Nathan earned a PhD in DNA Repair (1989–1993), and a Master of Science with distinction in molecular biology and genetic manipulation (1988–1989) both from University of Sussex, UK, and a Bachelor of Science with first class honours in biochemistry (1984–1988) from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Malaysia. Her research focuses on dissecting the pathogenesis of the bacterium Burkholderia pseudomallei and the host defence against its infection. She has major research collaborations with Stanford University (US), University of Sheffield (UK) and King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (Saudi Arabia), which have contributed to advance understanding of the bacterium’s virulence and pathogenic mechanisms, as well as the failure of the host immune response. Her findings have resulted in the publication of over 150 research papers, review articles, and book chapters, earning her invitations to speak at national and international conferences and review grant applications for funders from Malaysia, UK, Switzerland, Austria, and Italy. She successfully trained over 50 graduate students, and is a regular peer reviewer for international journals in the field.

Jia is a chair professor and vice-dean of the School of Physics and Astronomy at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, and acting vice-president of the Southern University of Science and Technology. He graduated in 1987 and received his PhD in condensed matter physics in 1992, both from from Peking University. In 2021, he was elected as an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Jia is an experimental physicist specializing in condensed matter physics. His main research interests include topological superconductors, quantum materials, and quantum phenomena in nanostructures. He has authored more than 340 scientific papers, including 6 in Science, 3 in Nature, 4 in Nature Physics, 3 in Nature Materials, and 30 in Physical Review Letters, with over 24,000 citations. He has received numerous honors, including the National Prize for Advancement in Natural Science (second class, 2004), the National Prize for Advancement in Natural Science (second class, 2011), the Group Award for Outstanding Science and Technology Achievement from the Qiu Shi Science and Technologies Foundation of Hong Kong (2011), and the National Prize for Advancement in Natural Science (second class, 2019).

Ibrahim is a senior professor and former dean of the Faculty of Design and Architecture, at Universiti Putra Malaysia. A Stanford University alumna, she is a design scientist and a Fellow of the Academy of Sciences Malaysia. She leads the Built Environment and Life (BE-Life) informatics research group, which focuses on innovating products and processes that preserve and enhance the human cultural behavior. Her research expands her doctoral work on discontinuity in organizations beyond property development, applying it to broader societal and environmental challenges. A strong advocate for integrating local traditional knowledge into modern technology and product development, she emphasizes the value of cultural context in innovation. Her transdisciplinary and translational research approaches have led to numerous award-winning inventions that serve vulnerable communities. Notably, the United Nations recognized her work on the ISTP wastewater treatment system as an SDG Good Practice project. Ibrahim is currently a distinguished professor at the Purple Pottery College (formerly the Faculty of Arts), Honghe University, Yunnan Province, China.

He is a professor at the Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). He earned his Master of Science degree in plant genetics and breeding and completed his PhD in plant pathology at Zhejiang University (formerly Zhejiang Agriculture University). Following his graduate studies, he pursued postdoctoral research with the Plant Molecular and Cellular Biology laboratory at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, and the Department of Plant Pathology, at the University of California, Davis. In December 2000, he was appointed as a full professor and principal investigator at the Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, CAS. His research focuses on understanding the mechanisms of disease resistance to ensure better crop production, while reducing the use of fungicides and promoting environmentally friendly agriculture. His research interests include functional genomics, mechanisms and application of plant disease resistance, in particular broad-spectrum disease resistance genes, and the cross-talk between plant defense and growth/yield.

Fan is a K.C. Wong Chair professor, new cornerstone investigator and dean in the School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, and the executive dean of the National Center for Translational Medicine. He is a member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Royal Society of Chemistry, American Institute of Medical and biological Engineering, and International Society of Electrochemistry. He is an associate editor of JACS Au, and serves as a co-chair in the editorial board of ChemPlusChem and as an editorial board member of more than 10 journals including Angewadte Chemie, Accounts of Chemical Research and American Chemical Society Nano.