Prof Jane Clarke
President, Wolfson College, University of Cambridge

Professor Jane Clarke FMedSci FRS became the sixth President of Wolfson College Cambridge on 1 October 2017.

Professor Clarke grew up in Cambridge and obtained a first-class honours degree in Biochemistry from the University of York in 1972. After completing a PGCE at Cambridge, she became a science teacher and, for a time, served as Head of Science at an inner-London comprehensive school. She moved to the United States in 1987 and was bitten by the research ‘bug’. On returning to Cambridge she joined the research group of Professor Sir Alan Fersht FRS in the MRC Centre for Protein Engineering and was awarded a PhD in 1994. She has held a highly prestigious Wellcome Trust Senior Research Fellowship since 2001 and was promoted to a personal Chair in Molecular Biophysics in 2010.

Her pioneering work as an international research leader in the field of protein folding has been recognised by her election as a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences in 2013, and as a Fellow of the Royal Society in 2015, as well as the award of numerous international prizes.

She is passionate about increasing diversity in higher education and supporting the personal and professional development of students, young researchers, and academics, irrespective of background or origin. She serves on the Education and Diversity Committees of the Royal Society. Her career and inclusive collaborative leadership style have a particular resonance with the ethos and values of Wolfson College.

Dr Elizabeth Lee
Chief Executive Officer, Sunway Education Group

Dr Elizabeth Lee Fuh Yen is Chief Executive Officer of the Sunway Education Group. Since her appointment in 1992, the Sunway Education Group has developed from just one institution to a dynamic group of 16 institutions including Sunway University, Sunway College and Sunway International School, catering to more than 28,000 students.

A veteran in the field of private higher education provision, Elizabeth also serves on National Higher Education Research Institute (IPPTN), and sits on the Board of Trustees of MERCY Malaysia. She is also an active member in the Trustee Committee of the Chair on Women Leadership at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia.

A thought leader in her own right, her international engagements have included speaking at the Harvard Business School, University of Cambridge, University of Oxford, the University of Edinburgh. An advocate for women in leadership, she serves as a mentor in the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) global programme for specially chosen female corporate leaders. She is also a recipient of several other international and national awards which include Visionary Women Leadership Award at the 2nd World Women Leadership Congress and Award (WWLCA), Women Entrepreneur in Canadian Education, the Malaysian Chinese Women of Excellence Award in Education.

In January this year, she was recognised for her contributions to the advancement of Malaysia’s education ecosystem with the ‘Educationist of the Year’ award at the inaugural Sin Chew Education Awards.

Elizabeth was elected as a member in the Malaysian Qualifications Agency (MQA) Council effective January 2016, Chair of the MQA Investment Committee and member of the MQA Disciplinary Committee since 1 February 2016.

Educated and trained in the United Kingdom in Multi-Cultural Education, Elizabeth read her Master of Philosophy (MPhil) in Education at the University of Cambridge. She was conferred the Doctor of Laws (Honoris Causa) by the University of Nottingham, UK and the Doctorate of the University (Honoris Causa) by Victoria University, Melbourne.

Prof Wibool Piyawattanametha
Director of Advanced Imaging Research (AIR) Center, King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology Ladkrabang

Dr. Piyawattanametha received his Ph.D. degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of California, Los Angeles, USA in 2004. From 2005 to 2009, he was with the Bio-X Program, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA as a senior scientist and later become a research associate in 2010 before returning to serve Thailand. In 2010, he co-founded and served as an executive member of the Global Young Academy (GYA) based in Berlin, Germany. In 2013, he was selected by the World Economic Forum (WEF), Geneva, Switzerland to be one of the 40 top young scientists under the age of 40 who plays transformation role in integrating scientific knowledge and technological innovation to improve the state of the world. In 2014, he was selected to receive the prestigious Fraunhofer-Bessel Research Award from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, Berlin, Germany for his pioneering work in light microendoscopy techniques. In 2015, he was awarded the Newton Fund Researcher Links from the British Council, United Kingdom for his novel optical imaging technique for early cancer detection.

