Dr. Mohd Nasir Hashim is a prominent figure in the University's music arena.  Having served the Cultural Centre in University of Malaya for 32 years, he is a seasoned musician specializing in composition, orchestration and music technology.  Upon graduation from the Mara Institute of Technology (UiTM) in Music, Dr. Nasir later obtained his post graduate degrees at the University of Southampton, United Kingdom. Dr. Nasir also studied under the tutelage of Andrew Llyod Webber in writing scores for musical broadways.  His affiliations with the Cultural Centre began when he was appointed as a Cultural Affairs Officer.  He is today an Associate Professor at the Music Department. Since his postgraduate days, Dr. Nasir has been actively involved in the orchestra both locally and internationally.  During his days at the University of Southampton, Dr. Nasir taught and arranged orchestration on a part-time basic.  In addition, he was also the music director and deputy conductor of a jazz band and a symphony orchestra. It was at time that Dr. Nasir performed alongside the world-renowned composer, Dave Brubek. He toured with Dave Brubeck, the accomplished jazz composer and his big band orchestra in UK and USA. Dr Nasir also participate in several music camps such as the National Music Camps, Asian Music Camp and World Music Camp where he performed as he principal trumpet player. Dr. Nasir was a guest conductor with the London Guildhall Jazz Orchestra. As a result of his wide exposure in UK in conducting and arranging, he believes that whilst every genre of music is special, music can be used as a conduit for the University to reach out to members of society. Apart from conducting, he also copies songs for recording artistes and film soundtracks.  He has composed and arranged numerous scores of various genres for the orchestra. He plays the trumpet, accordion, guitar, piano and a number of traditional instruments.  His involvement in Malay traditional music, Western Jazz, Rock, Rock and Symphony Orchestra gives in a special edge into these genres.  At present Dr. Nasir is also actively producing scores and CDs for publication by the University od Malaya.  He conducts workshop, camps and lectures across the region, with a hope that music can be performed an appreciated as a discipline as well as for leisure.

Azeana Zahari qualified as Bachelor of Science (2007) and Master of Science (2010) from the University Malaya, Malaysia. She went for a research attachment under SLAB/SLAI fellowship at The International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences (H.E.J. Research Institute of Chemistry and Dr. Panjwani Center for Molecular Medicine and Drug Research), Karachi, Pakistan in 2015. She completed her doctoral degree in Natural Product and Medicinal Chemistry at the University of Malaya in 2016. Having obtained the qualifications, she was appointed as Senior Lecturer at Department of Chemistry, Faculty Science, University of Malaya. She is actively involved in teaching of the undergraduates, postgraduates and active member in her department, holding a number of administrative posts and task force members. She has published extensively in many acclaimed international journals such as Scientific Reports, Planta Medica, Heterocycles, Molecules, Phytochemistry Letters, Natural Product Communications and Asian Pacific Journal of Tropical Medicine.  Her areas of interest are extraction and isolation of natural product compounds, structural elucidation using 1D, 2D NMR, UV-vis, LCMS and IR. Recent advance natural product research that she interested in is Molecular networking as dereplication strategy. Subsequently, she undergo research training entitled dereplication of alkaloids from Ochreinauclea Maingayi by integration of molecular networking and LC-MS/MS fragmentation under the framework of the LIA  (Laboratoire International Associe) programme established under CNRS, ICSN and the University of Malaya at University Paris-Sud, University Paris-Saclay, France in 2018. She has been awarded with a number of research grants as a Principal Investigator and Co-Investigator.  She is member of Malaysian Natural Product Society as part of her contribution to Malaysia as whole. 

I am currently a senior lecturer at the Institute for Advanced Studies (IAS), Universiti Malaya (UM), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. My research interests are in postharvest biotechnology, food security, natural products and stem cell fields.I was a PhD Biotechnology graduate from UM, where I researched on the cytotoxicity and effect of Moringa oleifera leaves on human Wharton's Jelly mesenchymal stem cells (WJ-MSCs). My work involved the postharvest preparation of the leaves via drying technology, evaluating their antioxidant properties, and to study its effects on WJ-MSCs (RNA-seq analysis). I can converse in English, Malay and Mandarin (Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia), therefore I often guided local students and bridged the language barrier for international students, especially those from China to understand and follow their courses. For my undergraduate studies, I achieved a CGPA of 3.95 and interned at the National Institute of Biotechnology Malaysia. Besides my academic pursuits, I am passionate about debating and coaching. I have been a debater since 2015 and represented UM in multiple international tournaments both as a debater and an adjudicator. Currently, I serve as Assistant Coach for UM’s English Debate team, and recently won the Top 10 best Judges award in Asia. My combined expertise in multidisciplinary research, multilingual communication, and competitive debating allows me to bring a unique edge to advancing academia, driving impactful research, and building global academic connections.