Dr. Wahib M. Atroosh, hailing from Yemen, is a senior lecturer in the Department of Parasitology at Universiti Malaya (UM), where he has been a faculty member since 2019. He began his academic journey in the same department, completing his Master's degree in 2012, and subsequently pursued a PhD, which he earned with Distinction in 2017. Dr. Wahib's research focuses primarily on Plasmodium falciparum, the parasite responsible for the majority of severe malaria cases and deaths in humans, known for its high mortality rate and increasing resistance to antimalarial drugs. His expertise includes monitoring antimalarial drug resistance through in vivo clinical trials and the application of molecular gene markers of drug resistance. In addition to his primary research on malaria, Dr. Wahib collaborates with local and international research teams, including partnerships with the Medical Research Center at Jazan University in Saudi Arabia, the School of Biological Science at Universiti Sains Malaysia, and the College of Health Sciences, Nigeria. These collaborations explore the epidemiology, genotyping, and molecular characterization of antimalarial drug resistance in P. falciparum isolates from both Saudi Arabia and Nigeria. Dr. Wahib's contributions to the field of parasitology extend to other areas, including research on leishmaniasis, intestinal protozoa, schistosomiasis, soil-transmitted helminths (STH), and parasite-related health education programs. Dr. Wahib has also been involved in developing a novel gene marker aimed at differentiating P. falciparum isolates, enhancing the correctness of the malaria therapeutic efficacy studies outcome. Throughout his career at UM, Dr. Wahib has successfully secured internal and external research grants and contributed to 44 publications in indexed journals with an h-index of 18 and a total of 1,615 citations. He was also awarded the Universiti Malaya Excellent Service Award (APC) for the year 2023. Dr. Wahib actively contributes to the academic community as a member of scientific and technical committees and serves as a judge at international conferences. He is also a peer reviewer for several esteemed journals, including Scientific Reports, PLoS ONE, PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, Parasites & Vectors, Malaria Journal, Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, BMC Medicine, Pathogens and Global Health, and Tropical Biomedicine. His involvement in these roles underscores his commitment to advancing research and fostering collaboration in the field of parasitology.

Dr Catherine Thamarai Arumugam is currently attached to the Family Health Discipline, Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya as a Medical Lecturer with a specialisation in Public Health Medicine. Her past publications speaks of her interest in the research on early childhood development, infectious diseases and her love for poetries. In an unwavering effort of creating a safe media environment for thriving children - she is interested to further explore on the dynamics of technology, toddlers and family relationships.  A medical degree holder from Universitas Sumatera Utara, Indonesia - her journey as a junior doctor started at the Sungai Buloh Hospital which is also the national referral centre for infectious disease. Upon completion of housemanship training, she went on to serve as a Medical Officer in Charge of a maternal child health clinic in the district of Temerloh, Pahang. The responsibility entrusted granted her invaluable experience especially in the domains of maternal child health and disaster preparedness – stirring the passion towards public health. Dr Catherine went back to Temerloh District Health Office with a Doctorate in Public Health from Universiti Malaya - serving as an Epidemiology Officer, heading the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Unit during the COVID19 rampage. Her major tasks revolved around surveillance, outbreak response, training activities and playing the role of liaison officer for the state-level CDC department. From Ministry of Health to Ministry of Higher Education – Dr Catherine has now started her new venture as a medical lecturer, striving to be an advocate for public health issues she is passionate about through her research works and creative writings!

Peter Aning Tedong joined the Department of Urban and Regional Planning at the University of Malaya in December 2014. He is currently the Head of Department of Urban and Regional Planning. He also serves as the Head of Centre for Malaysian Indigenous Studies. As urban studies and housing scholar, Peter Aning’s broad areas of interest cover housing policy and governance, political economy in urban planning, and neighborhood sustainability and planning. He has received numerous research grants both from the public and private sectors. Recently completed projects explored the socio-spatial planning plans in the context of the urban future in Malaysia and the poverty among the indigenous communities in rural areas. He has also carried out work on the role of governance in governing vulnerable communities (refugees, stateless and foreign workers) and examining various issues related to housing and migration in Malaysian Cities. His latest area of interest is multi-layered governance of affordable housing, the Sustainable Development Goals in relation to neighborhood and community planning, and the impacts of migration towards regional and urban development.  Peter’s empirical focus is on the South East Asia region, but he has conducted fieldwork in Europe, Borneo Islands, North America, and also Oceania countries.