Noor Hayaty is a professor at the Department of Restorative Dentistry, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Malaya. She has 26 years of experience in a variety of research, teaching, management and leadership roles at the University of Malaya. She is currently the Dean of Wellness Research Cluster (WRC), where she facilitates an interdisciplinary network of researchers involved in a broad range of research and innovation. Her research interests include biomaterials, regenerative medicine, clinical dentistry and ageing. Her experience in biomaterials, regenerative medicine and clinical dentistry were the foundation for her involvement in ageing research. At WRC, she spearheads the ‘Active Ageing Grand Challenge Programme’ under which specific areas such as ‘Independent Living, were established to promote the concept of active ageing in Malaysia. She is currently leading a research project entitled ‘Dental Care Pathway for Geriatric Population in Selected ASEAN Countries’ where her team is working closely with the Oral Health Division, Ministry of Health to improve the quality of dental care for older people. Together with collaborators from the Faculty of Computer Science, she is also interested to create supportive environment that could contribute to the quality of life and better living for the elderly population by employing assistive technologies. She is the past-president of the International Association for Dental Research (IADR), Southeast Asian Division and she has contributed towards promoting dental research through IADR Regional Development Program in countries such as Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam, Myanmar and Cambodia. 

Dr. Kee Boon Pin graduated with Bachelor of Biomedical Science degree in 2007 and Doctorate degree in 2014 from University of Malaya. He is currently serving as a senior lecturer at the department of Biomedical Science, Faculty of Medicine. Dr. Kee’s areas of expertise are molecular genetics, population genetics and mitochondrial DNA. Dr. Kee carries out genetic association study to investigate the relationship between genetic markers and the onset of disease in Crohn’s disease and Systemic Lupus Erythematosus patients. Currently, he also received several funding for genetic study of Cardiomyopathy, in which he employs various molecular approaches to examine and characterize the genetic composition of patients, including next-generation sequencing approaches. Other than that, Dr. Kee also works on the identification and differentiation of microorganisms using various molecular techniques, such as TaqMan chemistry, high resolution melt curve analysis, and Loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP). Dr. Kee is experienced to examine and analyze genomic data generated from markers in different DNA systems, including mitochondrial DNA, autosomal and sex chromosomes, using biostatistical method, phylogenetic analysis, principle component analysis and diversity index analysis. 

  Started his research career in the think tank sector, Dr. Lee Chee Leong (Karl) is attracted to the rise of non-traditional diplomacy in the international order today. Such appeal has taken Dr. Lee into new research horizons that started with his Monash University's doctoral research on the Chinese sub-state diplomacy in China-ASEAN economic cooperation. With constructive supervision by Professor Helen Nesadurai and Associate Professor Kuik Cheng Chwee, Dr. Lee completed his doctoral thesis that unravels how a faraway and least developed sub-state of Guangxi managed to overcome its own hurdles, navigate the complexities within the Chinese state and become the frontline actor in China-ASEAN economic cooperation.  Following his doctoral completion, Dr. Lee's research on non-traditional diplomacy has expanded into Taiwan’s quasi-state diplomacy in Southeast Asia. Such quest has led him spending at great length in comprehending the concept of soft power, a concept that finds its relevance to Taiwan, which has no official diplomatic with Southeast Asia but is heavily connected to the region and has to rely on soft power in its engagements with these Southeast Asian nations. By comparing different case studies of Taiwan's quasi-state engagement within Southeast Asia, Dr. Lee has developed the soft power diffusion process to explain how such phenomenon operates in the real world. His ongoing and incoming research projects include Unpacking ‘De-risking’ China in the Indo-Pacific Region: Economic Statecraft (ES) & Geoeconomics, Taiwan's New Southbound Policy (NSP) and NSP+: The Domestic-International Dichotomy, The Taiwanese Connections in Nvidia's Global AI Supply Chain and Taiwan and Ireland: The Story of Two Tech Powerhouses.  To date, Dr. Lee was the recipient of several scholarships and fellowships in Malaysia and overseas: University of Malaya’s Graduate Fellowship (2010-2011); Monash University’s Merit Scholarship (2016-2019); Chinese Government Scholarship (2018-2019); and Taiwan Fellowship (2020). Prior to his appointment as Senior Lecturer at the Institute of China Studies (ICS), he was the Visiting Scholar at Guangxi University for Nationalities (GXUN) (2018-2019), Taiwan Fellow at National Chengchi University (NCCU) (2020) and Associate Fellow at ICS UM (2016-2019). He welcomes any potential PhD candidate who would like to work on Taiwan-Southeast Asia relations, comparative cases of ES between Asia and Europe, US-China-ASEAN semiconductor geoeconomics and case studies of donut economies in Asia. He is also willing to discuss with potential doctoral candidates on proposals related to the Chinese sub-state (provincial and city) diplomacy toward ASEAN, comparative cases of sub-state diplomacy between Asia and Europe as well as conceptual innovations of sub-state diplomacy vis-a-vis soft power.