Dr Chun-Wai, MAI
Senior Lecturer & Head of Centre for Cancer and Stem Cells Research, International Medical University

Chun-Wai is a Chartered Scientist, graduated with PhD and First Class Honours in Bachelor of Pharmacy from the International Medical University (IMU). His team is trying to understand immune evasion behind pancreatic cancers and to design effective treatment approach to target pancreatic cancer. His research team is holding more than RM 1.6 million research grants and published more than 45 peer review publications. He was awarded the Asia Young Pharmacists Professional Excellence, Southeast Asia-European Union-NET II Fellowship, Sultan Mizan Antarctic Research Foundation Research Fellowship, and IMU Young Alumnus Award. Apart from that, he is an associate member of YSN-ASM, Advocating International Networking and Research Integrity.

Dr Worajit Setthapun
Dean and Lecturer, Asian Development College for Community Economy and Technology, Chiang Mai Rajabhat University, Thailand

Worajit Setthapun is Dean at the Asian Development College for Community Economy and Technology, Chiang Mai Rajabhat University, Thailand. She received the Fulbright Scholarship then MS and PhD in Chemical Engineering from University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Her post-doctoral appointment was at Argonne National Laboratory. She established the Chiang Mai World Green City with 100% renewable energy-based Smart Community. Currently, she manages Community Energy and Environment graduate programs. She was the ASEAN-U.S. Science and Technology Fellow appointed at the Ministry of Energy, Thailand focusing on community energy. She was also awarded the 2016 ASEAN-US Women in Science Award in Sustainable Energy.

Dr Nuwong Chollacoop
Renewable Energy Research Team Leader, National Metal and Materials Technology Center (MTEC)

After Ph.D. from MIT in 2004, Dr Nuwong has returned to MTEC working in the field of biofuel for transportation ranging from production, characterization, standardization to utilization in engine. His numerous research projects domestically and internationally have earned him the 2009 Green Talents award from Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), Germany and the 2018/2019 ASEAN Science and Technology Fellow. His novel biodiesel upgrading process called H-FAME from Japanese collaboration has been adopted in Thailand Alternative Energy Development Plan (AEDP: 2015-2036), which serves as basis for revised national standard of biodiesel (B100) and B10 for commercial use in 2019.

Assoc. Prof Dr Pasupuleti Visweswara Rao
Associate Professor & Faculty Research Coordinator, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Malaysia Sabah

Pasupuleti Visweswara Rao is an active affiliate member of the Young Scientists Network – Academy of Sciences Malaysia (YSN-ASM) and was Co-Chair for the International Networking working group of YSN-ASM (2018/19). He is also one of the contributors for Malaysian Education Module on Responsible Conduct of Research, as well as facilitator and co-instructor for the YSN-ASM-AKEPT Responsible Conduct of Research workshops in Malaysia. He was a scientific committee member for the 7th ASEAN Plus Three Junior Science Odyssey 2018 and ASEAN Emerging Research Conference 2018 & 2019. His research mainly focuses on herbs, medicinal plants and plant-mediated green synthesis of nanoparticles for metabolic diseases.

Dr Tran Quang Huy
Vice Director, Phenikaa University Nano Institute (PHENA), Phenikaa University

Dr Huy is a biophysicist, and electron microscopist. He is a co-founding member of the Nano-Environmental & Nano-Biomedical Research Group. Currently, he is the Vice Director of Phenikaa University Nano Institute, Phenikaa University and Vice Editor in Chief of the Vietnam Journal of Preventive Medicine (Vietnam Association of Preventive Medicine). He was also a member of the Global Young Academy (GYA), and Chair of the Vietnam Young Academy for the term of 2017. He has published more than 100 research articles in peer-reviewed journals, co-edited several books, and reviewed more than 20 international scientific journals.

