Dr. Zarina Zakaria is an Associate Professor at the Department of Accounting, Faculty of Business & Economics, University of Malaya. She received her PhD of Business & Management from the Nottingham University Business School, United Kingdom, in 2011. She obtained her Masters of Business Administration (Accountancy) from the University of Malaya, and her Bachelor in Accountancy from Cardiff Business School, United Kingdom.  She is currently the Audit & Risk Management Committee of Pelaburan Mara Berhad and the Chairperson for the Board of Trustee of the Malaysian Accountancy Research and Education Foundation (MAREF) as well as a member of the Interpretations Committee for the Malaysian Accounting Standards Board (MASB). She is also a member of MICPA Education & Technical Committee since 2017. She is an associate member of MICPA, MIA and ACCA and during her tenure as the MIA Council, she sat in various Committees including MIA Disciplinary Committee, MIA Examination Committee and the MIA Audit & Risk Management Committee. She has published numerous articles and book chapters in her area of expertise including in the Accounting Forum and Management Decision. Her research interests include sustainability, accountability, and governance. Zarina has also acted as a reviewer for several journals, including Management Decision, Journal of Accounting in Emerging Economies, and a variety of international conferences

Dr. Zubaidah Ya’cob is a Senior Lecturer and Researcher at the Tropical Infectious Diseases Research and Education Centre (TIDREC), Universiti Malaya, whose academic career has been defined by a strong commitment to advancing One Health principles, impactful infectious disease research, transformative education, and community engagement. In recognition of her international collaborations and academic contributions, Dr. Zubaidah was appointed in 2025 as an Honorary Senior Research Fellow at the School of Infections and Microbiomes, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, University of Liverpool, United Kingdom, strengthening her global research engagement and fostering long-term collaboration in vector ecology and emerging zoonoses. Her research expertise lies in medical and veterinary entomology, with a specialization in public health vectors, particularly ticks, mosquitoes, chiggers, sandflies, blackflies, and biting midges (Culicoides), and their roles in transmitting vector-borne diseases such as scrub typhus, rickettsioses, onchocerciasis, simian malaria, and leishmaniasis. A major focus of her current research is understanding the population dynamics of dipteran vectors, including mosquitoes, biting midges (Culicoides), and sandflies (Phlebotomus), across changing tropical landscapes, emphasizing how environmental disturbances and land-use transformation influence vector ecology, host–parasite interactions, and disease emergence in tropical ecosystems. Dr. Zubaidah has published over 70 ISI-indexed articles in reputable international journals such as One Health, Insects, PLOS ONE, Scientific Reports, Acta Tropica, Insects, Journal of Medical Entomology, and Pathogens. She has successfully secured a range of competitive national and international research grants, reflecting her strong research credibility and global engagement. Among her internationally funded projects, The Royal Society (UK) supported her work titled “Mites with Wings”, which investigates the role of avian hosts in the spread of scrub typhus–carrying mites. Through funding from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC, UK), she explored pathogen detection in Simulium black fly populations associated with Onchocerciasis transmission in sub-Saharan Africa. She is also an international member of a global research consortium on Onchocerciasis elimination in sub-Saharan Africa, working collaboratively with experts from the University of Liverpool, University of Oxford, New England Biolabs (USA), and the University of Sheffield, contributing entomological expertise in vector identification, pathogen detection, and disease transmission ecology. Her collaboration under the International Science Partnership Fund (UK) has led to groundbreaking research on rodent genomics and the prevalence of Orientia bacteria in domestic poultry, revealing complex zoonotic transmission pathways. Domestically, she was awarded the Fundamental Research Grant Scheme (FRGS) to study black fly–filarial parasite associations in Malaysia and has partnered with the Institute of Research for Development (IRD), France, to examine zoonotic disease risks in oil palm agricultural landscapes through a One Health lens. Her partnership with UMCARES extends her impact to underserved communities, delivering vector-borne disease awareness programs for primary schoolchildren and Orang Asli families, translating scientific knowledge into actionable public health benefits. Her multidisciplinary research integrates field entomology, molecular diagnostics, ecological modeling, and population genetics, demonstrating her capacity to lead innovative, solution-oriented research that advances both scientific understanding and disease control strategies. Her future work aims to investigate genetic determinants of vector competence, ecological drivers of disease emergence, and sustainable, ecologically sound vector management under the One Health framework. As an educator, Dr. Zubaidah has shown excellence in teaching and mentoring at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. She teaches Biology of Organisms, Biostatistics, Statistics, and Research Methodology, promoting active learning and scientific inquiry while nurturing students’ analytical and critical thinking skills. She currently supervises five PhD candidates (two graduated) and eight Master’s students (three graduated, five ongoing). Beyond academia, Dr. Zubaidah is a science communicator and public health advocate, frequently featured on TV1’s Selamat Pagi Malaysia and Bernama TV, offering expert commentary on vector-borne diseases, particularly during flood seasons. Her community-driven initiatives, delivering health education to Orang Asli and B40 communities, earned her the Universiti Malaya Excellence Award (ACUM) in 2023 for impactful community engagement. Dr. Zubaidah also plays an active role in Malaysia’s professional entomology community. She serves as Secretary of the Entomological Society of Malaysia (ENTOMA) and is an Academic Associate Member of the Public Health Entomology Association (PEKA), reflecting her dedication to advancing entomological science and promoting national and international collaboration. Her ability to integrate science, policy, and community action continues to enhance Universiti Malaya’s reputation as a leader in public health engagement, societal impact, and One Health research excellence.

Prof. Dr. Loo has conducted fascinating research over the 12 years in The University of Malaya, particularly in Lifelong Machine Learning, Explainable Robotics, Explainable AI and recently in Trustworth & Sustainable AI. His numerous publications on the topic have been well-received and have made a substantial contribution to the Continual Machine Intelligence.  He has published more than 200 peer-reviewed journal and conference papers on neurorobotics and machine intelligence. In high-impact journals such as IEEE Transactions on Neural Networks and Learning Systems, Neural Networks, Journal of Neural Systems, IEEE Transactions on Cognitive and Developmental Systems, IEEE Transactions on Cybernetics, to name a few. Prof. Loo is also the recipient of JSPS fellowship award from Japan and the Georg Forster Fellowship award from the Humboldt Foundation, Germany, Belt and Road Academic Fellowship Scheme, China, and the Fulbright Fellowship from US. He has been the visiting professor of Osaka Metropolitan University, Japan, and King Mongkut's Institute of Technology Ladkrabang, Thailand and Adjunct Professor in The Harry Butler Institute, Murdoc University. He has applied the developed theory to medical diagnosis, prognosis, and brain-inspired Machine Intelligence, and the potential of his research findings has been successfully demonstrated in various domains, including digital healthcare and cognitive robotics. Chu Kiong has been recognized for his excellence in applied research that has commercial potential based on the 10 patents filed. He is one of the founders of UM spin-off company, UMCH Sdn. Bhd. specializing in AI-enabled connected healthcare solutions.   Moreover, he is honoured Malaysia’s Research Star Award 2019 - Research and Innovation Excellence Awards, from the Ministry of Education as one of the most influential researchers in Malaysia. He received the Top Research Scientist Malaysia (TRSM) award 2020 from the Academy of Science Malaysia.