Hesham Al-Mekhlafi has a PhD in public health (2008), master’s degrees in medical science (parasitology) (2004) and in applied statistics (2012) as well as a bachelor’s degree in medical laboratories (1997). Since early 2000s, he has been actively engaged in research on the molecular epidemiology and prevention of infectious diseases including malaria, neglected tropical diseases, NTDs (such as soil-transmitted helminthiasis, schistosomiasis, leishmaniasis and dengue fever), and waterborne parasites. He joined the department of parasitology, University of Malaya (a regional leading dept. in parasitology research) for seven years (2009–2016) as a senior lecturer and promoted to associate professor. In 2016, he joined Jazan University, Saudi Arabia and promoted to full professor in 2022. He re-joined Universiti Malaya in 2023. He has taught several courses in parasitology, epidemiology, biostatistics, and research methodology at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. He has established passionate research teams that involved diligent postgraduate students, enthusiastic colleagues, and inspiring national and international collaborators. The research dedicated to helping vulnerable rural and aboriginal communities in Malaysia and other countries including Yemen, Nigeria and Libya against the NTDs, malaria and other infectious diseases. He has published more than 150 articles in high-impact ISI & Scopus indexed journals; with h-index of 41 (WoS). Hesham has been a member of several academic, scientific and administrative councils and committees. He also enjoys reviewing scientific manuscripts, research proposals, plans and strategies, theses and reports, etc. He is a member of the editorial boards of several renowned journals, and a regular reviewer for many peer-reviewed journals as well as a panel member of assessors for various national and international research grant schemes and postgraduate programs.

As an educator, researcher, and innovator in Software Engineering, I treat values and purposes with topmost priority. I believe individuals and organisations guided by righteous values and noble purposes make the difference in the world; realistically making the world a better place to live for all. Thus, in my 20 years of career life, I have devoted my time contributing to education, research, and innovation in and beyond Software Engineering, benefiting the current and future generations. My total grants from research, consultancy, and software development projects amounted to nearly RM3,000,000. In recent year, I started a few future education initiatives such as innovation and work-integrated learning lab (iWILL) in response to the changes brought about by disruptive technologies.

Prof. Dr. Sarinder Kaur is a distinguished academic at the University of Malaya, where she serves as Associate Professor at the Data Science & Bioinformatics Laboratory, Institute of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science. She is also an Adjunct Professor at Kings University College, Malaysia. Her academic journey and research career have been driven by a commitment to harnessing data for impactful, real-world solutions, particularly in the domains of AI, data science, bioinformatics, health informatics, and database technology. Dr. Sarinder earned her PhD in Bioinformatics as well as her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Computer Science from the University of Malaya. Over the years, she has made substantial contributions to biomedical research and digital health, publishing over 145 scientific articles, including 49 indexed in Web of Science. Her work has been cited extensively, earning her an H-index of 13 (WoS) and 16 (Google Scholar). Her research has spanned diverse topics—from AI-driven cancer data ecosystems and bioinformatics meta-analyses of COVID-19 gene expression, to EMR optimization, radiology text mining, and traditional medicine data systems. She has led multi-institutional research collaborations involving the University of Cambridge, University of Saskatchewan, University Malaya Medical Centre, and Homi Bhabha Cancer Institute, among others. One of her key contributions is the development of digital frameworks and health data platforms that support clinical services, research, and policymaking. A passionate educator, Dr. Sarinder has supervised over 30 postgraduate students and teaches extensively at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. Her courses cover computer networking, big data, advanced database systems, bioinformatics tools, and digital health technologies. Beyond academia, Dr. Sarinder plays an active role as a consultant in the Malaysian public and private sectors. She served as Project Director for Sigma Teguh Sdn Bhd, leading the development of machine learning algorithms to analyze national issues such as inflation and the PerantiSiswa program. She also partnered with the Ministry of Health to develop bioinformatics pipelines for analyzing COVID-19 variants and vaccine responses—demonstrating her ability to bridge science and policy through data-driven insights. She is a respected contributor to national and international academic development. Dr. Sarinder has served on academic accreditation panels for UTAR, IMU, and Multimedia University, and has been invited to speak at high-level forums including Monash University’s Data Science Seminar, MOH’s Digital Health Workshops, and the Health Informatics 2024 webinar. She is currently the Treasurer of the Asia Pacific Bioinformatics Network (APBioNet) and serves on the editorial boards of two prestigious journals: BMC Bioinformatics and BMC Medical Informatics and Decision Making. Dr. Sarinder’s accomplishments have been recognized with multiple honors, including the Hind Rattan Award (2014 and 2017), the University of Malaya Excellent Service Award, and medals for innovation at national exhibitions such as INATEX and INNOVATE. In 2020, she was awarded the Khidmat Setia (Loyal Service) Award by the University of Malaya. Her commitment to education extends into the community. She has organized coding and STEM workshops for schoolchildren across Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, and Putrajaya, and actively contributes to social initiatives through her leadership roles in the Malaysian Consumer Movement and Pertubuhan Pembangunan Insan Sikh Perak, where she champions women’s development and digital literacy. Through her academic, consultancy, and community service work, Dr. Sarinder Kaur continues to be a trailblazer in advancing data-driven innovation in healthcare and education—both in Malaysia and internationally. Currently, Dr. Sarinder is contributing to the development of a Healthcare Data Safe Haven Infrastructure as part of the AI in Medicine Initiative at the University of Malaya.