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 Sam is a medical graduate from the University of Nottingham in the UK, and completed his postgraduate training in Medical Microbiology in London. He joined the University of Malaya in 2005. He is head of the diagnostic virology and advanced (molecular) diagnostics units in the University of Malaya Medical Centre, a 1000-bed tertiary referral centre. His clinical diagnostic work includes expanding molecular diagnostic services and involvement in hospital responses to emerging infectious diseases such as COVID-19. He teaches both undergraduates and postgraduates. His research interests cover clinical, epidemiological, diagnostic and pathogenesis aspects of chikungunya virus and other arboviruses, respiratory viruses (including influenza and SARS-CoV-2), and enterovirus A71, and he has held several national and international grants.

Dr. Noor Azlin Yahya is a Professor at the Department of Restorative Dentistry, Faculty of Dentistry, Universiti Malaya. She has held several key leadership roles, including Head of the Dental Materials and Operative Dentistry Disciplines, Coordinator of the Biomaterials & Thermal Characterization Research Laboratories, and Head of the Biomaterials and Technology Research Group. Dr. Noor Azlin’s academic journey began with a prestigious Federal Scholarship for Dentistry in New Zealand, under the Collaborative University of Malaya-University of Otago Programme. She furthered her expertise through postgraduate studies in Restorative Dentistry at the Leeds Dental Institute, University of Leeds, UK. Her research, centred on the synthesis, characterization, and testing of dental materials, has led to numerous ISI publications and the supervision of over 50 undergraduate and postgraduate projects. Dr. Noor Azlin’s academic excellence is recognized globally, with more than 40 awards, including gold medals at prestigious international research expositions in Brussels, Nuremberg, and Geneva. In addition to her academic contributions, Dr. Noor Azlin plays a prominent role in professional associations, serving as President of the IADR Malaysian Section, Vice President of the Malaysian Dental Materials Society (MDEMS), and as a board member of the Asian Network of Dental Materials Societies (ANDeMS). She is also an Adjunct Professor at Universitas Airlangga and a Visiting Professor at Universitas Brawijaya, Indonesia.