New is an associate professor with the School of Pharmacy, University of Nottingham Malaysia (UNM). She obtained a Bachelor of Science (Hon.) in industrial chemistry from the Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, and earned her PhD degree from the National University of Singapore. She then worked as a research scientist at the Institute of Materials Research and Engineering, A*Star, Singapore before taking up her current job at UNM. Her main research interest is in developing DNA-based nanosensors to detect different analytes, such as cancer biomarkers and viral DNA. With computational aid, her group designs DNA probes using simulation algorithm, and then tests them at the bench. Such an approach has reduced random ill-attempts and overall costs, easing sensors customization for different types of targets. She was a Highly Commended Finalist of Women of the Future Southeast Asia, Science, Technology & Digital Category (2020), and received the L’Oréal-UNESCO Fellowship for Women in Science (2021). New is a Young Scientist Network-Academy Science Malaysia affiliate, a member of the Malaysian Institute of Chemistry and of the Committee of Royal Society of Chemistry Malaysia Chapter.

Lai received his PhD in biomedical engineering from the Malaysia University of Technology and Ilmenau Technical University in Germany through the German Academic Exchange Service PhD Sandwich Programme. He is currently an associate professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University Malaya, and chief technology officer of BioSight Sdn Bhd. Lai was awarded a fellowship by the Association of Commonwealth Universities by the UK in 2021 for his research on recovered COVID-19 patients’ risk of hospital readmission. Later, Lai was conferred the Young Engineer Award 2021 by the Institution of Engineers, Malaysia. Lai was also awarded the IEEE-EMBS Early Career Achievement Award 2021 by the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society Malaysia Chapter the same year. Lai was elected as Fellow of Engineers Australia and Fellow of Institute of Engineers Malaysia. In 2022, Lai was bestowed the Board of Engineers Malaysia Most Prominent Young Engineering Leader Award by the Prime Minister of Malaysia.