Dr Orakanoke Phanraksa
Senior IP Consultant, National Science and Technology Development Agency

Dr Phanraksa is an IP policy specialist at the Technology Licensing Office, National Science and Technology Development Agency, Thailand. She has involved herself with several national projects to promote a capacity building for IP professionals in academic institutes in Thailand. In 2019, she was the first to be awarded the Global IP Champion Award from the Global Innovation Policy Center, US Chamber of Commerce. She was the former Co-Chair of the Global Young Academy, a non-profit organization with 200 top young scientists from around the world. At present, she is the Interim Co-Chair of the ASEAN Young Scientists Network.

Dr Tee Kok Keng
Senior Lecturer in Virology, Department of Medical Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya

Dr. Tee is a Senior Lecturer in Virology in the Faculty of Medicine and the Head of Pathogen Genetics & Evolution Laboratory in University of Malaya (UM). He is an adjunct Associate Professor at the School of Healthcare and Medical Sciences, Sunway University. His research interest focuses on the genetic and evolutionary characterization of blood-borne (HIV, HCV, HBV) and respiratory viruses (RV, MPV, CoV, influenza viruses), with over 100 peer-reviewed publications (h-index 20). He is the editor for various journals including PLoS One, Frontiers in Microbiology and Virology Journal. He is the recipient of the 2017 UM Excellence Award - Outstanding Young Researcher.

Assoc. Prof Ir Dr Rosdiadee Nordin
Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia

Rosdiadee Nordin is a wireless researcher and a practicing professional engineer. He completed Ph.D. at the University of Bristol in 2011 in the United Kingdom. He aims to connect everything wirelessly; from humans to any objects, including the cattle and water quality sensors in a large remote farm in his latest research. He has published 66 research papers in prestigious wireless communications journals, graduated 8 Ph.D. students and is leading several research projects at the national/international level with total amount more than RM1 million. He is also the Vice Chair of Young Scientists Network (YSN), Senior Member of IEEE and the advisor of Majalah Sains, an online popular science magazine that aims to increase Malaysians literacy on science topics.

Prof Ir Denny K. S. Ng
Professor, Associate Head, School of Engineering and Physical Sciences, Heriot-Watt University Malaysia

Professor Ir. Denny K.S. Ng is an Associate Head for the School of Engineering and Physical Sciences, Heriot-Watt University, Malaysia. Prof Ng has well published over 150 papers with an h-index of 34. His areas of specialisation include optimisation of sustainable value chain of palm oil industry, energy management and resource conservation. He is fellow of The Higher Education Academy, UK; Chartered Engineer, Engineering Council, UK; Professional Engineer, Board of Engineers, Malaysia; Exco member of Young Scientist Network-Academy of Sciences Malaysia. In 2018, he was recognised as Top Research Scientists Malaysia and he is also recipient of various local and international awards.

Prof Dr Ei Ei Htwe
Acting Rector, Mandalay Technological University, Ministry of Education, Myanmar

Prof. Dr. Ei Ei Htwe was a representative of Myanmar for the ASEAN-U.S S&T Fellow in 2016/17 and have one year fellowship experience on the implementation of STI policy. Throughout her fellowship, she was able to improve her skills in capacity building, policy pitch and presentation skill training organized by ASEAN-U.S PROGRESS through the program. She has led a collaborative project involving three countries in ASEAN (Indonesia, Myanmar and Vietnam) on the Development of Policies, Guidelines, Mechanisms and Frameworks to Initiate Inclusive Research and Development Collaboration among Academia, Research Institutions, and Private Sector that was supported by ASEAN STI funding. In addition, she also led the project “Feasibility study on social implementation of Bioenergy in East Asia” among five countries in ASEAN and Japan under the e-ASIA project (2017-2020). The three-year project was a survey to understand the energy utilization in an off-grid rural area where electricity could not be accessed from the national grid line and to assess solutions for each participant country to implement energy.

