Dr. Wan Abd Al Qadr Imad Wan-Mohtar is an Associate Professor and fermentation technologist at the University of Malaya's Functional Omics and Bioprocess Development Laboratory, located in the Faculty of Science, Institute of Biological Sciences. Professor Brian McNeil, a fungal fermentation expert, and Professor Linda Harvey, author of Practical Fermentation Technology (John Wiley & Sons), supervised him at Glasgow's Strathclyde Institute of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences. Dr. Wan-Mohtar's research focuses on extended liquid fermentation and mushroom microbiology. He holds a BSc in Microbiology (Local Basidiomycetes), an MSc in Food Biotechnology (Bioprocessing), and a PhD in Fermentation Technology (Ganoderma lucidum). He applies his mushroom liquid growing skills to extract mushroom colours, protein, polysaccharides, and oil for SDG2 Zero Hunger, SDG6 Clean Water and Sanitation, and SDG7 Affordable and Clean Energy. He represented Malaysia among nineteen international scientists on food security post-2050 at the ''Innovative, sustainable, and circular agricultural systems for the future" utilising mushrooms in Morocco in 2019 and Korea in 2023. At the age of 37, he has 102 high-quality research articles and has been appointed as a Visiting Research Fellow at Technological University of the Shannon: Midlands Midwest in Ireland through 2024. He has also been appointed to the Young Scientist Network (YSN)- Academy of Sciences Malaysia (ASM) till 2024, the Asian Federation of Biotechnology Malaysia (2023-2024), the Solar Research Institute (SRI) UiTM, and the CESPRO UKM Research Fellow (2021-2023). He recently published a chapter on Cultivation Strategies of Medicinal Mushrooms in Submerged-liquid Fermentation (SLF) (2019) and Ganoderma in Traditional Culture (2024) with Taylor & Francis. He has finished sabbatical break at United Arab Emirates University (UAEU) in 2024-2025 on hot-climate mushroom discovery (Arabian truffles). His current plan for mycology is to create Mycotechnology Research Centre Malaysia (MRCM) which covers key mycology goals such as Mycoremediation, Mycoprotein, Mycoenergy and MycoConstruction.   Current niche area:  Mycoremediation using Ganoderma                                  Future and Functional foods                                      Fungal Oils

Muhammad Hatta Roselee joined the Department of Geology, Faculty of Science, University of Malaya as Senior Lecturer in November 2020. He is also a certified professional geologist since 2015 under the Board of Geologists Malaysia.  His research focuses on the petrology, geochemistry and tectonic setting of the Sibumasu and Indochina terrane, particularly within the Southeast Asia geology. In  teaching area, he is mainly focused on teaching the 1st year and 2nd year students where he is responsible for developing fundamental geology knowledge and skills towards them. He is currently the representative of the research collaboration between Department of Geology, UM and the Institute of Geological Sciences (one of the branches of the Chinese Academy of Geological Science) where the main focus is to study the geological relationship of the tin ore formation and the host rock granitic rock. The duration of the research collaboration is 5 years starting from last April 2021. Prior in joining the University of Malaya, Hatta has worked as a research assistant and teaching as tutor in both University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur and the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi.

Dr. Loh Kar Hoe (K.-H. L.) is a Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Ocean and Earth Sciences (IOES), University of Malaya. He graduated with a B.Sc. majoring in aquaculture before pursuing his research in fish reproductive for his M.Sc. in NTOU, Taiwan. He obtained his Ph.D. in Fisheries Science from the NTOU in 2009 for doctoral work on taxonomy and molecular phylogeny of moray eels (Mureanidae). After his Ph.D., he spent one year at the Biodiversity Research Center, Academia Sinica, Taiwan as a postdoctoral researcher. He joined IOES July 2011 as a research fellow. He’s team have discovery eight new species eels (Gymnothorax pseudokidako 2021, Gymnothorax pseudomelanosomatus 2015, Neenchelys gracilis 2015, Pylorobranchus hoi 2012, Gymnothorax melanosomatus 2011, Uropterygius oligospondylus 2008, Gymnothorax taiwanensis 2008, Gymnothorax shaoi 2007), and a lot of new recorded fish from Malaysia, Indonesia, China, Japan, and Taiwan. In addition to studying Malaysian fish otoliths, he is also working on the fisheries assessment work on sharks and rays. A total of 47 ISI articles have been published, and 26 technical reports of the IUCN Sciaenidae Red List assessments in 2020. He has collaborative research on the genetic diversity, population genetics of marine organisms; Reef fish diversity and abundance in Malaysian water through DNA barcoding and eDNA in Malaysia. Another study focuses on microplastics in the gill and stomach of fish. He recently secured a research grant to “Resolving systematics of Cephalopods using morphological and molecular approaches in Malaysia”, and “Environment DNA matebarcoding illuminates the diversity of sharks and rays” funded by WWF-Malaysia.