Dr. Wong Won Fen is a faculty member at the Department of Medical Microbiology, Universiti Malaya, where she has served since 2012. She is an immunologist with research interests in host–pathogen interactions, immune regulation, and inflammation, with a particular focus on the immunopathogenesis of sexually transmitted infections such as Chlamydia trachomatis and HIV. Her research integrates molecular and cellular immunology to understand immune dynamics and develop strategies for improving disease prognosis, vaccine development, and novel immunotherapeutic interventions. Dr. Wong received her early scientific training at Tohoku University, Japan, under the supervision of Professor Masanobu Satake. To date, she has published more than 115 peer-reviewed articles, with an h-index of 37 and over 5,200 citations. She has received several international recognitions, including the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) Fellowship, Fulbright Visiting Scholarship, and the Institut Mérieux Young Investigator Award. At Universiti Malaya, Dr. Wong teaches in both undergraduate and postgraduate programmes. She serves as the Course Coordinator for Immunology in the MBBS programme and for Advanced Medical Microbiology in the Biomedical Science programme, in addition to her role as Faculty Ph.D. Programme Coordinator and Quality Management System (QMS) committee member contributing to institutional quality initiatives.

Dr. Gopinath Venkatraman is a Biotechnologist and Senior Lecturer at the Universiti Malaya Centre for Proteomics Research (UMCPR). He is also an adjunct professor of Biochemistry at Saveetha Institute of Science and Technology, India and Molecular Medicine at Sathyabama Institue of Science & Technology, India. His research focuses on biomedical (tissue engineering, antimicrobial, anticancer) and environmental applications of metal, polymeric nanomaterials, and natural compounds.

Dr Wong Kah Hui is an Associate Professor at the Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Malaya. She received her Bachelor of Science in Biotechnology (Honours with Distinction) in 2003, Master of Science (with distinction) in 2007 and Doctor of Philosophy in Human and Animal Physiology in 2011 from Universiti Malaya. She is currently the Academic Editor of PLOS ONE, Review Editor of Frontiers in Pharmacology (former Guest Associate Editor of Frontiers in Pharmacology), Editorial Board Member of BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies, Guest Editor of Cells, Subeditor of Journal of Health and Translational Medicine (JUMMEC, Malaysia), Coordinator of Postgraduate Research Programme (Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Malaya) and the life member of Malaysian Anatomical Association (MAA) (former treasurer of MAA, 2015-2021). She was honoured as Outstanding Anatomist (Research)–Established Career Category by MAA on 30 Aug 2023 for her remarkable contributions to anatomical sciences research. She has published 64 articles in Web of Science (WOS)-indexed journals with an H-index of 22 and total citations of 1368; and five book chapters. Her research focuses on using alternative medicines, in particular the culinary and medicinal mushrooms cultivated in Malaysia for neuroprotection and neuroregeneration in cellular and animal models. She is also engaged with Ganofarm R&D Sdn Bhd through the collaborative planning on Memorandum of Understanding and Memorandum of Agreement; Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine University of Hong Kong as a Visiting Research Fellow; and Corielle Institute for Medical Research, New Jersey, USA to pursuit scientific research leading to treatments for hereditary ataxia, on Material Transfer Agreement. Alternative medicines have the advantages of non-invasive, cost-effective and no adverse reactions for patients which could eventually be a breakthrough in the treatment for hereditary ataxia. She aims to integrate Hericium erinaceus mushroom dietary supplement as a novel treatment strategy in clinical practice at the Traditional and Complementary Medicine units of Ministry of Health (MOH) hospitals and its future application in degenerative cerebellar ataxia and movement disorders. The above-mentioned areas are conducted by 7 PhD (4 former and 3 active) candidates who have always been enthusiastic about neuroscience research. A PhD thesis titled Protective Mechanisms of Hericium erinaceus (NevGro®) against Oxidative Stress in in vitro models of Friedreich’s ataxia and Depression was awarded Distinction for Thesis by the University on 27 September 2022.  As a team leader, her research group was granted with 12 awards (2 special awards, 7 golds, 2 silvers and a bronze) at various international invention and innovation exhibitions with NevGro® and its functional metabolites for spinocerebellar ataxia type 3 being the latest innovation that received a bronze medal at the recently held 24th Malaysia Technology Expo (MTE) 2025 – International Innovation Awards on 20-22 February 2025. She won gold awards at the International Invention, Innovation, Technology Competition & Exhibition (ITEX) 2023 and 2024, Malaysia Technology Expo (MTE) 2020 and 2022, Creation and Innovation, Technology & Research Exposition (CITREX) 2021, Penang International Invention, Innovation and Design (PIID) 2019; Melaka International Intellectual Exposition (MIIEx) 2019, two silver awards at the Special Edition 2022-The Inventions Geneva Evaluation Days-Virtual Event and ITEX 2024. She also received Platinum and Most Outstanding Academician awards at the PIID 2019. The achievements were featured on UM Research Bulletin (2019 and 2024) Rubrica News Bulletin (2022), The University of Hong Kong Media-Press Releases (2022), pulse@UM (2020-2022), Milestone@UM Newsletter (2019 and 2020) and The Petri Dish (2018). Apart from research, dispensing high-quality teaching and professional education is the primary goal of any university. She teaches human anatomy to the MBBS, BDS, BBiomedSc and Postgraduate Basic/Clinical Teaching Programme students. Her teaching philosophy is to be passionate, enthusiastic and engaging. She was awarded the Best Preclinical Lecturer for MBBS-UMMP Programme of Universiti Malaya in 2017 and 2019. As for the medical education research, her team comprising of fellow colleagues of Department of Anatomy, and Medical Education Research and Development Unit (MERDU) of the Faculty of Medicine won a silver award for a project titled “Bridging The Gap in The Knowledge of Anatomy as a Doctor Journeys Through The Postgraduate Medical Training” at the Learning Innovation and Teaching Enhancement Research Conference 2017 (UM-LiTeR 2017) and a bronze award for a project titled “Practical Guide to Facilitate Problem-Based Learning Among Novice Medical Students: Eight Top Tips” at the kNOVASI 2020 Teaching and Learning Congress and Innovation Competition. She represented Universiti Malaya to present a status report of Anatomy Resource Centre (ARC) of Faculty of Medicine at the Committee of Museums and Galleries for Malaysian Public Universities (MyMUSE) Conference and Exhibition in 2019 showcasing the anatomical specimens, its primary function in medical education and future development. She was appointed as the Advisor and one of the trainers by the Faculty of Medicine and Medical Society (MEDSOC) of Universiti Malaya to facilitate the selected Stage 1&2 MBBS students in the preparation for various national competitions including the Intervarsity Medical Quiz Challenge (IMQC) and Intervarsity Medical Olympiad (IVMO). In the 10th edition of IMVO held in 2021, the students secured first and second positions in the individual and group categories, defeating 16 public and private universities in Malaysia.