CHIEW Poh Shin (周宝芯, 周寶芯) is a senior lecturer in the Department of Malaysian Languages and Applied Linguistics, Faculty of Languages and Linguistics, Universiti Malaya. She earned her Bachelor's, Master's, and PhD from Nanjing Normal University, specialising in Chinese language and linguistics. Her primary research interests include phonetics and phonology, language variation, and language acquisition. Currently, she focuses on sociophonetics and prosodic studies, particularly in the varieties of Chinese like Hokkien, Cantonese, and Mandarin. She has a deep passion for human speech and wants to explore how speech sounds connect with cognition, society, and culture. Beyond academic research, she enjoys science communication work, sharing the fascinating world of linguistics with the public. Here is her first experience on a podcast.

Afiq received his First-Class Honors Degree in Biotechnology from the Malaysia University of Science and Technology (MUST) in 2013. He received the MUST President's Award for academic excellence and being the most accomplished student in his class. In 2014, he decided to follow his passion for research and enrolled in an MSc program in Genetic Manipulation and Molecular Cell Biology at the University of Sussex, UK. After completing his MSc program, Afiq gained valuable research experience by working as a research assistant at the Cancer Research Center (CaRC), Institute for Medical Research (IMR) in Kuala Lumpur. In 2015, he was awarded an Academic Training Fellowship (SLAB/SLAI) by the Malaysian Ministry of Higher Education to pursue his PhD at the University of Glasgow, Scotland. His doctoral research focuses on the discovery of new antiviral HIV-1 and VSV restriction factors. His findings have been published in reputable scientific journals and have gained the interest of the global scientific community. After completing his PhD in 2019, he worked as a post-doctoral researcher at the MRC-Centre for Virus Research (CVR) at the University of Glasgow, Scotland, UK. In 2020, he returned to Malaysia to work as a senior lecturer in the microbiology program at the Institute of Biological Sciences, Universiti Malaya (UM), Kuala Lumpur. He currently teaches public health microbiology, diagnostic microbiology, microbial pathogenesis, and virology to undergraduate students. In addition to teaching, he also conducts research on various aspects of microbiology, with a particular focus on viral diseases. His research aims to understand the mechanisms of viral replication and pathogenesis as well as develop novel strategies for the prevention and treatment of viral infections. He actively collaborates with other researchers, both locally and internationally, to contribute to the global understanding of infectious diseases. In 2023, he was awarded a prestigious ASEAN-India Research & Training (A-IRTF) Fellowship from the Department of Science & Technology, Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India for 3-month research attachment at the Indraprastha Institute of Information Technology Delhi (IIIT-Delhi).

Dr Veenesh Selvaratnam is a Consultant Orthopaedic, Robotic and Hip & Knee Surgeon at University Malaya Specialist Centre and University Malaya Medical Centre in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. His private practice is in University Malaya Specialist Centre. He is also a senior lecturer in University Malaya. He completed all his Orthopaedic training in the UK. He is a UK Fellowship trained robotic hip and knee surgeon. He was appointed a Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon in Manchester University Hospital, UK in 2020. He spent 18 years in the UK prior to returning to serve in Malaysia via TalentCorp Returning Expert Programme. He served in the Ministry of Health (KKM) Malaysia and is a KKM recognised sub specialist Arthroplasty (Hip & Knee Joint Replacement) surgeon. He is passionate about his work and is skilled in Hip and Knee Surgery particularly Knee Replacement, Robotic Knee Replacement, Hip Replacement, Partial Knee Replacement, Revision Hip and Knee Arthroplasty (Joint Replacement) Surgery, Orthopaedic Trauma Surgery, Sports Knee Surgery, ACL Surgery, Meniscal Surgery, Knee Arthroscopy and joint preservation surgery. Subspecialties: Hip Surgery Knee Surgery Sports Injury All conditions and treatments: General Orthopaedic & Trauma Surgery Total Knee Replacement & Partial Knee Replacement Robotic Knee Replacement Total Hip Replacement Partial Hip Replacement Robotic Hip Replacement Knee Arthroscopy Revision Hip & Knee Replacement Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) Injury / Reconstruction Patellofemoral disease / Anterior Knee Pain (Kneecap pain) Patella (kneecap) instability Torn Meniscus (Cartilage) Cartilage Surgery (Knee) Hip & Groin Pain Joint Injections & Pain Management He completed his Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery (MBChB) at the University of Liverpool in the United Kingdom in 2006. He obtained his Membership of the Royal College of Surgeons (MRCS), UK in 2009 and his Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons, UK (FRCS Trauma & Orthopaedics) in 2015. He completed his specialist Orthopaedic training in the sought-after Liverpool Deanery Orthopaedic Training Programme obtaining his Completion of Certificate of Training (CCT) in 2017. He is board-certified by the Malaysian National Specialist Register for Trauma & Orthopaedic Surgery. He completed subspecialty Hip and Knee Fellowship Training in the UK at Wrightington, Exeter and Bristol which are world renowned centres. He was also selected as the first European Federation of National Associations of Orthopaedics and Traumatology (EFORT) Robotic Travelling Fellow and visited centres in Germany, France and the UK. He is also a robotic fellowship trained and certified surgeon. FELLOWSHIPS: European Robotic Fellowship (EFORT), UK, Germany, France (Robotic Hip & Knee Replacement Certified Surgeon) Exeter Hip Fellowship, PEOC, Exeter, UK Knee Fellowship, AOC, Bristol, UK Knee Fellowship, PEOC, Exeter, UK Hip & Knee Fellowship, Wrightington Hospital, UK Dr Veenesh Selvaratnam is a member of the Malaysian Medical Association, Malaysian Society for Hip and Knee Surgeons, General Medical Council of the United Kingdom, and Malaysian Orthopaedic Association. He has published extensively in Orthopaedic journals and has presented in numerous national and international meetings. He is passionate about research and teaching.