Dr Vairavan Narayanan is the Head of Neurosurgical services in University Malaya Medical Centre and the Head of Internationalisation Unit in the Faculty of Medicine, UM. He is a Professor and Consultant Neurosurgeon in University of Malaya. He did his basic medical degree as well as Masters degree in Surgery in the National University of Malaysia (UKM). He completed his Neurosurgical training in Addenbrookes Hospital, Cambridge in 2012, acquiring the FRCS (Neurosurgery) Fellowship from the Intercollegiate Board of Surgery in UK. He spent a further 6 months in 2012 doing an Honorary Fellowship in Epilepsy in University College London. He was recognised as a Malaysian National Specialist Registry (NSR) gazetted consultant Neurosurgeon in 2013. His clinical interest lies in Neuro Oncology, Epilepsy and Traumatic Brain Injury. He works closely with the adult and paediatric Neurologists in UM and has built up a successful Epilepsy surgery Unit which screens an average of 50 patients a year, of whom about 20 undergo surgery. With his fellow neurosurgeons and neuro-oncologists, he also runs a dedicated Neuro Oncology Unit which provides the highest standards of care for brain tumour patients. His research interests include genetic polymorphisms and mutations in primary and secondary brain tumors, traumatic brain injury and its sequeala, innovations in surgery and training. He has numerous publications in these fields. He is also actively involved in academic teaching and supervision of both undergraduate and post graduate Masters and PhD students. Dr Vairavan is a member of various National and International organisations including the Malaysian Medical Association, Neurosurgical Association of Malaysia, Malaysian Society of Neurosciences, General Medical Council of UK and a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh.  

Dr. Tang Li Yoong is an Associate Professor in the Department of Nursing Science, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Malaya (UM). Her academic expertise encompasses Renal Nursing, Nursing Research and Statistics, Nursing Education, and Clinical Nursing. She has extensive experience supervising undergraduate and postgraduate students in both clinical settings and nursing research, and has made substantial contributions to nursing education and professional practice. Since 2018, Dr. Tang has served as an Assessor for the Nursing Board Malaysia, where she plays a key role in curriculum evaluation and accreditation visits to public and private nursing institutions nationwide. Through this role, she ensures that nursing education programmes comply with professional, regulatory, and quality assurance standards, while remaining responsive to the evolving needs of the healthcare system. Dr. Tang’s research portfolio demonstrates a strong commitment to advancing nursing education, patient safety, and healthcare quality. She has led and co-led several funded research projects, including studies on online learning in nursing education (PV039-2021) and psychosocial and behavioural interventions for infection prevention in intensive care units (TR001A-2020). She is currently the Principal Investigator of a Green Health and Sustainability research project, which aims to integrate sustainable practices into nursing education and healthcare delivery in alignment with global sustainability goals. In addition, she has contributed as a co-researcher to multiple university- and nationally funded research grants. In terms of academic leadership and administration, Dr. Tang has held several key positions, including Head of the Department of Nursing Science (January 2024–December 2025), Programme Head for the Bachelor of Nursing Science (2013–2023), and member of the Public University Nursing Board. She has also served as course coordinator for core nursing courses, notably Nursing Research and Statistics, reflecting her commitment to academic excellence and curriculum quality. Dr. Tang is actively engaged in departmental and university-level task forces and committees, contributing to policy formulation, curriculum enhancement, and academic governance. She is a dedicated postgraduate supervisor, providing active supervision to Master’s and PhD students, and a mentor to early-career researchers, supporting research capacity building within the nursing profession. In summary, Dr. Tang Li Yoong is a distinguished nursing academic and leader whose expertise, leadership, and scholarly contributions have significantly advanced nursing education, research, and clinical practice in Malaysia and internationally.

Khoo Ying Hooi, PhD, is an Associate Professor of International Relations and Human Rights at Universiti Malaya (UM). Her research centres on human rights and democracy in Southeast Asia, with a particular focus on civil society, Southeast Asian politics, and the domestic politics of Malaysia and Timor-Leste. She also examines how the geopolitics of Southeast Asia shapes domestic political developments, rights discourses, civic spaces, and institutional contestations. In addition, she works extensively on human rights education and academic freedom. She is the author of “The Bersih Movement and Democratisation in Malaysia” (SIRD/ ISEAS/ Lexington Books, 2020) and “Seeds of Dissent (Gerakbudaya, 2015). Furthermore, Ying Hooi has also co-edited several volumes, such as “Social and Political Deglobalisation: Covid-19, Conflict and Uncertainties in Malaysia (Palgrave Macmillan, 2023), “Marginalisation and Human Rights in Southeast Asia” (Routledge, 2022) and “Rethinking Human Rights and Peace in the Post-Independence Timor-Leste through Local Perspectives” (Palgrave Macmillan, 2022). Her co-author paper (with C. Leong, I. Faik, F. Tan and B. Tan, 2020), “Digital organising of a global social movement: from connective to collective action," won the 2021 Best Paper Award at the Information and Organization and was Runner-Up in the 2021 Special Interest Group-Grounded Theory Methodology (SIG-GTM).  Ying Hooi is the Editor-in-Chief of the Malaysian Journal of International Relations (MJIR) and sits on the Editorial Boards of the Journal of Current Southeast Asian Affairs, the Journal of Southeast Asian Human Rights (JSEAHR), and the Indonesian Law Review (ILREV).  Ying Hooi has been appointed to the International Advisory Council by the Timor-Leste government for Centro Nacional Chega! (CNC), a public institute tasked to institutionalise memory and promote human rights. She is also a founding member of the Southeast Asian Coalition for Academic Freedom (SEA-CAF). She received several fellowships, including the Mellon/ SAR Academic Freedom Fellowship by Scholars at Risk (SAR), the International Center on Nonviolent Conflict (ICNC) Curriculum Fellowship, and visiting fellowships at Kyushu University, Mahidol University, Humboldt University of Berlin and Beijing Foreign Studies University. She has served as a judge in several local and international human rights awards, including the Amnesty International Philippines Ignite Awards and Suara Rakyat Malaysia (SUARAM) Human Rights Awards. Between 2013 and 2016, Ying Hooi was involved in the diplomatic training course for the Institute of Diplomatic Studies (IDS), Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation in Timor-Leste. Additionally, she has contributed to consultancies for organisations like the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR), the Democracy Academy of Malaysia, and Strengthening Human Rights and Peace Research and Education in Southeast Asia (SHAPE-SEA). In addition to her academic roles, Ying Hooi has extensive experience in the field of human rights and democracy in Southeast Asia. These roles include serving as a Scientific Member in the Observatory of Political Alternatives in Southeast Asia (ALTERSEA), Vice-Chair in the Society for the Promotion of Human Rights (PROHAM), and Board Member in the Innovation of Change - East Asia Governance Circle (EAGC). Before entering academia, Ying Hooi garnered experience in corporate sectors and served as the Head of International Issues and Cooperation at the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (SUHAKAM). Her involvements include the ASEAN human rights body (now AICHR) in the ASEAN Charter, the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) on Malaysia in Geneva and the SUHAKAM Amendment Bill 2009.