Dr. Rameshkumar Santhanam is a Senior Lecturer at the Faculty of Science and Marine Environment, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, Malaysia. Since joining the university in December 2018, he has been actively engaged in research and teaching, specializing in natural product-based drug discovery and cell signaling, with a particular focus on photoaging, functional foods, and anti-cancer research.

Dr. Rameshkumar earned his Bachelor of Technology (B.Tech) in Biotechnology from Anna University, India, followed by a Postgraduate Diploma in Clinical Research from the Institute of Clinical Research, India. He later obtained his Ph.D. in Medical Biotechnology from Universiti Putra Malaysia in 2017. His academic journey has been enriched by a diverse professional background, including a Postdoctoral Researcher position at Tianjin University, China (2017–2018), and a Clinical Research Coordinator role at ACEER, India (2010–2012). These experiences have provided him with a comprehensive understanding of biomedical research and its translational applications.

With a strong research track record, Dr. Rameshkumar has published 54 research articles in high-impact international journals, accumulating 1,134 citations and achieving an h-index of 19 (Scopus). Beyond publications, he has also filed one patent, two copyrights, and one trademark, and authored two book chapters, further demonstrating his expertise in biotechnology and natural product pharmacology. Dr. Rameshkumar’s research focuses on deciphering cell signaling pathways and exploring the therapeutic potential of bioactive compounds derived from natural sources. His work aims to bridge the gap between fundamental biological research and the development of innovative therapeutic strategies.

As a distinguished speaker and researcher, Dr. Rameshkumar is dedicated to advancing scientific knowledge and fostering interdisciplinary collaborations in biotechnology, biomedical sciences, and drug discovery.

Dr. Erwin Faller is a Dean of the College of Allied Health Sciences of Holy Child Central Colleges Inc., Philippines. He was the former Director of Internationalization and Linkages and a Professor in the School of Allied Health Sciences-Pharmacy Department in San Pedro College, Davao City, Philippines. He is a Visiting Professor in Bournemouth University, United Kingdom and a fellow of the US-ASEAN University Connection Initiative in Washington DC, A White House Initiative of the United States Department. A Technical Panel Member of the National Review Committee on Internationalization Program (iNRC) and coordinating the Innovation Laboratory for Global Education (iLAB) of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED). He is an active officer since 2022 of the National Research Council of the Philippines Pharmaceutical Division IV, Philippine Pharmacists Association Section Representative on Pharmaceutical Sciences and Research, President of the Philippine Pharmacists Association-Davao City Chapter and Committee Officer of the Virtual Exchange Coalition. He earned his double PhD in Educational Leadership and PhD in Pharmacy in the University of the Immaculate Conception, Philippines and a Fellow in the Royal Institute of Pharmacists in Singapore. He was a recipient of different International academic scholarships including the Ludwig- Maximilian Universitat (LMU), Germany on Health Education funded by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) and the University of Brescia, School of Medicine on Global Health, Italy and Prince of Songkla University Government Scholarship on Medicinal Plants.

His exemplary leadership pioneered the establishment of COIL and Global Mobility programs in his former institution that led recognition in the 1st Philippine Higher Education Internationalization Award and Internationalization Champions of Nation-building and Sustainability (ICONS) Internationalization Awards by the Commission on Higher Education. He pioneered the International COIL Conferences in the Philippines that influences ASEAN Universities and beyond. He is instrumental in expanding the COIL pedagogy throughout the Philippines through the CHED Innovation Laboratory.

He was a speaker and trainer of different local, national and international seminars and conferences. He is multi-awarded professor including the Bagong Bayani (National Hero) Award for Outstanding Employee 2018 given by the Philippine Government for his exemplary contribution in the international community, UIC Exemplary Alumni 2024, SPC Most Published Research 2024 and the Philippine Pharmacists Association-UNILAB Top Outstanding Pharmacist in Research 2022. A recipient of different research grants including the Toyota Foundation Japan Fund, Indonesian Ministry of Research, Technology, Higher Education and United Kingdom Global Challenge Research Fund and others. He is also an editorial board member of twenty (20) reputable index journals, reviewer of twenty-five (25) ISI- SCOPUS and Index Journals. He has published more than 200 articles with more than 600 citations in high impact journals, scientific peer-reviewed journals and abstracts in conferences, columnist in Online newspapers- Davao Today and Palawan Daily Newspaper and published thirteen (13) books.

Dr Sadia Sultan is an Associate Professor of Pharmaceutical Chemistry in the Department of Pharmacology and Chemistry at the Faculty of Pharmacy University Technology MARA UiTM Malaysia. She is heading the Biotransformation Research Group under Research Nexus UiTM (ReNeU), and Health & Wellness (HW). Five (5) Ph. D. and six (7) master’s students have already graduated under her supervision. Currently, she is supervising 2 Ph. D students. She has more than 18 years of Experience in the field of Natural Product Research.

Her areas of Expertise include:  Biotransformation of exogenous substrates using microorganisms and plant tissue culture techniques.  Exploring bioactive secondary metabolites from Plant, Soil, and Marine Endophytic fungi. (Using Dereplication and OSMAC Approach).  Modern NMR spectroscopic approaches in the Elucidation of Secondary Metabolites.  Biological screening using antimicrobial assays.  Mechanistic studies to understand metastasis breast cancer: towards the effects of microbial derivatives of Steroids & Terpenes using MDA-MB-231 CELLS INDUCED XENOGRAPH MODEL.

She is the author of two e-books and two chapters including Polyesters, Molecular Modeling, Pharmaceutical Chemistry I and II, and Workbook of Pharmaceutical Chemistry II (Pearson, inTech-ISBN). She has over 70 research publications in top international journals (Q1, Q2) including high-impact factor journals like Pharmaceuticals (MDPI), European Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, European Journal of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Journal of Steroids, Tetrahedron Letters, Bioorganic and Medicinal Chemistry, Journal of Molecules with cumulative impact factor of over 200 and 1500 citations, with h index 23 (Google scholar). Apart from that she is also an editor of the book Fungal Pathogenicity. Her current research is based on the utilization of modern NMR spectroscopic approaches in the Elucidation of Secondary Metabolites, Biotransformation of Exogenous Substrates, and Synthesis and Characterization of Bioactive Medicinal derivatives using Combinatorial Chemistry. For her research works she has been awarded several national grants as a principal investigator including e Science (Ministry of Science and Technology-MOSTI), FRGS, ERGS, PSI, DANA Fund, REI etc. Her research findings are also recognized at several conferences, competitions, and exhibitions and have been awarded with several awards like best poster awards, IITEX 2014, iidex gold, iidex silver, iidex bronze awards. Recently she is awarded with Vice Chancellor for her best performance from Vice-chancellor of UiTM. Her favorite activity is working alongside postgraduates and undergraduates in the laboratory on research problems involving natural product isolation and identification. When not in the lab and office, she likes to cook and spend time with her daughters and husband.