Dr. Asyraf did his Bachelor’s Degree in Business, Economics and Finance in the University ofNottingham Malaysia Campus, then he undertook his MSc in Islamic Finance in INCEIF. He later joined UM as a GRA for 2 years, before becoming a SLAB fellow in the Faculty of Business and Economics in 2018 for his PhD studies. He completed his PhD in 2022 and are currently active in research and publications in the field of Islamic equity markets, more specifically, the various behaviour of Shariah compliant firms. Dr. Asyraf primarily teach quantitative subjects in the faculty, such as Econometrics and Financial Modelling & Mathematics. Although not very athletic, Dr. Asyraf enjoys badminton, (watching) football and video games.

Dr Mohammed Rizman bin Idid is an evolutionary biologist and molecular ecologist, whose scientific research projects mainly focus in providing baseline information on biodiversity and ecology of various terrestrial and marine organisms in Malaysia. His initial research projects were focused on freshwater fishes, before expanding towards the marine and coastal environment investigating jellyfish, marine fungi, and mangroves. These studies employ molecular genetic techniques, such as DNA sequencing of biological resources, species assemblages and communities in natural ecosystems. Elements of DNA barcoding and phylogenetics are utilized for species identification, detection and monitoring that facilitate conservation and management of natural ecosystems. He also applies ‘omics’ technologies to study organismal responses and adaptations to environmental stressors in the context of climate change. He is also considered as a pioneer and authority of jellyfish biodiversity and ecology in Malaysia, thus contributing his expertise towards jellyfish studies in Southeast Asia. He is active in polar research looking into the response and adaptation of climate change on fungi and the phylogenetics of marine and polar fungi. As environmental changes may elicit chemical changes, he is also interested in the bioactivity of compounds derived from fungi and marine organisms. He is currently a senior lecturer attached to the Institute of Ocean and Earth Sciences (IOES), Universiti Malaya, where he is the Coordinator for Course Development of Academic Program and IOES Risk Coordinator. In IOES, he previously served as the Head of Marine Biodiversity and Ecosystems Studies Research Unit (2013-2018) and was the Coordinator of Bachok Marine Research Station (2012). He was also Coordinator for Bioinformatics Programme in the Institute of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, Universiti Malaya (2008-2012). At a national level, he represents the Malaysian Society of Marine Sciences as Executive Committee of the Confederation of Scientific and Technological Associations in Malaysia (2022-2024). He was also President of Malaysian Society of Marine Sciences (2012-2014). Since 2008, he has secured national and international research grants as Principal Investigator and as Co-Investigator totalling to RM 1,205,304 and RM 765,400, respectively. His expertise in the field of jellyfish taxonomy and ecology has earned regional recognition through regular invitations under ‘IOC-Westpac Harmful Jellyfish Workshops’ and as reviewer of international journals. His jellyfish photos have even been immortalised by Pos Malaysia as a postage stamp under Malaysia-Thailand joint issue ‘Marine Creatures’. Being a scuba-diver, he has led several national and internationally organized expedition surveys of marine parks and protected areas in Malaysia. Findings from the 2018 ‘Biodiversity Expedition in Melaka and Negeri Sembilan’ have led to the gazettement of three islands in Melaka as marine protected areas. As a polar fungi scientist, he has contributed towards many workshops and several ‘Malaysian International Symposium on Antarctica’ conferences. He is also a research grant recipient of the Sultan Mizan Antarctic Research Foundation (YPASM). He was Data Deputy Advisor for Ocean Hackathon Kuala Lumpur 2022, organized by the French Embassy, Malaysia.        To date, he has H-index = 10  and published over 40 peer-reviewed articles, 4 books and 6 book chapters, with over 400 citations. He has supervised 4 PhD students and 10 master students to completion and currently oversees 6 ongoing students (2 PhD and 4 MSc). 

Dr Adina Abdullah has a decade of experience in primary healthcare delivery, health systems research and the development and implementation of digital health interventions in Malaysia. She has built strong networks with relevant policy, health system and community stakeholders. Dr Adina is a family medicine specialist and a professor at the Department of Primary Care Medicine at the Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Malaya (UM). Dr Adina graduated with a Bachelor of Medical Science (hons) in 1997 and Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery in 1999 from the University of Nottingham, UK. She obtained a Masters of Medicine (Family Medicine) and PhD at the Universiti Malaya. Her interest in digital health evolved after she became a member of the core team responsible for the implementation of the Hospital Information System at the Ministry of Health Hospitals in 2004. Stemming from her Masters’ thesis, she was involved in the development and implementation of home blood pressure telemonitoring which was developed by a Universiti Malaya spin off company, UMCH Sdn Bhd.  Dr Adina is also a committee member for the non-profit organization, Digital Health Malaysia. She co-leads the mHealth and telehealth division at the Universiti Malaya eHealth Unit. Since 2012, she has been leading research and publishing papers on the use of telemonitoring, patients’ perspectives on digital health, prevalence of health literacy and patients’ use of online health information to make decisions on medications. Through her research, Adina has also worked closely with stakeholders from the Malaysian Ministry of Health, academic institutions and the industry.