Plenary & Invited Speakers

Prof. Dr Karolien De Bosscher 

Principal Investigator
Ghent University, Belgium

Professor Dr Karolien De Bosscher, a molecular biologist, earned her Ph.D. from UGent in 2000. Following postdoctoral research at Cancer Research UK with an EMBO fellowship she returned to Belgium to conduct nuclear receptor research as a postdoctoral fellow of FWO-Vlaanderen. In 2013, she secured a research professorship, combining research and teaching at UGent. From 2019 onwards, she is a full professor at UGent and principal investigator at the VIB Center for Medical Biotechnology.

Throughout her career, Dr. De Bosscher focused on unraveling nuclear receptor intricacies, exploring anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer mechanisms. Her team investigates selective glucocorticoid receptor modulation, metabolic actions of nuclear receptors, and crosstalk mechanisms in hematological cancers. Dr. De Bosscher’s lab decodes how nuclear receptors transduce signals, aiming to innovate receptor-targeting strategies for enhanced therapeutic benefits. The team develops cell-based tools to capture nuclear receptors’ complexity, contributing to drug discovery platforms.

Prof. Dr Miraz Rahman 

Professor of Medicinal Chemistry
King’s College London

Professor Dr Miraz Rahman is a Professor of Medicinal Chemistry at King’s College London, with extensive expertise in both early- and late-stage drug discovery. He graduated as a pharmacist from the Faculty of Pharmacy at the University of Dhaka, Bangladesh, in 1996. After three years in the industry, he transitioned to academia, completed his PhD in synthetic medicinal chemistry at the London School of Pharmacy (now UCL School of Pharmacy), and worked as a CRUK Research Fellow for three years. In 2012, he joined King’s College London as a Lecturer and was subsequently promoted to Chair in Medicinal Chemistry in 2021.

He currently serves as Head of the Drug Discovery Research Division at King’s College London. Additionally, he is the Antimicrobial Research Theme Lead and Director of the MRC DTP iCASE Programme, one of the largest UKRI-funded industrial PhD programmes in the UK.  His research focuses on the application of advanced computational chemistry, synthetic medicinal chemistry, and chemical biology techniques to design, synthesize, and evaluate novel drug-like chemical scaffolds as anticancer and antimicrobial agents.

Miraz is committed to translating innovative laboratory research into commercialization and patient care. He holds 20 patents as an inventor and has co-founded several university spin-out companies, including Pheon Therapeutics, a clinical-stage company developing first-in-class antibody-drug conjugates for the treatment of solid tumours.

Prof. Dr Roger Ho 

Senior Consultant Psychiatrist
National University of Singapore

Professor Roger Ho is a Professor and Senior Consultant Psychiatrist at the National University of Singapore (NUS) and National University Hospital. He is a Visiting Professor at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) to prepare for the third medical school in Hong Kong. He obtained MBBS and MD from the University of Hong Kong. His research interest is the clinical application of functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) and artificial intelligence in Psychiatry. He is a Fellow of the Royal College of Psychiatrists and Royal College of Physicians (Canada and Edinburgh). He has published over 650 papers, mainly on mood disorders and several academic books. From 2021 to 2024, he was named “Highly Cited Researcher” by Clarivate Analytics.

.

Prof. Dr Chi-Lui HO 

Professor, School of Pharmacy
Monash University, Malaysia

Professor Paul C. Ho, a pharmaceutical scientist, earned his B. Pharm. (Hons) and Ph.D. from the University of Queensland and completed post-doctoral fellowships at the University of Michigan and the Queensland Institute of Medical Research.

Currently, he holds prestigious positions as Professor of Pharmacy at Monash University Malaysia, Emeritus Professor at the National University of Singapore (NUS), and Honorary Professor at Xi’an Jiaotong University. With over 200 publications in top-tier journals like Biomaterials, Small, Nature Medicine, Asian Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences, and JACS, and an H-index of 55, Professor Ho has made significant contributions to pharmacokinetics, exploring how disease states and organ functions influence drug behavior. His research has expanded into biomarkers and omics studies, leveraging advanced technologies to improve personalized medicine. Recognized for his expertise, he received the AAPS Outstanding Medical Graduate Drug Technology Mentor Award and the NUS Distinguished Scientist Award in 2011.

Beyond academia, he serves as a consultant to pharmaceutical companies, reviews research proposals for international agencies, and contributes to additive manufacturing, particularly in 3D printing for pharmaceuticals, as a thrust lead at AM@NUS. His multidisciplinary work continues to shape drug development and therapeutic innovation.

