Dr. Hemavathi Shanmugam is a psychiatrist and medical lecturer in the Department of Psychological Medicine, University of Malaya. Her primary area of interest is non-invasive brain stimulation in psychiatry. She holds certification in transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS; PULSES, USA) and transcranial electrical stimulation (TES; PlatoScience, Denmark). She is an active member of global neuromodulation networks, including the Clinical TMS Society and its Asian Special Interest Council (CTMSS). Clinically, Dr. Hemavathi led the implementation of the rTMS service for psychiatric disorders at the University Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC), a collaborative initiative with the Rehabilitation Medicine department, and has been formally credentialed and privileged by UMMC to perform TMS procedures. Her research interests lie in neuromodulation and health economics, with ongoing work in cost-of-illness analyses, real-world clinical outcomes, and the cost-effectiveness of rTMS in Malaysia, supported by a BKP research grant. Dr. Hemavathi is actively involved in undergraduate and postgraduate psychiatry education and contributes to the development and credentialing of neuromodulation services within her department. To strengthen her emerging focus in precision neuromodulation, she is undertaking an observership at the National University Hospital (NUH), Singapore, focusing on neuronavigation-guided and accelerated TMS protocols. 

CHIEW Poh Shin (周宝芯, 周寶芯) is a senior lecturer in the Department of Malaysian Languages and Applied Linguistics, Faculty of Languages and Linguistics, Universiti Malaya. She earned her Bachelor's, Master's, and PhD from Nanjing Normal University, specialising in Chinese language and linguistics. Her primary research interests include phonetics and phonology, language variation, and language acquisition. Currently, she focuses on sociophonetics and prosodic studies, particularly in the varieties of Chinese like Hokkien, Cantonese, and Mandarin. She has a deep passion for human speech and wants to explore how speech sounds connect with cognition, society, and culture. Beyond academic research, she enjoys science communication work, sharing the fascinating world of linguistics with the public. Here is her first experience on a podcast.

Luqman Hakim has built a diverse career across manufacturing, oil & gas, and industrial digital technologies in Malaysia and the UK. He observed that while companies aim to innovate sustainably, many struggle to advance R&D without the right research partners. If this felt like you, this is where he can help. His current work focuses on developing functionalised, micro- and mesoporous materials such as zeolites, activated carbon and metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) for water and gas purification. Specifically:   (1) For water treatment: removal of trace, harmful organic pollutants like poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), endocrine disrupting compounds and microplastics.   (2) For gas purification and separation: capture of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), moisture (water) or filtration of other hazardous industry gases (CO, CO2, H2S, SOx, NOx). See an example of news coverage on his past PhD project.   In particular, MOF materials also hold great potential in improving catalytic reactions and process efficiency; an area which he plans to venture next. He welcomes any collaboration opportunities either from the industry or other academic institutions to help solve the technical challenges together.