Prof. Dr. Sarinder Kaur is a distinguished academic at the University of Malaya, where she serves as Associate Professor at the Data Science & Bioinformatics Laboratory, Institute of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science. She is also an Adjunct Professor at Kings University College, Malaysia. Her academic journey and research career have been driven by a commitment to harnessing data for impactful, real-world solutions, particularly in the domains of AI, data science, bioinformatics, health informatics, and database technology. Dr. Sarinder earned her PhD in Bioinformatics as well as her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Computer Science from the University of Malaya. Over the years, she has made substantial contributions to biomedical research and digital health, publishing over 145 scientific articles, including 49 indexed in Web of Science. Her work has been cited extensively, earning her an H-index of 13 (WoS) and 16 (Google Scholar). Her research has spanned diverse topics—from AI-driven cancer data ecosystems and bioinformatics meta-analyses of COVID-19 gene expression, to EMR optimization, radiology text mining, and traditional medicine data systems. She has led multi-institutional research collaborations involving the University of Cambridge, University of Saskatchewan, University Malaya Medical Centre, and Homi Bhabha Cancer Institute, among others. One of her key contributions is the development of digital frameworks and health data platforms that support clinical services, research, and policymaking. A passionate educator, Dr. Sarinder has supervised over 30 postgraduate students and teaches extensively at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. Her courses cover computer networking, big data, advanced database systems, bioinformatics tools, and digital health technologies. Beyond academia, Dr. Sarinder plays an active role as a consultant in the Malaysian public and private sectors. She served as Project Director for Sigma Teguh Sdn Bhd, leading the development of machine learning algorithms to analyze national issues such as inflation and the PerantiSiswa program. She also partnered with the Ministry of Health to develop bioinformatics pipelines for analyzing COVID-19 variants and vaccine responses—demonstrating her ability to bridge science and policy through data-driven insights. She is a respected contributor to national and international academic development. Dr. Sarinder has served on academic accreditation panels for UTAR, IMU, and Multimedia University, and has been invited to speak at high-level forums including Monash University’s Data Science Seminar, MOH’s Digital Health Workshops, and the Health Informatics 2024 webinar. She is currently the Treasurer of the Asia Pacific Bioinformatics Network (APBioNet) and serves on the editorial boards of two prestigious journals: BMC Bioinformatics and BMC Medical Informatics and Decision Making. Dr. Sarinder’s accomplishments have been recognized with multiple honors, including the Hind Rattan Award (2014 and 2017), the University of Malaya Excellent Service Award, and medals for innovation at national exhibitions such as INATEX and INNOVATE. In 2020, she was awarded the Khidmat Setia (Loyal Service) Award by the University of Malaya. Her commitment to education extends into the community. She has organized coding and STEM workshops for schoolchildren across Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, and Putrajaya, and actively contributes to social initiatives through her leadership roles in the Malaysian Consumer Movement and Pertubuhan Pembangunan Insan Sikh Perak, where she champions women’s development and digital literacy. Through her academic, consultancy, and community service work, Dr. Sarinder Kaur continues to be a trailblazer in advancing data-driven innovation in healthcare and education—both in Malaysia and internationally. Currently, Dr. Sarinder is contributing to the development of a Healthcare Data Safe Haven Infrastructure as part of the AI in Medicine Initiative at the University of Malaya. 