Prof. Dr Hasniza Zaman Huri 

Deputy Vice Chancellor
of Academic and International
Universiti Malaya, Malaysia

Professor Dr. Hasniza Zaman Huri is a distinguished academic pharmacist and the founding Dean of the Faculty of Pharmacy at Universiti Malaya. She is currently serving as the Deputy Vice Chancellor of Academic and International at Universiti Malaya. Under her leadership, the faculty achieved numerous milestones, including becoming a founding member of the Global Alliance for the Development of Pharmaceutical Science (GADPS) and ranking #72 for Pharmacy in the QS World University Rankings 2024.

Dr. Hasniza’s expertise in clinical pharmacy, precision medicine, and targeted therapy has earned her global recognition, including the World Class Professor Programme by the Indonesian Government in 2022. Her research focuses on targeted therapy, drug utilization, and precision medicine, particularly in metabolic diseases. She has published over 100 papers in Web of Science and served as a keynote speaker at international conferences.

Dr. Hasniza’s leadership in clinical trials, particularly at the University Malaya Medical Centre’s Clinical Investigation Centre (CIC), has gained the centre international distinction, including being a top clinical trial service provider in Asia. She received the MPS Outstanding Leadership Award in 2024 and the Best Academic Administrator award in 2015. Dr. Hasniza is also an Honorary Visiting Consultant at CIC and a member of Malaysia’s Drug Control Authority.

Prof. Dr Zamberi Sekawi

Professor of Medical Microbiology
Universiti Putra Malaysia, Malaysia

Prof. Dr Zamberi Sekawi is a Professor of Medical Microbiology and a Consultant Clinical Microbiologist. He was formerly the Technical Officer for Laboratory at the World Health Organization based in the South Pacific Office.

His research is mainly on respiratory viruses, hepatitis viruses and leptospirosis where he was recognised internationally. He was the founding member of the Malaysian Influenza Working Group and the Malaysia Leptospirosis Research Network. He is actively involved in the Malaysian Society of Infectious Diseases and Chemotherapy and the International Society of Infectious Diseases.

Prof. Dr Mohd Cairul Iqbal Mohd Amin 

Professor of Pharmaceutics
Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia

Prof. Mohd Cairul Iqbal Mohd Amin is a prominent figure in the field of Pharmaceutics at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), where he has served since 1997.

He held key leadership positions including Deputy Director General at the Department of Higher Education (2019–2021), and Deputy Dean roles for Postgraduate, Research & Innovation, and Undergraduate, Alumni & International Affairs. He played a pivotal role in UKM’s Grand Challenges initiative, driving research under the Malaysia and Wellness theme. An alumnus of the University of Manchester, UK, he holds a Ph.D. and Bachelor of Pharmacy. He has served as Visiting Professor or Scholar in Thailand, Indonesia, and India.

His research focuses on advanced drug delivery systems including hydrogels, bacterial cellulose-based carriers and nano delivery systems. He is currently leading studies on aerosolized immunoliposomes loaded with antiviral drugs to target SARS-CoV-2. With over 100 high-impact publications and the supervision of 35 postgraduate students, he has secured nearly RM 12 million in national and international grants. He also contributes to educational quality assurance through his roles with the Pharmacy Board of Malaysia and MQA. Notably, he founded and presided over the Malaysian Local Chapter of the Controlled Release Society (MyCRS), advocating controlled release technologies across multiple industries 

Prof. Dr Amedeo Amedei 

Professor of Immunology
University of Florence, Italy

Prof. Dr Amedeo Amedei graduated with full marks and honours in Biology at Florence University in 1996. He started his scientific career studying the role of Th1/Th2 lymphocytes in GVHD, atopic dermatitis and kidney rejection. After he examined the role of Helicobacter pylori-specific immune response in gastric diseases. In 2003 began his doctor’s degree in “Clinical and Sperimental Medicine”. In 2005 he became researcher at Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine (University of Florence), where in 2015 he was appointed Associate Professor. Actually, he is Full Professor of Immunology (from 2023). The Prof. Amedei has focused his scientific interests on the cancer immunology and the role of microbiota-immunity axis in inflammatory-correlated diseases (mainly Autoimmunity, Cancer, Neurodegenerative Disorders). More recently he started a new research topic: micro/nanoplastics and human health.

