Cross-Cultural
Medical Education 2026

Dr Thiyagar, a Senior Consultant Paediatrician and Adolescent Medicine Specialist, is Professor of Paediatrics and Dean of the Faculty of Medicine at AIMST University, Kedah. He retired recently after serving in the Ministry of Health for 35 years. He completed his undergraduate studies in 1990 and postgraduate studies in 1998 at Universiti Sains Malaysia. He furthered his subspecialty interest in Adolescent Medicine at the Centre for Adolescent Health, Royal Children’s Hospital, Melbourne, Australia, in 2006. His special interests in adolescent health are resilience, school inclusiveness, nutrition, and mental health.

Prof. Wang Chen, a CPC member, holds a PhD and two Master of Laws degrees and serves as Chairman of Zhengzhou Health College. He undertakes multiple academic and social posts, including Director of the China Private Education Association and Executive Vice President of Henan Private Education Research Association. He has long been engaged in medical and health vocational education, focusing on health law, medical moral education, and private medical education. He has led and participated in numerous provincial and municipal research projects, published nearly 30 academic papers, and compiled 14 monographs. His work centres on private medical education governance and health-talent training.

Dr Aravind Raveendran is a urologist at the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University and Co-Chair of the Cross-Cultural International Medical Education Conference. Originally from India, he completed his master’s degree and M.Ch. in China. His work brings together clinical practice, research, and international medical education. He has contributed to research in urology while working with universities in Malaysia and other countries on joint education programmes and research collaborations. He is particularly interested in the quality of international medical training and cross-cultural academic partnerships.

Dr Quanjun Lyu received his PhD in Nutrition and Food Science and has visited the United States as a visiting scholar. He has served as a Principal Investigator on programmes supported by the National Natural Science Foundation and the Chinese Nutrition Society. He has been invited to present at workshops, seminars, and congresses. His research interests include nutritional epidemiology, chronic disease prevention, public health nutrition, and nutrition and food science.

Dato’ Dr Lim Kim Huat currently serves as Deputy Executive Chairman of Putra Medical Centre in Alor Setar, Kedah. He graduated with a Bachelor of Medicine from Kaohsiung Medical College, Taiwan, in 1981. After many years in public service, he moved into the private sector, established a private clinic, and founded Putra Medical Centre in 1991. He received the Malaysian Medical Association’s Healthcare Leadership Award in 2026 for his exemplary leadership.

Dr Vinod Pallath is Associate Professor of Medical Education and Assessment at the Jeffrey Cheah School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Monash University Malaysia. With more than 25 years of experience in higher education, he has contributed extensively to medical education and microbiology. His primary research question is how people learn, explored through competency-based medical education, faculty development, professionalism, leadership and management, and technology-enhanced learning. He has organised nearly 150 faculty-development workshops and received multiple teaching and service awards.

Professor Dr Srikumar P. S. is a psychiatrist, medical educator, and academic leader with over three decades of clinical and teaching experience. He serves as Director of Medical Education at AIMST University and previously served as Dean of its Faculty of Medicine. His qualifications span Psychiatry, Medical Education, Healthcare Management, and Criminology and Forensic Science. His professional interests include outcome-based education, curriculum development, professionalism teaching and assessment, healthcare simulation, and quality assurance. He is committed to culturally responsive medical education, international collaboration, and compassionate, ethical medical practice.

Liu Huan is a lecturer at Zhengzhou Health College. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Medical Laboratory Science and a master’s degree in Clinical Medicine from Henan University of Medicine. Since 2016, she has been engaged in teaching and administrative management. Her research focuses on higher medical education and teaching practice for medical students. She has participated in two provincial-level research projects and published one SCI paper as first author. Her interests include higher medical education, instructional practice, and global-competency development in health-professional education.

Ms Fu graduated from Shanxi Normal University and holds a master’s degree. An associate professor with 16 years of service at Zhengzhou Health College, she teaches English to first- and second-year college students. Her research focuses on pragmatics, cross-cultural communication, and English-language teaching. She has led six city-level research projects, participated in four provincial-level projects, and published 14 academic papers. She has also integrated traditional Chinese medicine medicinal-food culture into English teaching through cross-cultural learning tasks.

