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.

Wei Ru Wong obtained her Ph.D. and B.Eng. degrees from the Department of Electrical Engineering at the Universiti Malaya, Malaysia.  She is currently a Senior Lecturer at the Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Malaya.   Her research interests span widely across the photonics areas, especially in the development of planar waveguides and optical fibers using surface plasmon for sensing applications.  She was the recipient of Malaysia Toray Science Foundation (MTSF) Science and Technology Award in 2017 and she was one of the 20 honourees of the MIT Technology Review Innovators Under 35 Asia Pacific competition in 2020. She has published more than 40 top quality internationally refereed journal papers with over 600 citations. She is also a Professional Engineer registered under the Board of Engineers Malaysia.

Wenn-Chyau Lee received his BSc (Hons) degree in Biomedical Sciences from Universiti Malaya, Malaysia in 2011, and graduated with his PhD in Medical Sciences from Universiti Malaya in 2014. Subsequently, he joined Singapore Immunology Network (SIgN, A*STAR) as a research fellow. He was appointed as SIgN fellow (young investigator) in 2018. He joined A*STAR ID Labs as an investigator in 2021. Subsequently, he joined the Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Malaya as a senior lecturer. Currently, he is also an adjunct investigator of A*STAR ID Labs, Singapore. As a parasitologist, he has involved in studies encompassing several medically important parasites. 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 Plasmodium-infected red blood cell is stably adhered to uninfected red blood cells, forming a flower-like structure called ‘rosette’) in the pathogenesis of malaria. Besides, he is exploring the potential of applying different biocontrol strategies to eliminate vector-borne diseases. He has worked 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, as well as coordinating the insectarium and Arthropod Containment Level 2(ACL2) facility in the Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Malaya. To date, he has published (as first/ corresponding author) in reputable journals such as Blood, Frontiers in Immunology, Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology, eLife, EBioMedicine, Entomologia Generalis, and Trends in Parasitology. Apart from reviewing manuscripts for various journals, as well as evaluating grant proposals for local and overseas funders, he is also an associate editor of Frontiers in Microbiology and one of the editorial board members for the journal Decoding Infection and Transmission.  He has involved in various teaching activities for students from different programs in Universiti Malaya, such as the Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS), Bachelor of Biomedical Science, Master of Pathology (MPATH), and Master of Medical Parasitology and Entomology, as well as the students from overseas institutes, such as the Master of Science Program in Public Health, Infectious Diseases and Epidemiology, Faculty of Public Health, Mahidol University, Thailand. Besides participating as the coordinator for courses and several projects in the department, he is also the instructor of the microscopy training for the Diploma in Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (DTM&H) co-organized by the University of Glasgow and Universiti Malaya. He served as a moderator in "Implementation Research (WPR-facilitated)", a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) by RTC-TDR-WHO in 2025. He has been a member of the Research Management Unit (RMU), Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Malaya since 2022. He is also a member of the A*STAR Global Network (A*GN), Singapore, the Malaysian Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (MSBMB), and the Malaysian Society of Parasitology and Tropical Medicine (MSPTM).