's top 2% scientists by Stanford University. To acknowledge his outstanding contributions, Universiti Malaya awarded him the most outstanding young researcher in the science discipline for the year 2022. In 2025, Professor Kadir's contributions to research were recognized by the goverment with the prestigious Malaysia's Research Star Award (MRSA). Nominated by Clarivate Analytics, he received the award from the Minister of Higher Education, YB Dato' Seri Diraja Dr. Zambry Abd Kadir.