organizing committee

Dr. Vengadesh Letchumanan is a Lecturer and Section Leader of Diagnostics and Pathogens, Microbiome and Bioresource Research Strength (MBRS), Jeffrey Cheah School of Medicine and Health Sciences at Monash University Malaysia. He holds a Ph.D. in Microbiology from University of Malaya, Malaysia. To date, Dr. Vengadesh has published 1 book chapter, and 61 peer-reviewed articles with cumulative citations of 1290, H-index of 18 and i10-index of 29. He is supervising two Ph.D. students and serves as PI/Co-PI in internal school grants.  His research focus is on multidrug-resistant pathogens, microbial systematics, and exploring the gut-brain axis and gut microbiome association. 

Dr. Jodi Law Woan-Fei is a Lecturer at Jeffrey Cheah School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Monash University Malaysia. She holds a PhD in Medicine (Biomedical Science), awarded by JCSMHS, Monash University in 2019. She also serves as the Leader of the Next-Generation Precision Medicine and Therapeutics Research Group (NMeT) and a Section Leader (Diagnostics & Pathogens) of the Microbiome and Bioresource Research Strength (MBRS) in the JCSMHS. She is a board-certified Graduate Technologist (MBOT), a Deputy Director of the Asia Pacific Microbiome & Biomedical Research Network (AMBeR), and a member of the Royal Society of Biology United Kingdom (MRSB). She is trained in biosystematics studies of novel Streptomyces and exploring their beneficial biological activities (e.g., anticancer, antioxidant, antibacterial, probiotic strains), which can be the sources of potential drug candidates to improve human health and wellbeing. Her research interests also include studying the relationships of the human microbiome with health and disease as well as understanding their therapeutic implications. She firmly believes that it is crucial to detect and identify bacterial pathogens from the microbiome associated with disease development and to generate potential microbiome-based treatment options. She has achieved a cumulative citation of 3021, h-index of 24, and i10-index of 48 based on Google Scholar.

Dr Tan Loh Teng Hern is a lecturer at Clinical School Johor Bahru (CSJB), Monash University Malaysia. He holds an Honours degree of Bachelor of Science from Monash University Malaysia in 2014. He obtained his PhD in 2019 in Biomedical Science from Monash University Malaysia. His PhD research was to explore the chemopreventive potentials of microorganisms, specifically Streptomyces sp., isolated from mangrove soil in Malaysia. As a Lecturer in CSJB, he provides support to teaching and research activities for undergraduate and postgraduate students. He is currently the leader of the Innovative Bioprospection Development research group (InBioD). He is also a section leader of Precision Medicine & Microbiome Intervention under the Microbiome & Bioresource Research Strength (MBRS). His current research interests focus on I) Bioprospecting/drug discovery from Actinobacteria (Streptomyces) II) Investigating the role of gut microbiome in association with health and diseases as well as exploring the benefits of probiotic interventions for animal and human health.

Dr. Goh Bey Hing is a Professor in biochemistry at Sunway University and leads the Biofunctional Molecule Exploratory Research Group (BMEX). His research focuses on natural product functionality from herbs, microbes, and algae. With 200+ scientific articles, books, and patents, he has over 8000 citations and an H-index of 50. Dr. Goh excels in education, receiving awards for teaching innovations. Additionally, he advises biotech, aquaculture, and wellness companies. His dedication earned him the Chartered Biologist (CBiol) status from the Royal Society of Biology, UK, and recognition as a Top 10 Outstanding Young Malaysian in 2020 for his contributions to research, education, and community.

Dr Lee Learn-Han is a Professor at Sunway University. He is also the Director of the prestigious Asia Pacific Microbiome and Biomedical Research Network (AMBeR). He believes that teaching and research allow him to fulfill an essential responsibility as molecular biology and medical microbiology scientist. Dr Lee was ranked among the World Top 2% Scientist in 2021 and 2022 by Stanford University (Elsevier Scopus Database), clearly demonstrating his research impact on the global stage. Furthermore, Dr Lee is certified by the Malaysia Board of Technologist as the prestigious Professional Technologist (Ts) and Graduate Technologist. His leadership and achievements in studying foodborne multidrug-resistant pathogens have led to top international recognition, evidenced by the invitation by the US-FDA as the sole Malaysian Principal Investigator to collaborate on the genetic study of foodborne pathogens from Malaysia since 2017. Collaboration with top US-FDA scientists will contribute to generating high-quality research and engagement for Malaysia.

Dr Lee’s core research focuses on studying “bad” microbes (e.g. Salmonella, Vibrios, MRSA) and how they make people sick while suggesting better detection and management options. Also, he discovers novel “good” microbes (e.g. Actinobacteria) for various drug discovery purposes. Recently he is also interested in the area of how the microbiome affects human health. Such as the investigation into the roles of the microbiome in aging, sepsis, cancer, mental health, and autoimmune diseases.

His passion, leadership, and achievements in research and education have been recognized as the best Medical Science researcher in Malaysia in 2018, as the sole recipient of Malaysia’s Research Star Award (MRSA) Winner 2018 – High Impact Paper Medical Science category. Also, he received the award of the Top Research Scientists Malaysia (TRSM) from the Academy of Sciences Malaysia (ASM) in 2022. He received the prestigious award of the Fellow of Malaysian Scientific Association, Fellow of Linnean Society of London (UK) in 2022, and Fellow of ASEAN Academy of Engineering and Technology (FAAET). He was recognized by the Professional Registers as Chartered Biologist from the Royal Society of Biology, UK, in 2017, recognizing his impactful contribution to the development of Biology globally. In 2020, Dr Lee was awarded the Excellent Contribution Award 2019 (Feb 2020) from the University of Phayao (UP), Thailand, to recognize his significant research and education contribute to the UP and regionally.