Dr. Song Sze Looi is a Senior Lecturer at the Institute for Advanced Studies (IAS), Universiti Malaya, specialising in Phylogenomics and eDNA Metagenomics. She obtained her PhD in the field of Algal Biotechnology in 2013. Following her doctorate, she was appointed as a Postdoctoral Researcher on a high-impact research project in Molecular Phylogenetics and Systematics. In 2016, she took on the role of Research Fellow, focusing on Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) and Bioinformatics. In 2019, Dr. Song joined the China-ASEAN College of Marine Sciences (CAMS) at Xiamen University Malaysia as an Assistant Professor. She returned to Universiti Malaya in 2021 and currently serves as the Program Coordinator for the Master of Advanced Studies (MAS) and the Program Director for Future Studies. Dr. Song’s research integrates high-throughput sequencing technologies and advanced analytical tools to explore the evolutionary relationships and biodiversity of a wide range of organisms, including both marine and terrestrial taxa. Her projects examined the phylogenetic and phylogeographic structures of biota of economic, agriculture and public health importance, such as seaweeds, parasites, insects, and vertebrates, as well as microbial communities associated with host organisms and environmental samples. She has published over 60 WoS–indexed journal articles. In addition, she has led or contributed to numerous research projects funded by national, international, and industry bodies, including the Japan Toray Science Foundation, the Fundamental Research Grant Scheme (FRGS), the National Conservation Trust Fund (NCTF), and a Petronas-funded project in collaboration with UCSI University. Her recent work focuses on the application of eDNA for assessing marine biodiversity and ecosystem health, particularly in sensitive estuarine and coastal habitats. Her research excellence has been recognized (1) through multiple awards, including being a co-recipient of the Malaysia Toray Science Foundation 2023 Science and Technology Award, and (2) as a lead speaker at conferences.

Dr. Lee Hai Yen (Natasha) is a Senior Lecturer at the Tropical Infectious Disease Research and Education Centre (TIDREC), Universiti Malaya, where she leads research in vaccine development, antimicrobial postbiotics, and biomanufacturing strategies for infectious disease preparedness. She earned her PhD in Food Safety (Microbiology) from Universiti Putra Malaysia and a Diploma in Vaccinology from the Institut Pasteur, Paris. Her scientific contributions span more than 70 peer-reviewed publications, patents in vaccine technologies and microbial applications, and leadership in multiple research grants. Dr. Lee has worked internationally, including at Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children’s Hospital in the United States. Beyond academia, she actively contributes to Malaysia’s national vaccine ecosystem, serving as an expert committee member under the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI) for vaccine development technology and biomanufacturing capacity building. Her commitment extends to teaching, student mentorship, and capacity building through organizing scientific seminars, developing biomanufacturing training programs, and fostering global collaborations. Dr. Lee’s work bridges fundamental science, translational innovation, and policy impact, advancing Malaysia’s vaccine security and preparedness.

MOHAMAD HUSSIN was born in Sik, Kedah, Malaysia, in 1975. He received a Bachelor's degree in Arabic Language and Literature from the Al al-Bayt University, Jordan, in 1999, and a Master of Modern Language Studies from the University of Malaya in 2007. In 2017, he received Ph.D. degrees in Arabic Language studies from the Universiti Putra Malaysia. In 2017 he joined the Department of Arabic and Middle East Languages, Faculty of Languages and Linguistics, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur as a Senior Lecturer. He has taught a variety of courses in Arabic Language Studies at undergraduate programs and supervised some postgraduate MA and Ph.D. candidates.  His research interests include learning Arabic as a second language, Arabic for specific purposes, Arabic Language Studies, translation Arabic to Malaya and Arabic Rhetorical especially the Prophet Muhammad (saw) bayān. He has published articles in international and national journals, books, and other publications. One of his remarkable works is he published a few article journals indexed by WoS and Scopus.  Apart from his teaching experiences, he is actively taking part as thesis examiners and article reviewers, both at local and international levels. Besides than that, he is also assigned as one of the editorial board members in some of the acknowledged journals, International Journal of Humanities and Journal of Language Teaching, Literature and Linguistics (JLTLL), to name a few. In addition, he has been appointed as Chief Editor for al-Dad Journal.