Dr Mohammed Rizman bin Idid is an evolutionary biologist and molecular ecologist, whose scientific research projects mainly focus in providing baseline information on biodiversity and ecology of various terrestrial and marine organisms in Malaysia. His initial research projects were focused on freshwater fishes, before expanding towards the marine and coastal environment investigating jellyfish, marine fungi, and mangroves. These studies employ molecular genetic techniques, such as DNA sequencing of biological resources, species assemblages and communities in natural ecosystems. Elements of DNA barcoding and phylogenetics are utilized for species identification, detection and monitoring that facilitate conservation and management of natural ecosystems. He also applies ‘omics’ technologies to study organismal responses and adaptations to environmental stressors in the context of climate change. He is also considered as a pioneer and authority of jellyfish biodiversity and ecology in Malaysia, thus contributing his expertise towards jellyfish studies in Southeast Asia. He is active in polar research looking into the response and adaptation of climate change on fungi and the phylogenetics of marine and polar fungi. As environmental changes may elicit chemical changes, he is also interested in the bioactivity of compounds derived from fungi and marine organisms. He is currently a senior lecturer attached to the Institute of Ocean and Earth Sciences (IOES), Universiti Malaya, where he is the Coordinator for Course Development of Academic Program and IOES Risk Coordinator. In IOES, he previously served as the Head of Marine Biodiversity and Ecosystems Studies Research Unit (2013-2018) and was the Coordinator of Bachok Marine Research Station (2012). He was also Coordinator for Bioinformatics Programme in the Institute of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, Universiti Malaya (2008-2012). At a national level, he represents the Malaysian Society of Marine Sciences as Executive Committee of the Confederation of Scientific and Technological Associations in Malaysia (2022-2024). He was also President of Malaysian Society of Marine Sciences (2012-2014). Since 2008, he has secured national and international research grants as Principal Investigator and as Co-Investigator totalling to RM 1,205,304 and RM 765,400, respectively. His expertise in the field of jellyfish taxonomy and ecology has earned regional recognition through regular invitations under ‘IOC-Westpac Harmful Jellyfish Workshops’ and as reviewer of international journals. His jellyfish photos have even been immortalised by Pos Malaysia as a postage stamp under Malaysia-Thailand joint issue ‘Marine Creatures’. Being a scuba-diver, he has led several national and internationally organized expedition surveys of marine parks and protected areas in Malaysia. Findings from the 2018 ‘Biodiversity Expedition in Melaka and Negeri Sembilan’ have led to the gazettement of three islands in Melaka as marine protected areas. As a polar fungi scientist, he has contributed towards many workshops and several ‘Malaysian International Symposium on Antarctica’ conferences. He is also a research grant recipient of the Sultan Mizan Antarctic Research Foundation (YPASM). He was Data Deputy Advisor for Ocean Hackathon Kuala Lumpur 2022, organized by the French Embassy, Malaysia.        To date, he has H-index = 10  and published over 40 peer-reviewed articles, 4 books and 6 book chapters, with over 400 citations. He has supervised 4 PhD students and 10 master students to completion and currently oversees 6 ongoing students (2 PhD and 4 MSc). 

Associate Professor Dr Jacob John completed his basic dental training in 1994 and subsequently qualified as a Prosthodontist in 1997 and has always been active in the field of oral health care. In 2023, he also qualified as a Master in Medical Education from Universiti Malaya. He had served as a Lecturer at the Tamil Nādu Dr MGR Medical University, India and as a Dental Officer in the Ministry of Health, Malaysia before joining as an academic at the Faculty of Dentistry, University of Malaya, Malaysia in 2009. He also holds an appointment as an Honorary lecturer at a few dental institutions in India.  Over the past 14 years, Dr Jacob has actively supervised and guided students pursuing their Masters in Prosthodontics (MClinDEnt), Masters in Dental Sciences, Masters in Oral Sciences and at the doctoral level besides the many undergraduate dental students. He is a Life Member of the Indian Prosthodontic Society, founding Secretary of the Malaysian Association for Prosthodontics and currently the Honorary Secretary of the Asian Academy of Prosthodontics. He has been an active member of the International Association for Disability and Oral Health since 2011 and was recently conferred its Fellowship for his “sustained high level of iADH activity and clinical care for the people with disability, alongside research, pedagogy, advocacy and service in the area of Special Care Dentistry”.  Dr Jacob also works very closely with the Special Olympics Malaysia, as its Clinical Director for Special Smiles, by providing oral health education and care for its intellectually disabled members. As part of his academic career, Dr Jacob has been actively involved in the field of research, collaborating within Malaysia and globally. Besides Prosthodontics, his special interest lies in the areas of Geriatric Dentistry and Dental Education. He is appointed as an Academic Board member of the Federation of Special Care Dentistry, India and as a Board Member of the American Society for Geriatric Dentistry. He has to his credit over 50 peer reviewed, international publications as scientific articles and book chapters with an H-Index of 15 and over 1800 citations in Google Scholar.  Dr Jacob is very passionate about Community Outreach activities and he was the first recipient of the prestigious Jan Andersson-Norinder Award by the IADH in 2016 in recognition of his work among people with special needs and the under privileged. Over the years, he has also presented his work at numerous national and international conferences.