Prof Dr Michael Angelo B. Promentilla
Professor, Head of Waste and Resource Management unit, Center for Engineering and Sustainable Development Research, De La Salle University

Michael Angelo B. Promentilla is a Professor of Chemical Engineering and the head of the Waste and Resource Management Unit of the Center for Engineering and Sustainable Development Research at De La Salle University (DLSU). His research interests vary from a wide spectrum of application of decision modeling and risk analysis to environmental and energy systems, as well as, to the design and characterization of sustainable engineering materials. He currently has more than 100 publications with a Google scholar h-index of 16. He is actively involved in mentoring young researchers and the founder of the Geopolymer and Advanced Materials Engineering Research for Sustainability Lab situated at DLSU.

Dr Kampanart Silva
Researcher, National Metal and Materials Technology Center (MTEC)

Dr. Silva got his PhD in Nuclear Engineering and Management from the University of Tokyo. He started his career as a researcher at Thailand Institute of Nuclear Technology, and recently moved to National Metal and Materials Technology Center. His research focuses on power supply system safety and resilience. He received Nuclear Young Scientist Award in 2019. He is a member of APEC Natural-induced Technological Disaster Working Group. He is also an Interim Executive Committee of Thai Young Scientists Academy, and an ex-officio member of ASEAN Young Scientists Network.

Assoc. Prof Dr Chan Soon Choy
Dean, School of Foundation Studies (PUScFS), Perdana University

As a geneticist, Dr Chan dedicates most of his effort to genetics and cancer research with great emphasis on translational research. He is also a strong believer in maximizing the utility of computing power and statistics to accelerate scientific discovery. Most of his research incorporates computational or statistical approaches in answering biological relevant questions. He also aspires to promote genetics to the general public and has served as an ExCo member of Genetic Society of Malaysia for three consecutive terms since 2015. In addition, he also contributes his effort in championing good ethics in research with active involvement in the YSN-ASM Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) Programme.

Dr Bong Yii Bonn
Industry Liaison / Research Manager, UM Office of Industry and Community Engagement, Universiti Malaya

Dr. Bong is familiar with the research management industry as she has been working as a Research Manager and recently taken up the role as Industry Liaison. Her main responsibility is to build academia and industry’s partnerships, and to narrow the gap between academia-industry collaborations. Her team collaborates with administrators and faculty members across campus to help create mutually-benefitting opportunities for the university, industry, government and community. In addition, she conducts training and sharing sessions on enhancing research visibility and research outreach. I received my Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Applied Statistics (Health Sciences) from University of Malaya.

Dr Sengphet Keokangdong
Head the division of Applied Mechanics and Material Engineering, National University of Laos (NUOL)

As a senior lecturer at the Faculty of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering at the Faculty of Engineering National University of Laos (NUOL), Dr. Sengphet Keokangdong focuses his research work in the field of materials science engineering and technology, specifically on advanced composite materials. He is also the Head Division of the Materials Science and Applied Mechanic. Dr. Sengphet has produced major research publications in ceramic and clay material. As an ASEAN S&T Fellow 2018/19, Dr. Sengphet works with the Renewable Energy and Materials Institute (REMI), Ministry of Science and Technology of Lao PDR. Sengphet Keokangdong received his B.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering from the National University of Laos (2008). He obtained his M.Sc. (2010) and PhD (2014) degree in the Materials Science Engineering from the School of Materials and Mineral Resources Engineering, Universiti Science Malaysia (USM).

Dr Yong Min Hooi
Senior Lecturer, Sunway University

Dr Yong Min Hooi is a cognitive psychologist and a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Psychology, Sunway University. Her research interests are in executive function and social cognition, specifically in older adults. Her current ageing-related research activities are with local and international collaborators and funded by Newton-Ungku Omar Fund (2018-2020 with University of Aberdeen, UK), Arts and Humanities Research Council UK (2019-2020 with Lancaster University, UK) and from Ministry of Education Malaysia. Before joining Sunway University, Dr Yong has worked in University of Otago in New Zealand, University of Winnipeg in Canada, and University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus. She is also the first senior lecturer to be awarded the prestigious Long Term Research Grant Scheme (LRGS) of the Ministry of Education Malaysia as principal investigator.