Dr. Muhamad Alihanafiah bin Norasid is a senior lecturer at the Academy of Islamic Studies, University of Malaya. He was born on 22 May 1987 at Kuala Lumpur General Hospital and is the eldest of twelve siblings. Originally from Johor, he has resided in Dusun Tua, Hulu Langat, Selangor, for over 30 years. He is married and blessed with five children—two boys and three girls. Educational Background Dr. Alihanafiah began his early education at Sekolah Agama Menengah Rawang, Selangor in 2000, before continuing his secondary studies at Sekolah Menengah Agama Kerajaan Johor in Kluang from 2001 to 2004. In 2005, he pursued religious studies at Ma’ahad Johor in Johor Bahru and successfully obtained the Sijil Tinggi Agama Malaysia (STAM). He continued his academic journey at the University of Malaya, earning a Bachelor of Usuluddin (Al-Quran and Al-Hadith) from 2006 to 2009. He then pursued a PhD in the field of Thematic Quranic Interpretation and Human Capital Development at the same university from 2010 to 2016. He also attended a one-month Arabic language enhancement course at Cairo University, Egypt in 2008, and a three-month research methodology course at The World Islamic Sciences and Education University in Amman, Jordan in 2012. Academic Career Dr. Alihanafiah has been serving as a lecturer at the Academy of Islamic Studies, University of Malaya since 2017, and currently holds the position of Senior Lecturer. With over eight years of academic experience, he has demonstrated strong commitment to teaching and research, particularly in the field of Quran and Hadith studies. Leadership and Involvement Since his student days, Dr. Alihanafiah has actively engaged in various leadership and co-curricular activities. He served as Chairman of the Student Committee, Department of Quran and Hadith (2005–2006), and was a committee member of the Islamic Student Association of the University of Malaya (2004–2005). He also held the position of Advisory Committee Member of the Training and Cadre Unit at YADIM (2020–2021), and served as Chairman of the Youth Bureau (Lajnah Syubban) of the Malaysian Muslim Scholar Association (PUM) from 2017 to 2024. As of 2025, he holds the position of Chairman of the Madrasah Ulama’ Secretariat, also under PUM. Academic Publications and Scholarly Network Dr. Alihanafiah is an active academic in the field of scholarly publishing. He has authored more than 60 academic articles, which have been published in various academic journals, book chapters, and conference proceedings. Additionally, he has presented over 15 research papers at international conferences and seminars. His involvement in research includes delivering presentations as a guest speaker in countries such as Japan, Iran, and Indonesia. He has also participated in research competency courses in Turkey, Thailand, Egypt, Brunei, Japan, Jordan, Qatar, Iran, and other countries. He is recognized as a subject matter expert in the areas of Quranic thought, thematic (Mawdu‘i) interpretation, human capital development, and environmental sustainability from the perspective of the Quran. Academic and Co-Curricular Achievements Dr. Alihanafiah has received various awards and recognitions throughout his academic journey. These include the Cikgu Haji Osman Hassan Book Prize for Best Student at the Academy of Islamic Studies, University of Malaya (2009), the Active Student Award of Residential College 8 (2007), and the Academic Excellence Award of the same college (2007). He also received the University Book Prize for achieving a perfect CGPA (4.00) in three out of six semesters. In the field of debating, he represented the University of Malaya in the Royal Intervarsity Debate Championship (Arabic category) and emerged as First Runner-up in 2007. He also reached the quarterfinals of the ASEAN Debate Championship (Arabic category) in the same year. Additionally, he was the First Runner-up in the Quran Memorization Competition and Islamic Calligraphy Competition (khat) at the university level in 2007 and 2008 respectively.

Dr Airina is currently a Senior Lecturer at the Institute of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, University Malaya. She earned both her Bachelor of Science (Biochemistry) and Master of Science (Lipid Biochemistry) degree from University Malaya in 2003 and 2008 respectively. In 2013, she graduated from University of Cambridge, United Kingdom with a PhD in Pharmacology. Her PhD thesis work focuses on magnetoreception. A study on how animals having the ability to detect the Earth’s magnetic field whereby her research was to understand the cellular basis and the mechanism underlying the single domain magnetite of magnetoreceptor cells in fish. Her research interests include looking at the uses of natural products especially form Traditional Malaysian plants as an alternative medicine. She is interested in investigating the phytochemistry, molecular biology of medicinal plants and bioassays activity of natural products. Her current research includes the study of various traditional plants that help to reduce hypertension, lowering blood sugar level and oxidative stress. This is an important area to explore as there is still a general lack of knowledge and much misinformation remain about natural products in plants and their uses by people. Besides that, her research interest includes the study of proteolytic enzymes and anti-inflammatory activities of the Butterfly leaf, Christia vespertilionis. Dr Airina is also looking at venturing into projects which involves anti-cancer properties from medicinal plants. Besides doing research, she is teaching undergraduates students of Biohealth Program, Institute of Biological Science, Faculty of Science, University Malaya. Her core teaching subjects includes Pharmacology, Drug Analysis and Analytical Biochemistry. Besides that, she has been teaching various Laboratory courses due to her expertise in Biochemistry. On top of that, Dr Airina has supervised more than 15 undergraduate students for their final year projects and currently supervising and co-supervising up to 4 graduate students. She is the Principal investigator for a research grant and a Co-PI of a research collaborating with MAHSA university. She has authored and co-authored more then 5 research papers with a number of conference proceedings. She was also appointed as the Secretary and fellow of the Fifth Residential college and has been a residential college fellow for almost 10 years. She is dedicated towards helping students to improve in their soft skills abilities and to expose students towards community engagement programs. Dr Airina is the fellow advisor for various established programs such as the Education Malaysia (EDUMAS), Malaysian Blood Donation (NBD) and other community engagement programs.