Professor Dr. Chua Kek Heng is an accomplished senior professor and Head of the Department of Biomedical Science at the University of Malaya. His research expertise spans a broad range of topics including disease polymorphism, mutation investigation, bacterial virulence factor characterization, and diagnostic kit development. Professor Chua's commitment and hard work have led to over 200 original publications, making significant contributions to science and technology. His research has not only led to novel scientific innovations but has also improved our understanding of human disease and its associations with genetic factors and microorganisms. As a mentor and educator, Professor Chua is dedicated to training and preparing his younger staff, colleagues, and students to excel in biological research, building the next generation of scientific leaders. One of Professor Chua's significant achievements is his contribution to the study of genotyping of diseases, which has resulted in the successful mapping of important disease-predisposing markers for systemic lupus erythematosus, Crohn’s disease, and retinopathy in the Malaysian population. These findings have helped predict disease development and allow for early preventive measures. His research has also led to the development of innovative approaches, tests, and kits that allow for more cost-effective, rapid, sensitive, and specific detection and confirmation of human diseases and microbial infections. Professor Chua's efforts have been recognized at the national and international levels, with over 1500 intellectual properties, including national and international patents, trademarks, and copyrights. One of his most successful inventions is the PlasmoNex diagnostic kit for malaria, which was developed in 2011. This kit is the world's first PCR-based malaria detection system that can detect all five different species of Plasmodium (malaria parasites) in a single test. In addition to his research accomplishments, Professor Chua is also an active member of several national committees and panels, evaluating numerous grants and projects, and organizing national and international workshops to train young Malaysian researchers in molecular "bench" skills. He has delivered over a hundred presentations at various seminars, expositions, and conferences and has acted as a reviewer for many ISI (WOS) publications and international grants in his field. Professor Chua has represented the University of Malaya in numerous national and international exhibitions and competitions, receiving over 100 prestigious national and international awards, including the MTSF Science and Technology Award 2022, Biotechnology Asia Award 2005, Best Invention in Biotechnology Award 2006, USA INPEX Grand Prix Award 2008, National Intellectual Property Award 2013, World Halal Excellent Innovation Award 2013, and Top Research Scientist Malaysia 2017. He has also received recognition for his contributions to academic service and teaching, including the Excellent Lecturer Award in 2014 and Best Lecturer for Biomedical Science Teaching 2017. Overall, Professor Chua's tireless dedication to scientific research, mentorship, and innovation has resulted in significant advancements in disease detection and prevention, making him an outstanding scientist and an inspiration to the scientific community.

Dr. Hidayah obtained her first degree in Bachelor of Science with Islamic Studies specialized in Ecology and Biodiversity from Universiti Malaya in 2009, under Public Service Department Malaysia scholarship. She then continued her interest in Science Biology at the same university under the National Science Fellowship (NSF), Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation scholarship where she obtained a Master of Science in Molecular Taxonomy in 2013. Afterward, she worked as a Research Assistant to expand her experience in the research world before she continued her PhD. In the year 2015, she received a scholarship from the Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia to pursue her PhD focusing on Bio-ecological and taxonomic studies of Malaysian dragonflies at Universiti Malaya. While completing her PhD, she becomes a recipient of short-term International Program Associates (IPAs) under the International Joint Graduate School Program RIKEN, by the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST), Wako-Shi, Japan in 2016. RIKEN is Japan's largest comprehensive research institution renowned for high-quality research in a diverse range of scientific disciplines. While carrying out her PhD project at RIKEN, she was engaged in the Enzyme Research Team, Biomass Engineering Research Division, RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science. The research she has conducted at RIKEN to date aims to demonstrate the micro joint wing properties in the suborder Zygoptera using combined techniques of laser scanning confocal microscopy (LSCM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM) to explore resilin elasticity investigations and analyze of protein components. In 2018, she completed her PhD and started her career as a part-timer lecturer, and afterward, she has been appointed as Senior Lecturer in 2020 under Ecology Biodiversity Programme, Institute Science Biological Science, Faculty of Science, Universiti Malaya. She currently teaches Animal Behaviour & Ethology and Animal Structure, Function & Physiology subjects to undergraduate students. She has vast experience in teaching and learning starting as a demonstrator back in 2013 and involved in immense research field preliminary back to 2010 and became a reviewer in several peer-reviewed and high impact journals such as PLoS ONE.

  Gs. Dr. Rosilawati Zainol is a Professor in Urban Analytics at the Department of Urban and Regional Planning, Faculty of Built Environment, Universiti Malaya (UM). Since joining UM in 2004, she has published quite a number of articles, chapters in books, and books related to sustainable urban development and tourism development. Her research interest is in urban analytics (the use of information technology in urban and regional planning and urban studies, especially in geographic information systems), spatial analysis and statistics, and the circular and informal economy. Her recent publications include Navigating challenges in the sustainable development of urban brownfields: A PLS path modeling perspective, A systematic literature review of brownfield sustainability: Dimensions, indicators, and stakeholders, Satisfaction of International and Domestic Tourists in Malaysia’s Oldest National Park: Taman Negara Pahang, A Review of Child-Friendly City Assessment Tools – Are We Really Planning Cities for Children? and Aplikasi Sistem Maklumat Geografi (GIS) dalam Perancangan Bandar.