Dr Chen Jit Ern
Lecturer, Sunway University

University Cambridge-trained Dr Chen Jit Ern is a Research Fellow in the Jeffrey Sachs Center on Sustainable Development and a Lecturer in the Department of Biological Sciences, Sunway University. Prior to this, he was a Post-Doctoral Fellow in KAUST, Saudi Arabia, working on the genetic manipulation of the coral endosymbiont Symbiodinium. During his PhD, Dr Chen worked on identifying genes involved in lipid biosynthesis in microalgae for biofuel production. Currently, his work in Sunway University is focused on studying the possibility of inducing experimental evolution in Symbiodinium in order to develop more heat-tolerant strains that may be more resilient to heat-driven coral bleaching.

Assoc. Prof Dr Gopalasamy Reuben Clements
Associate Professor, Sunway University

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Reuben Clements is a conservation scientist by training. He received his PhD in conservation science from James Cook University and obtained his MSc and BSc in biology from the National University of Singapore. Reuben’s research focuses on forest and biodiversity conservation and has published over 60 articles in international journals that include Nature, and his work has been featured in the BBC, New York Times and National Geographic. He also co-founded a local non-profit research organization known as Rimba, which has collaborated with the Terengganu state government to create a 30,000-hectare state park to protect animals and forests around Lake Kenyir.

Wen Yao Lee
Researcher, University of Cambridge

Wen Yao is completing his PhD in Engineering at the University of Cambridge, specialising in jet engine aerodynamics, design and manufacturing. His professional interests span all aspects of aerospace, energy, and sustainability. Prior to his postgraduate studies, he was an engineer at Rolls-Royce plc where he designed various aspects of the Trent7000 and the Ultrafan as part of the Future Programmes team. He holds a Master of Research (MRes) from the University of Cambridge and a Master of Engineering (MEng) in Aeronautical Engineering from Imperial College London.

Tan Sri Dato' Seri Dr Jeffrey Cheah AO
Founder and Chairman, Sunway Group
Founding Trustee, Jeffrey Cheah Foundation

Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Dr Jeffrey Cheah AO is the founder and chairman of Sunway Group, a leading Malaysian conglomerate with core interests in real estate, construction, education and healthcare. He is also the founding trustee of Malaysia’s largest education-focused social enterprise, the Jeffrey Cheah Foundation (JCF).

Tan Sri Cheah firmly believes that education is key in providing the optimum route out of poverty. As such, he has invested heavily in Sunway’s education businesses that are today run by his eponymous foundation. The JCF has disbursed more than RM402 million in scholarships to thousands of deserving students. Tan Sri Cheah aims to award RM 1 billion in scholarships during his lifetime.

Demonstrating his commitment to the sustainability agenda, Tan Sri Cheah through the JCF, endowed US$10 million to the United Nations which was used to establish the Jeffrey Sachs Center on Sustainable Development at Sunway University. The center is chaired by Professor Jeffrey D. Sachs, a world renowned economist and special adviser to the UN Secretary General and aims to develop the global expertise needed to move Malaysia and the region forward in the area of sustainable development. The Center also serves as the host for SDSN Malaysia which aims to elevating awareness and implementation of sustainable solutions, chaired by Tan Sri Cheah.

Besides being conferred 10 honorary doctorates by leading universities worldwide, Tan Sri Cheah has also been recognised twice as Forbes Asia Hero of Philanthropy in 2009 and 2015 respectively. He was appointed Council Member of the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network in 2013; a member of the Committee of University Resources at Harvard in 2015 and Officer of the Order of Australia (“AO”), among a long-growing list of accomplishments.