 The great quality of his international profile is documented by scientific production: 297 peer reviewed articles (h-index: 58 and 13,185 Citations), 12 book chapters and one patent ( https://www.scopus.com/authid/detail.uri?authorId=6603007335 ). The Prof. Amedei is serving as an editorial board member of 13 international journals, as Referee of 43 Journals, as Co-Editor-Chief of one Journal.  Finally,he carries out activities as scientific reviewer for international research projects of private and public entities. From 2016, he is in the Scientific Council of “Toscana Life Sciences” (TLS). To date he received more than of 10 million of euro by different proposals funded by several funding agencies, including Europe Commission, Italian Minister of Health, Tuscany Region, Nasa and local and international Foundations.

Dr Muthukkumaran Thiagarajan 

Clinical Oncologist
Hospital Kuala Lumpur

Dr Muthukkumaran obtained his Masters in Clinical Oncology from University of Malaya in 2013. He previously served at Sabah Women and Children Hospital and currently based at Hospital Kuala Lumpur’s Department of Radiotherapy and Oncology. 

Dr Muthukkumaran has a special interest in pulmonary oncology, genitourinary oncology, neuro oncology (including stereotactic cranial radiosurgery) and paediatric radiation. He is actively involved in both industry-sponsored and investigator-initiated clinical research. 

Dr Muthukkumaran is currently the President of Malaysian Oncological Society (MOS). He is a national representative to the Federation of Asian Organizations for Radiation Oncology (FARO) and International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). 

Dr Lin Kooi Ong

Senior Lecturer in Biomedical Sciences
University of Southern Queensland

Dr Lin Kooi Ong B Biomed Med Sci (Hons), PhD is a Senior Lecturer in Biomedical Sciences at University of Southern Queensland. Dr Ong is a multifaceted mid-career academic with significant teaching and administrative responsibilities while leading a research group. He is the Medical Sciences Discipline Lead with 14 direct reports, Program Director of Biomedical Sciences and teaches over 800 students per year across Medical Sciences, Medicine, Paramedicine and Nursing Programs. He heads the Translational Neurorecovery and Stress Biomarkers laboratory, focusing on understanding the pathophysiology of post-stroke secondary neurodegeneration and cognitive impairment, stress biomarkers as well as development of therapeutic targets for brain recovery.

Dr Ong’s research career is on an upward trajectory having published 57 peer-review articles and 2 book chapters, as well as over 25 invitations to present his work at conferences, institutions, research workshops/schools and community presentations. He has published pioneering research on post-stroke secondary neurodegeneration and cognitive deficit in pre-eminent journals including Brain, Stroke and Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow & Metabolism. He has successfully graduated 4 PhDs and 18 undergraduates, and is currently supervising 2 PhDs, 1 Master and 1 undergraduate.

He serves as research mentor for clinicians and health service staff to improve research capability within Darling Downs Health. Dr Ong was appointed several leadership and professional roles including Emerging Leaders Group of International Stroke Recovery and Rehabilitation Alliance, Young Scientists Network – Academy of Sciences Malaysia, Editorial Board Fellows of Neuroscience and Grant Peer Reviewer for NHMRC and Heart Foundation.

Dr Vijay Ivaturi

Co-Founder and CEO
PumasAI

Dr Vijay Ivaturi holds the positions of Co-Founder and CEO at PumasAI, as well as the Endowed Chair and Professor at the Centre for Pharmacometrics at Manipal University, India. Before assuming his current roles, he was a member of the faculty at the University of Maryland Baltimore School of Pharmacy’s Center for Translational Medicine for a decade, subsequently transitioning to an Adjunct Faculty position.

With a steadfast commitment to the advancement of pharmacometrics, Vijay has been an active participant in the pharmacometrics community since the founding of the American Conference on Pharmacometrics (ACoP) in 2008. He has undertaken various responsibilities within the International Society of Pharmacometrics (ISoP) since 2014 and played a pivotal role as the Chair of the Education Committee for several years before being appointed to the ISoP Board in 2020. He is currently the President of ISoP for a 2-year term starting January 2024.

Trained as a clinical pharmacologist and pharmacometrician, Vijay has been instrumental in leading Project Pumas from its inception, passionately developing it into a revolutionary modeling and simulation platform since 2017. His research primarily focuses on the creation of innovative tools and methodologies to enhance drug development and clinical therapeutics.

Vijay completed his doctoral studies in Experimental and Clinical Pharmacology at the University of Minnesota, followed by a post-doctoral fellowship in Pharmacometrics at Uppsala University, Sweden. At the University of Maryland Baltimore, his primary research interest was in developing tools and methods to bridge the gap between decision-makers and scientists, with a special focus on clinical therapeutics in pediatrics. With over 18 years of experience in drug development, he has also contributed to key policy-crafting projects as an ORISE research scholar at the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).