Assoc. 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 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. 

My academic career began on December 05, 2001 as a tutor at the Department of Islamic History and Civilization, APIUM. A year later I had completed my Usuluddin Master's Degree in Islamic History with a dissertation entitled "Dato' Haji Ismail Yusof: His Contribution to the Development of Islam in Kelantan". After completing my master's degree, I was assigned as a lecturer in the Department of Islamic History and Civilization on January 24, 2003 until now. In 2012, I have successfully graduated with a PhD degree from the same deparment after submitting a research thesis entitled "Majalah Pengasuh After Independence: A Study of Themes and Approaches". Throughout my career as a lecturer at Department of Islamic History and Civilization, I have actively written various articles in the fields of Islamic letters, the development of jawi writing, sirah nabawiah, Method of Islamic Biography Writing and Islamic civilization in addition to presenting papers at national or international seminars. Among the areas of research that have been carried out are on Jawi writing, Jawi-Islamic manuscripts, and Islamic letters, scholarly figures of the Malay Peninsula and the relationship between Malaysian and Indonesian Islamic institutions of higher education. I have written more than 60 papers in seminar proceedings, more than 125 articles that have been published in national and international journals, in addition to various activities that are academic, community and so on. Now I have been entrusted to lead the Department of History and Islamic Civilization as the Head of Department starting from Julai 2012 until April 30, 2020. In addition, I was also appointed as Ahli Lembaga Pengarah Universiti Islam Malaysia since 2019 and also now as Ahli Senat UIM. In 2022, I was appointed as Prof Madya in the same department and have now published more or less 250 publications in various academic mediums.

Dr. Noor Munirah Isa is a senior lecturer at the Department of Science and Technology Studies, Faculty of Science, Universiti Malaya. Her Ph.D. in bioethics, which she received from the same department in 2013, provided her with a solid foundation for her research in this fascinating multidisciplinary field of study. Dr. Isa has had a lifelong interest in Islam, Muslim, and science. This interest was inspired by medieval Muslim polymaths and was further cultivated when she studied biotechnology and Islamic studies for her bachelor’s degree. She was part of the first batch of students to graduate from the Universiti Malaya Applied Science with Islamic Studies undergraduate program in September 2007. This unique program provided her with the opportunity to study science and religion in an interdisciplinary manner, which has been a driving force behind her research to this day. Dr. Isa's doctoral thesis was a study on how Muslim scholars assess selected applications of modern biotechnology from an Islamic perspective and how they view conventional perspectives in this regard. Her research has continued to focus on the intersection of science, technology, and society, and she has been especially interested in the interplay between science and Islam, bioethics, and science communication. She believes that these areas are crucial for bridging the scientific community and society, and for promoting public engagement and trust in science. In 2014-2016, Dr. Isa conducted a small research project aimed at examining the role of Malay science fiction novels in communicating ethics in science and technology to the Malaysian public. This was followed by a larger project, which she led, that explored the Islamic perspectives on human germline gene editing. This project was funded by the Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia and provided Dr. Isa and her team with the opportunity to explore the Islamic worldview and to expound on Islamic ethical-legal concepts and principles related to human germline gene editing. Dr. Isa is also a co-investigator in a project on developing standards for using kratom leaves for medical purposes. In addition to studying Islamic perspectives, she is also interested in cross-cultural studies of religious and cultural perspectives on bioethics. Her interest in this area has been recognized by the Global Forum on Bioethics of Research Project Fellowship from Wellcome Trust, which she received to study the ethics of human genome editing from Islamic and Confucian perspectives. She was also awarded the Asian Universities Alliance (AUA) Scholars Award 2020-2021, which enabled her to explore the influence of religion on bioethics in Thailand, where Buddhism is the official religion. Dr. Isa recognizes that science communication is a crucial area of research that has been underexplored in Malaysia. With this in mind, she has attempted to fill this gap by conducting small projects with postgraduate students on Malaysian public knowledge, awareness, and attitudes toward various topics, including vaccination, dengue fever, and medical cannabis. Through these projects, she aims to better understand public perception towards science and technology and to identify the factors that contribute to public trust in science.