Dr. Nur Afiqah's research examines institutional-related structures associated with engagement in healthcare, including HIV and Hepatitis C care for people who use drugs (PWUD). This epidemiological work is informed by sociological perspectives which frame the research questions within a wider social, economic and policy environment. Additionally, she has received training in Implementation Science at Yale University.  Being an active member of the Centre of Excellence for Research in AIDS and Infectious Diseases(CERiA), her current research activities have incorporated a community-based participiatory research (CBPR) component. Using this approach, she engages with local communities of PWUD and NGOs that serve these populations, whose collective views in the design and implementation of health programs are key in developing effective interventions. Additionally, she is actively involved in knowledge-transfer activities, promoting the use of evidence-based practices in real-life settings. She is also interested in drug policies, especially the impact of existing policies on youths and families.  Dr Nur Afiqah is a consultant for WHO, UNDP and International Drug Policy Consortium (IDPC). She currently serves as the Vice President at the Malaysian AIDS Council.   

Dr. Lim is a Consultant Neurologist and Professor at the University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, where he runs a very busy government clinic and private practice seeing many patients (around 70 every week) with Parkinson’s disease (PD) and other Movement Disorders, including complicated cases requiring advanced treatments such as deep brain stimulation. Dr. Lim earned his medical and research doctorate degrees from the University of Melbourne and was admitted to Fellowship of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians after completing advanced training in adult Internal Medicine and Neurology in Melbourne. Dr. Lim trained in general neurology and subspecialized in Parkinson’s & Movement Disorders, at world-renowned centres in Melbourne and Toronto (the latter supported by the Edmond J. Safra Fellowship, under Prof. Anthony Lang). He has published widely in the field of Movement Disorders (Parkinson's as well as a variety of rarer movement disorders), with approx. 150 peer-reviewed journal papers and book chapters, including first-author publications in Lancet Neurology, Archives of Neurology/JAMA Neurology, Movement Disorders, etc. and co-authorship in journals such as Nature Genetics, Nature Reviews Neurology, Annals of Neurology, and Brain (10K+ citations, h-index 46). He is on several Editorial Boards including Parkinsonism & Related Disorders and Neurotorium, and is an Associate Editor for Nature Partner Journal (npj) Parkinson's Disease and Neurology Asia (for several years previously also for Science Advances), and Guest Editor for the Journal of Parkinson's Disease. Dr. Lim is the current Chair of the Asian-Oceanian section of the International Parkinson & Movement Disorder Society (MDS) (which has approx. 3.5K members, from the Clinical and Basic science communities), and serves on several MDS Committees/Task Forces (for Evidence-Based Medicine; Progressive Supranuclear Palsy; Movement Disorders in Asia; Palliative Care; etc.). He is a Steering Committee member, and Co-Lead of the Under-Represented Populations Working Group, of the Global Parkinson's Genetics Program (GP2). He is a holder and/or Reviewer of grants for PD-related funding organisations such as the Michael J. Fox Foundation (MJFF), and the United Kingdom's National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) and Cure Parkinspn's Trust (CPT). With a strong commitment to teaching/training, Dr. Lim has organized numerous teaching courses on Parkinson’s & Movement Disorders, and delivered and/or participated in hundreds of international-level lectures and expert panels throughout Asia-Oceania, North America, and Europe. These have often been under the auspices of the MDS, as MDS Visiting Professor, MDS Ambassador, or MDS Virtual Professor. As a versatile speaker with broad-ranging expertise, he has been invited to give numerous Plenary Lectures, including at the flagship MDS Annual Congress (Toronto 2011, Dublin 2012, Nice 2019, Philadelphia/Virtual 2020, Copenhagen 2023, Honolulu 2025) and at the World Parkinson's Congress (Kyoto 2019). In 2025, together with Profs. Nobutaka Hattori and Pramod Pal, he Chaired a highly successful 9th Asian & Oceanian Parkinson's & Movement Disorders Congress (AOPMC) in Tokyo. He has provided movement disorder fellowship/observership training to neurologists from multiple underserved countries, including Indonesia, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, India, the Philippines, and Nigeria, often under the auspices of the MDS (Visiting Trainee Grants or Centre-to-Centre Programs). Dr. Lim is a Medical Advisor to the Malaysian Parkinson’s Disease Association, and a founding member (and Immediate-Past Chair) of the Malaysian Movement Disorder Council. He was elected as a Fellow of the Malaysian Academy of Sciences in 2017. In recognition of his leadership in the Movement Disorders field, he was invited to be an Expert Panelist/Consultant to the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2020 to address global policy, implementation and research related to PD. Dr. Lim's research interests are multi-dimensional, with a focus on the following areas: (i) PD (particularly genetics and genotype-phenotype correlations; evidence-based medicine/clinical trials; non-motor features including gastrointestinal aspects; comorbidities; patient-centred care; and rating scales/disease staging); (ii) Parkinson-plus syndromes and other miscellaneous/"orphan" movement disorders, including progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP).

Amira Firdaus is an Associate Professor at Universiti Malaya’s Department of Media and Communication Studies, Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences. Amira's core expertise is Positive/Constructive Communication with practical and conceptual applications across three fields: Communication, Higher Education, and Positive Psychology. Within these areas, Amira's interest in positive/constructive communication is implicitly integrated into her work in digital ethnography, e-learning, constructive journalism, positive education, positive organizations, and active ageing.   Amira's current multidisciplinary foci include: Adult ADHD/ADD media and communication; faculty wellbeing & happiness; online learning instructional design & communication; empathetic/inclusive instructional communication. Amira recently completed her term as Deputy Director for Professional Development / Head for Teaching & Learning at UM's Academic Development & Enhancement Centre (ADEC) (2014-2022). Amira holds a PhD in communication from the University of Melbourne. *Students seeking PhD or MA supervision with Amira Firdaus are kindly encouraged to email amira_firdaus@um.edu.my before submitting your application online.  ______________________________________________________________________