Firdaus Aziz is a Senior Lecturer and the Deputy Dean of Research and Innovation at the Faculty of Law, Universiti Malaya. His work centres on medical law, biosafety law, and the legal–ethical dimensions of emerging technologies, including stem cell science, biobanking, gene editing, and precision medicine. He holds a BSc (Hons) in Genetics and Molecular Biology from Universiti Malaya and received the National Science Fellowship to pursue an MA in Biotechnological Law and Ethics at the University of Sheffield. He later completed a DPhil in Public Health at St Edmund Hall, University of Oxford, specialising in stem cell law and ethics at the Centre for Health, Law and Emerging Technologies (HeLEX). Since 2016, he has contributed to strengthening bioethics capacity in Southeast Asia. As a UNESCO Bioethics Trainer, he has delivered training to academicians teaching bioethics in universities across Indonesia, the Philippines, Fiji, and other parts of the region. He is also a co-investigator for the Wellcome Trust–funded Southeast Asian Bioethics Network and for the NIH Fogarty programme developing Malaysia’s Master’s in Health Research Ethics. Firdaus plays an active role in national and regional governance, serving on Malaysia’s Technical Advisory Committee on Dual-Use Research, the National Sub-Committee for Laboratory Biosafety and Biosecurity, and the National Committee on Ethics of Cell Research and Therapy. He provides expert input to government agencies, including the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation, contributing to national policy development such as the Guidelines on Stem Cell and Cell-based Research and Therapy (2024) and Malaysia’s first national biotechnology ethics guidelines (2025). He is also involved in national efforts to reform the criminal justice system, with research and supervisory work that engages issues at the intersection of law, public health, and justice sector governance.

Prof Sanjiv Mahadeva is a Consultant Gastroenterologist and the previous Head of the Department of Medicine (2014 - 2019), University Malaya. He underwent his basic undergraduate and postgraduate medical training in the UK, and subsequently completed his sub-speciality training in Gastroenterology in the Yorkshire Deanery, UK. After joining the Faculty of Medicine in 2003, he pursued research in the area of Functional GI disorders and obtained a Doctorate in Medicine (M.D.) from the University of Leeds, UK in 2009. Despite a busy clinical practice and heavy training commitments, he has actively contributed to research with over 200 scientific peer-reviewed publications in international journals, > 10,000 citations and a H-index of 52 (Google Scholar). He currently serves as Associate and Academic Editor for several international journals and has been ranked “top 2% scientists in the world” by Stanford University in 2022, 2023 & 2024 .

Dr. Nor Eeza Zainal Abidin is a sports management lecturer at the Faculty of Sports and Exercise Science, Universiti Malaya. Her background is in accounting, public administration and sports management and she has more than 12 years working experience in sports services across several private companies and public universities in Malaysia. Her research interests are related to sociology of sports, management and sustainability. She is currently involved in research related to sports facilities including accessibility for persons with disabilities, social challenges of physical fitness for autistic swimmers, and female sport students as future leaders.  Nor Eeza is an active sportsperson and has represented the country in softball and floorball.