Dr Siti Adibah Othman qualified as Bachelor of Dental Surgery from the University of Malaya, Malaysia in 2000. She completed her Clinical Doctorate in Dental Surgery in Orthodontic at the University of Bristol and obtained her Membership in Orthodontics from the Royal College of Surgeon of Edinburgh in 2005. Having obtained the qualifications, she was appointed as Senior Lecturer at Department of Paediatric Dentistry and Orthodontics in Faculty of Dentistry, University of Malaya from 2006 to 2011 and was appointed as Associate Professor in 2012. She obtained her full Professorship in 2019. She was the Head of Department of Paediatric Dentistry and Orthodontics, the coordinator of the postgraduate orthodontic programme and currently is the Deputy Dean of the Postgraduate. She is actively involved in teaching of the undergraduates, postgraduates, reviewing of the curriculums and also actively treating orthodontic patients at the University of Malaya and at the University Malaya Specialist Centre. Besides that, she is also doing research and has published a few research papers in academic journals. Her areas of interest are orthodontics, clinical research, cleft lip and palate abnormalities and 3D imaging. She is member of World Federation of Orthodontists, Malaysian Association of Orthodontists, Malaysian Dental Association and the life member of the Cleft Lip and Palate Association of Malaysia. In 2013, she was awarded Membership in Orthodontics Ad Eundem from the Royal College of Surgeons of England, and being appointed as an examiner for the Membership of Orthodontics Examination of the Royal College of Surgeons of England for overseas diet.    

I’m a Senior Lecturer at the International Institute of Public Policy and Management (INPUMA), Universiti Malaya. Before I was appointed a senior lecturer, I was a visiting fellow under the UKM–Nippon Foundation Programme at the Institute of Malaysian and International Studies (IKMAS), UKM, where I also served as a junior research fellow. Following my tenure at UKM, I was appointed as a Special Task Officer to the then-President of the Senate, Tan Sri Dato’ Sri Utama Dr Rais Yatim, at the Parliament of Malaysia. In this role, I gained invaluable first-hand experience in policy discussions, bill drafting, governance processes, and diplomatic engagement. My primary research focuses on national security and foreign policy, Latin American politics, and the development and cultivation of a culture of peace in Costa Rica, examined through a constructivist framework. I have spent significant time conducting fieldwork, attending conferences, and establishing networks in Mexico and Costa Rica to deepen my understanding of Latin American politics and its wider implications for international relations. My academic interests also extend to global political dynamics from a postcolonial perspective, with a particular emphasis on debates surrounding Orientalism and Occidentalism. My work bridges theoretical insights with practical applications, fostering a nuanced understanding of the interplay between history, culture, international relations, and public policy. I am eager to supervise students within these areas of research and interest as well as those who seek to explore connections between Latin America and Southeast Asia.

Dr Sam is a medical graduate from the University of Nottingham in the UK, and completed his postgraduate training in Medical Microbiology in London. He joined the University of Malaya in 2005. He is head of the diagnostic virology and advanced (molecular) diagnostics units in the University of Malaya Medical Centre, a 1000-bed tertiary referral centre. His clinical diagnostic work includes expanding molecular diagnostic services and involvement in hospital responses to emerging infectious diseases such as COVID-19. He teaches both undergraduates and postgraduates. His research interests cover clinical, epidemiological, diagnostic and pathogenesis aspects of chikungunya virus and other arboviruses, respiratory viruses (including influenza and SARS-CoV-2), and enterovirus A71, and he has held several national and international grants.