Dr Syed holds an MBBS and works in both clinical practice and medical teaching. His research focuses on applying artificial intelligence to precision oncology. Drawing on cross-cultural medical experience, he teaches medical English to culturally diverse Chinese learners, bridging clinical expertise, academic research, and cross-border medical education. His research interests include artificial intelligence and oncology, while his teaching interests cover basic and clinical medical sciences.

Dr Saravanan is a public health specialist with over 22 years of service in the Malaysian Ministry of Health and currently serves as Director of the Health Performance Unit. He is recognised nationally and internationally for pioneering work in health-system monitoring and evaluation, health-performance management, digital-health innovation, and health literacy. He is the author of three books and contributes policy papers, technical guidelines, peer-reviewed research, and professional commentary on healthcare leadership and governance.

Dr Rohini is a Senior Associate Professor and Deputy Dean for Postgraduate, Research and Administration at AIMST University’s Faculty of Medicine. A biochemist and medical educator, she holds a PG Diploma in Medical Education from the University of Dundee and a Master’s in Medical Education from the University of South Wales, and is an Associate Fellow of AMEE. Her expertise includes curriculum development, outcome-based education, assessment, faculty development, professionalism, quality assurance, and educational leadership.

Prof. Dr. Selva Kumar is a paediatrician and paediatric nephrologist who served with the Ministry of Health Malaysia for 33 years. He is currently Professor of Paediatrics at AIMST University, where he is involved in undergraduate medical education.

Dr Priyah is an Internal Medicine Physician with over 14 years of clinical experience and a strong passion for medical education. Recognised for leadership, she has served as Head of Department and Physician-in-Charge in government healthcare settings. She currently serves as an Associate Professor at AIMST University, specialising in bedside clinical teaching and mentoring clinical-year medical students, with expertise in curriculum delivery, student assessment, and clinical departmental management.

Ms Zhao Yongna teaches Medical Laboratory Technology. She graduated from Wenzhou Medical University with a major in Clinical Laboratory Diagnostics and has taught for 13 years. She teaches Biochemical Testing and Clinical Laboratory Instruments in the three-year vocational Medical Laboratory Technology programme and also contributes to the new Sino-foreign cooperative education programme. Her research focuses on teaching reform and social-science topics, while her principal teaching interest is Biochemical Testing.

Dr Shivali Shamsher is an anaesthesiologist and medical educator at AIMST University, where she heads the Anaesthesiology Unit. She holds an MD in Anaesthesiology and an MSc in Medical Education from the University of Warwick. Her academic interests include empathy, professionalism, communication, emotional intelligence, and experiential learning in clinical education. She is passionate about nurturing empathetic, culturally responsive, patient-centred, and professionally grounded future doctors.

Mr Chang earned a master’s degree in Clinical Chinese Materia Medica from Henan University of Chinese Medicine in 2017. He has ten years of experience in traditional Chinese medicine-related fields at Zhengzhou Health College, teaching courses including Chinese Materia Medica Chemistry and Pharmaceutical E-commerce. He brings practical clinical medication and traditional Chinese medicine dispensing experience into his teaching. His research focuses on treating atopic dermatitis with traditional Chinese medicine, particularly through external applications.

Xue Xingxing has served as a full-time counsellor since October 2018 and earned his Master of Education from University Perdana Malaysia in August 2025. His work covers ideological and political education, student management, and guidance for pharmacy undergraduates. His research focuses on medical-student ideological education and international-talent cultivation. His overseas study experience supports cross-cultural educational comparison between China and Malaysia and the development of internationally oriented medical talent.

Dr Ahmed Attia is a postdoctoral researcher and educator with a PhD in Cancer Pharmacology from Fujian Medical University, China. His research focuses on drug development, senolytics, and natural-product-based therapeutics for cancer and neurodegenerative diseases, with publications in high-impact journals. He has taught pharmacology, supervised graduate students, mentored junior researchers, and delivered workshops on advanced laboratory techniques. With over ten years of international experience spanning Egypt, China, and global healthcare markets, he is passionate about integrating global-health perspectives into medical education and cross-cultural teaching.