Associate Professor Dr. Alfizah Hanafiah is a distinguished academic and researcher at the Dept. of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, National University of Malaysia (UKM). With a specialization in medical microbiology, Dr. Alfizah's research focuses on the molecular epidemiology of infectious diseases, antibiotic resistance, Helicobacter pylori infection, bacterial whole genome sequencing, and the gastric microbiome. She obtained her B. Biomed. Sci. (Hons.) and PhD in microbiology from the National University of Malaysia. Her academic and research excellence has led to numerous national and international recognitions, including invitations to present her work at prestigious conferences and seminars globally. Dr. Alfizah has successfully secured substantial research grants, supervising postgraduate students and contributing to various collaborative research projects. She has published 52 papers in international and national journals and has served as a guest editor for high-impact journals. Her publications have garnered 488 citations, contributing to an h-index of 12.

Dr. Bruno S. Lopes earned a BSc in microbiology (Hons) and biochemistry from the University of Mumbai (2006) and an MSc in biochemistry from the University of Mumbai (2008). He obtained a PhD in medical microbiology from the University of Edinburgh (2012). He was appointed as a lecturer in microbiology at the School of Health & Life Sciences, Teesside University, in 2022. His research involves work on the molecular epidemiology, evolution and antibiotic-resistant mechanisms of hospital-acquired pathogens such as Acinetobacter baumannii and Pseudomonas, as well as the foodborne pathogen Campylobacter spp. His work on Campylobacter has been presented at the ECDC, and he has been interviewed by the CDC. He is also the 2019 and 2023 national award winner of ‘I am a scientist get me out of here’ in the microbe and health zones, respectively. He has published more than 60 papers in international journals, served as a guest editor for high-impact journals, and collaborated globally with more than 250 co-authors from more than 50 countries.