Dr. Mila is a Senior Lecturer at the Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya (UM). With a background in tropical medicine, family medicine, and public health, she has experience teaching public health and health research across undergraduate and postgraduate programmes.   As an award-winning researcher, Dr. Mila has presented work at international conferences and published research and review articles in peer-reviewed international journals. She also serves as a scientific reviewer for leading journals, including The Lancet, BMC, Springer Nature, SAGE Publications, and the Medical Journal of Malaysia (MJM).   Dr. Mila has been actively involved in diverse research projects, including studies on migrant workers, breast cancer awareness through mass-media campaigns, and community mental health. Her international collaborations extend to research on COVID-19, mental health, digital health literacy, and tropical infectious diseases reflecting a commitment to advancing public health and research.

She has vast knowledge in the geospatial industry and agriculture and has been working in R&D work for more than 15 years in geospatial technologies at the University of Malaya Kuala Lumpur. She is an energetic researcher with an ardent desire to build a career within the research industry. Enthusiastic, initiative-taking individual with a drive to succeed, having excellent organizational skills. Her research interests are hyperspectral remote sensing and GIS in precision agriculture, especially in oil palm, land use mapping, landfill siting, tourism, watershed, utilities, and forestry in remote sensing. Her transdisciplinary research has across the science, geography, social, and engineering fields. She is a highly efficient and organized strategist with an initiative-taking approach to analytical performance and data accuracy.

A biophysicist by interest, Dr. Vengadesh Periasamy is based in Low Dimensional Materials Research Centre (LDMRC), Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, University of Malaya in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia as a Senior Lecturer/ Research Fellow. His field of expertise and interest mainly involves DNA electronics, Langmuir-Blodgett (LB), Biophotovoltaics (BPV) and Nanomedicine (Riboflavin, Green Synthesis of Nanoparticles for Antipathogenic and Anticancer Properties). His current research groups consist of numerous final year projects, interns, research assistants, MSc. and PhD. students comprising of various disciplines and nationality. Resulting research outputs have been published in various high impact factor journal papers, proceedings, patent, book and book chapter. Research covers a comprehensive multi-disciplinary approach whereby underlying fundamentals are thoroughly investigated to enable possible applications by constructing, characterizing and testing prototype sensors/devices. Using LB technique to fabricate pure novel DNA films, we are actively pursuing frontier research into fundamental DNA electronics, which would ultimately enable DNA genomic sequencing for rapid DNA detection and also the fabrication of DNA based environmental sensors. LB method also allows flexibility in designing different types of graphene films either as porous anodes or highly transparent conducting material. These highly customized electrodes will then be utilized to investigate bio-signals or intrinsic cellular noises from antipathogenic/anticancer reactions and other biological pathways of interest. Current research directions are therefore directed towards understanding interfacial properties by deciphering extracted bio-signals to be applied in the fields of nano-bioelectronics, nano-medicine and biomedical technology. Dr. Vengadesh’s interest in BPV is partly as a result of an MOU between University of Malaya and Centre of Research for Electrochemical Science and Technology (CREST), Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, University of Cambridge to undertake combined research efforts in algae biotechnology. He and his group is developing LB derived high porosity graphene films for application as an anodic material in BPV platforms. Initial results indicating an increased power output and open potential suggest the possibility of substituting the currently used conventional ITO anodes. The LB method utilized allows for attaining higher electrode surface area and better attachment of biofilms. Coupled with the presence of functional groups, the films fabricated enables easier and effective algae attachment onto the graphene anode surface resulting in superior biocompatibility and hence the improved power output. Dr. Vengadesh visited CREST as a Post-doc/Academic Visitor from 21 January until 20 October 2014 to facilitate the collaborative research further and to establish a roadmap in BPV research between the two research centers.