Rumana Akhter Saifi, MSS, MA, MPH, PhD
Dr. Saifi is a Senior Lecturer at the Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya (UM), joining in July 2024. She holds a Ph.D. in Demography from Mahidol University, Thailand, and an MPH from the University of Auckland, along with degrees in Economics. She is a PI of research projects, including those related to HIV care for transgender women and the Malaysian Implementation Science Training (MIST) Program in HIV. Her research is supported by international funding. Dr. Rumana actively participates in the academic community as a course coordinator and committee member. She serves as an advisor to Ph.D. and MPH students. Dr. Rumana also acts as a consultant for WHO and the Malaysian AIDS Council. She was the recipient of the Excellence Bangladeshi Academician Award in 2024.
Siyu Chen, MPH
Chen is a Visiting Assistant Researcher at Yale School of Nursing and a Ph.D. candidate at the JC School of Public Health and Primary Care, the Chinese University of Hong Kong. He holds dual Master of Public Health degrees from UNSW, Australia, and a Bachelor of Clinical Medicine from Mainland China. His research focuses on digital health, behavioral health, and implementation science, with an emphasis on AI chatbots for HIV prevention. He completed a randomized controlled trial evaluating an AI chatbot to improve HIV self-testing uptake in Hong Kong and is working with Dr. Ni to develop another AI chatbot for HIV prevention in Malaysia. Mr. Chen has collaborated with NGOs, clinics, and research institutions to advance digital health solutions globally and has authored 37 peer-reviewed publications.
Jayanthi Venugopal
Jayanti is an administrator/research assistant at the Center of Excellence for Research in AIDS, a research arm in University Malaya. She has been involved in the prison project for the past 16 years and is currently participating in the Chatbot project.
Melvina Krishnan
Melvina is a research assistant at the Centre of Excellence for Research in AIDS at the University of Malaya. She completed a Masters in molecular biology & genetic engineering in 2024. Her research interests involve developing novel protein-based therapies as alternatives to antibiotics. Currently involved in the Chatbot project, she has a keen interest in infectious disease epidemiology and is curious about leveraging science to address social problems.