DR. MUHAMAD AFIQ BIN AZIZ

Afiq received his First-Class Honors Degree in Biotechnology from the Malaysia University of Science and Technology (MUST) in 2013. He received the MUST President's Award for academic excellence and being the most accomplished student in his class. In 2014, he decided to follow his passion for research and enrolled in an MSc program in Genetic Manipulation and Molecular Cell Biology at the University of Sussex, UK. After completing his MSc program, Afiq gained valuable research experience by working as a research assistant at the Cancer Research Center (CaRC), Institute for Medical Research (IMR) in Kuala Lumpur. In 2015, he was awarded an Academic Training Fellowship (SLAB/SLAI) by the Malaysian Ministry of Higher Education to pursue his PhD at the University of Glasgow, Scotland. His doctoral research focuses on the discovery of new antiviral HIV-1 and VSV restriction factors. His findings have been published in reputable scientific journals and have gained the interest of the global scientific community. After completing his PhD in 2019, he worked as a post-doctoral researcher at the MRC-Centre for Virus Research (CVR) at the University of Glasgow, Scotland, UK. In 2020, he returned to Malaysia to work as a senior lecturer in the microbiology program at the Institute of Biological Sciences, Universiti Malaya (UM), Kuala Lumpur. He currently teaches public health microbiology, diagnostic microbiology, microbial pathogenesis, and virology to undergraduate students. In addition to teaching, he also conducts research on various aspects of microbiology, with a particular focus on viral diseases. His research aims to understand the mechanisms of viral replication and pathogenesis as well as develop novel strategies for the prevention and treatment of viral infections. He actively collaborates with other researchers, both locally and internationally, to contribute to the global understanding of infectious diseases. In 2023, he was awarded a prestigious ASEAN-India Research & Training (A-IRTF) Fellowship from the Department of Science & Technology, Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India for 3-month research attachment at the Indraprastha Institute of Information Technology Delhi (IIIT-Delhi).

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PROF. DR. RAFDZAH BINTI AHMAD ZAKI

Dr. Rafdzah Binti Ahmad Zaki is a Public Health Medicine Specialist and a Professor in the Department of Social and Preventive Medicine at the Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Malaya. With a wealth of experience and expertise in the field of public health, she has made significant contributions to research, teaching, and administrative duties. Throughout her career, Dr. Rafdzah has demonstrated her dedication to academia and the medical community. Dr. Rafdzah has previously worked at Wirral NHS Trust (Clatterbridge Hospital and Arrowe Park Hospital) in the UK and North Cheshire NHS Trust (Halton General Hospital) in the UK. She has been a valuable member of the University of Malaya since June 2007, serving as a Medical Lecturer and later rising to the position of Professor. Her academic background includes a Doctor of Public Health (DrPH) from the University of Malaya, a Master of Public Health (MPH) from the same institution, and an MBChB from the University of Liverpool, UK. Her doctoral thesis, titled "An Evaluation of Statistical Methods for Determining Agreement and Reliability in Medicine," reflects her commitment to advancing the field of public health through rigorous research. She had received training in Evidence-Based Medicine from the University of Oxford and formal exposure in Clinical Epidemiology from the University Medical Centre Utrecht, Netherlands.  She also attended a workshop on the Mathematical Modelling of Infectious Diseases at Imperial College, London to deepen her skill in mathematical modelling. With over 16 years of professional experience, Dr. Rafdzah has made significant contributions to the field of public health. Her research interests include epidemiology, implementation science, infectious diseases, and statistical methods. She has published extensively, with her work being cited over 3,900 times and has an h-index of 20 according to Google Scholar. Her research has been recognized and supported through various grants, both international and local. In 2023 she was listed in the top 2% scientist in the world in her field by Stanford University through Elsevier data repository. She has received accolades such as the Excellence Service Award from the University of Malaya and the Silver Award in the International Summit of Innovation & Design Exposition for her work on the "Fight the Bite" mobile application. She received an award from the European Society In Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases for an attachment at the European Centre for Disease and Control (ECDC), Stockholm Sweden. She also has been selected as a Faculty Scholar for the Malaysian Implementation Science Training (MIST) Program and attended training in Implementation Science at Yale University under the NIH Fogarty fund. In addition to her research and teaching roles, Dr. Rafdzah has actively contributed to various administrative duties within the University of Malaya and national and international organizations. She serves as the Head of the Centre for Epidemiology and Evidence-Based Practice, Chairman of the TB Monitoring and Prevention Committee at UMMC, Secretary of the UMMC Vaccine Action Committee, and a UMMC COVID-19 Taskforce Committee member. Dr Rafdzah was appointed by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI) as a member of the Independent COVID-19 Vaccination Advisory Committee (ICVAC). She also holds memberships in the Malaysian Society for Environmental Epidemiology, Asia Pacific Academic Consortium for Public Health-Kuala Lumpur (APACPH-KL), and the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases. Dr. Rafdzah's expertise is sought after in the consultancy field, where she has contributed to projects for organizations such as the World Health Organization (WHO), TDR Regional Training Centre for Implementation Western Pacific Region, and the Ministry of Health. She has also been actively involved in academic contributions, including teaching undergraduate and postgraduate students, supervision of more than 30 postgraduate students, and the development of online courses. Recently, she developed an online course, "Mpox: Understanding the Epidemiology and the Potential Threat," on the FutureLearn platform. Moreover, she regularly conducts workshops and training sessions on topics such as evidence-based practice, systematic review, meta-analysis, and implementation science. Dr. Rafdzah is a respected reviewer for various journals, including the HIV Lancet journal, and regularly speaks at national and international conferences. She also appeared on TV and radio and was cited by the media on many occasions to discuss public health issues such as COVID-19, Mpox, dengue and Zika virus. With her extensive knowledge, research accomplishments, and dedication to improving public health, Prof. Dr. Rafdzah Binti Ahmad Zaki continues to make a significant impact in the field of public health and medical education.

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ASSOCIATE PROF. AR SARLY ADRE BIN SARKUM

Assoc. Prof (I) Ar Sarly Adre Sarkum is an architecture futurist, sustainability proponent and design activist. He founded the hybrid architectural design firm [SA]2 or Sarly Adre Sarkum Architecture Sdn Bhd which combines cutting edge architectural design solutions with extensive researched based explorative approach to solve challenging integrated design problems. The firm has won several international competitions and represented the country in several in world class exhibitions. He is currently a Past President on Council in the Malaysia Green Building Council which is under the auspices of the World Green Building Council. He was also the Deputy President of Pertubuhan Akitek Malaysia  (The Malaysian Institute of Architects) for 2017-2019. He currently is a GBI facilitator, previously was one of the accreditation panel for the GBI Green Rating Tool. He was the editor in chief for ‘Architecture Malaysia’ magazine which is the premier architecture journal for the Malaysian Institute of Architects. He holds 2 degrees in architecture, one from the University of Liverpool UK and the other from University of Science Malaysia. Currently he is the academic Advisor to the Masters of Green Architecture in Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM). UM has also appointed him as Assoc. Prof. (Industry) for the University. Currently he is managing and coordinating the 3 niche labs for the final year for the UM Master of Architecture Programme namely, Green & Sustainable Architecture Lab (GSAL), Urban & Community Architecture Lab (UCAL) and Heritage & Conservation Architecture Lab (HCAL). 

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