Lucas Low VL received his bachelor’ degree in Biodiversity Management with first-class honours from the Universiti Malaysia Terengganu in 2010. He then earned his PhD with ‘distinction thesis’ from the University of Malaya (UM) in 2013, for his studies on the molecular and biochemical basis of insecticide resistance in medically important group of mosquitoes. Currently, he is the Executive Director and an associate professor at Tropical Infectious Diseases Research and Education Centre (TIDREC), a Higher Institution Centre of Excellence (HICoE) in Malaysia. His current research interests include insect vectors of medical-veterinary importance such as mosquitoes, flies, ticks, fleas, lice and mites; and their associated infectious disease agents. In his scientific career, he has been fortunate to work under the mentorship of the world-renowned black fly taxonomist, Prof. Emeritus Dr. Hiroyuki Takaoka for the discovery of new species and taxonomic classification of black flies in the Oriental region. At present, he owned taxonomic authorities for 11 new species of black flies discovered in Southeast Asia. In recognition of his research excellence in vector-borne diseases, and significant advancement in molecular phylogenetics and systematics of black flies, two new species of black flies Simulium vanluni from Malaysia, and Simulium lowi from Vietnam were named after him in 2017. In March 2020, he organized and chaired the 3rd Asian Simuliidae Symposium which was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. His expertise in the field of insecticide resistance is recognized by the Malaysian Ministry of Health. He has been appointed as a member of the Technical Working Committee for Insecticide Resistance, which aims to provide mitigation plans against insecticide resistance issue throughout the country. He was also appointed as a consultant for testing commercial mosquito repellent products in a private company. His reputation has convinced local and international funders. Notably, he is the principal investigator for the Tick Cell Biobank Asia Outpost project funded by the prestigious research foundation, Wellcome Trust (2022-2026). The Asia Outpost (the only one in Asia) provides insect cell line resources and training to fellow researchers in Asia. His role is important in increasing regional capacity in the implementation of research in tick-borne diseases. He is also the principal investigator of the black fly DNA barcode project in Southeast Asia funded by the Global Biodiversity Information Facility, Denmark (2021-2023). His role is to establish and strengthen black fly biodiversity information facilities and increase the capacity of researchers in Asia in accessing data needed for biodiversity management. He has strong research networks in both local and international institutions and has authored more than 180 articles in ISI-indexed journals. He has been a reviewer of several world-leading scientific journals. He is an Associate Editor of Tropical Biomedicine and a Section Editor of Parasitology Research, both of which are the WoS indexed journals. He is an active member of the Malaysian Society of Parasitology and Tropical Medicine (MSPTM). Currently, he serves as the President for the society.  He shows high commitment in educational activities, as well social responsibility in increasing the level of public awareness of vector-borne diseases. He is involved in various talks to raise awareness among students, Orang Asli, pet owners and the general public at disease outbreak areas. He is also a facilitator in the development of national biosafety and biosecurity policies and guidelines. Since 2018, 3 Masters and 7 PhD students have successfully completed their studies under his supervision. A total of 3 Masters and 5 PhD students are still under his supervision. He received the Certificate of Excellent Service in 2018 and the Excellence Service Award in 2019 from Universiti Malaya. In 2020, he was awarded the Nadchatram Medal in recognition of his outstanding contributions to parasitology and tropical medicine. He is also listed among the world’s top 2% scientists in the field of tropical medicine (2025).  

Mohammad Khairi Mokthar is currently a Senior Lecturer at the Dance Department of the Faculty of Creative Arts at Universiti Malaya. He completed his doctoral studies at Universiti Malaya, specializing in ethnography with a focus on Terinai, a traditional Malay Classical Dance of Perlis. He holds a Master of Fine Arts in Dance Performance, with a major in contemporary dance, from Korea National University of Arts, (K'ARTS) Korea, where he was awarded a scholarship by the Korea Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism. His dance journey began during his teenage years when he was exposed to Malay traditional dance. He pursued his tertiary dance education at the National Academy of Arts, Culture, and Heritage (ASWARA), Malaysia, where he received formal training in various dance forms, including Malay classical and folk dance, Chinese folk dance, ethnic dance, and Indian classical dance. He completed his Diploma in Dance in 2010 and his Bachelor of Dance (Performance) in 2013 at ASWARA. In 2013, he made his debut as an Indian classical dancer with a Bharatanatyam Arangetram. He has also worked professionally, including as a principal dancer at ASK Dance Company and in England with the Shobana Jeyasingh Dance for the Classic Cut Tour in 2012 and 2013. He has received numerous awards and recognitions for his contributions to dance, including Best Choreographer in Full-length Work at the 12th BOH Cameronian Arts Awards Malaysia in 2015, 2nd prize in the Seoul International Dance Competition in 2015 and 2016, and being named one of the Top 10 New Generation Malaysian Cultural Dancers in 2017. In addition to his performance work, Mohammad Khairi Mokthar has also served as a part-time lecturer and coach at various institutions, including Sultan Idris Education University (UPSI) and ASWARA. He received The Shining Star Awards in 2019, organized by the Uniques Arts Culture and Heritage Foundation in collaboration with the Ministry of Tourism, Arts, and Culture Malaysia. In 2019, he collaborated with choreographer Mavin Khoo and TFA Inner Space Dance Company for a performance titled "I am Ravana" at Sadler's Wells in London. He is recognized as an educator, choreographer, dancer, and scholar in the field of dance.

Dr. Shatrah Othman graduated with Bachelor of Medical Science from the University of Nottingham, UK and obtained her PhD (Molecular Biology and Immunology) and Masters of Science (Molecular Biology) from the Universiti Malaya. She has been with the Department of Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya since 2005 and is currently an Associate Professor  of the Biochemistry courses for Medical, Dental and Biomedical programmes. Her research interest mainly covers molecular and immunologocal studies on dengue, human papillomavirus, BPA, DHODH and cancers. She is an active member of the Drug Design and Development Research Group (DDDRG) since 2006 and has been heavily engaged with projects that involve the discovery of therapeutics, including natural products, synthetic chemical compounds and novel peptides against flaviviruses. In addition, her expertise in molecular biology has also placed her in several collaborative projects with Institute for Medical Research (IMR), University Putra Malaysia, University Teknologi MARA, Malaysia Genome Institute, IPharm Malaysia and Aurigene Discovery Technologies Ltd, India. She has published in many peer-reviewed journals and has presented her research at several national and international conferences. At present, she is the Head of Internal Audit, Faculty of Medicine Quality Management, Universiti Malaya.