Advisors
Prof Dato’ Dr Abdul Rashid Khan
Prof Dato’ Dr Abdul Rashid Khan is a medical doctor with a Master’s in Health Science and a PhD in Community Health. He is currently the Dean and Professor and Head of the Department of Public Health Medicine at RCSI & UCD (Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland & University College Dublin) Malaysia Campus, Adjunct Professor at the UCD, Adjunct Professor at the University of Western Australia, site supervisor for the Global Health department of the University of South Florida and a visiting research fellow for Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University, Japan. He has 90 peer-reviewed publications and has written five books and two chapters in a book. He is also a member of the advisory board for numerous international medical journals. He has a very keen interest in the social influences on the health of marginalized populations. He is actively involved in community outreach projects especially related to health promotion & education and the social well-being of marginalised communities, especially among transgender communities, the elderly, and among the indigenous people of peninsular Malaysia. His main area of research is on female genital cutting and one health.
Prof Dato’ Dr Adeeba Kamarulzaman
Prof Dato’ Dr Adeeba Kamarulzaman graduated from Monash University in 1987 and trained in internal medicine and infectious diseases at the Monash Medical Centre and Fairfield Infectious Diseases Hospital, Melbourne, Australia. She formerly served as the dean of the Faculty of Medicine in Malaysia’s leading institution – the University of Malaya and has established the Centre of Excellence for Research on AIDS (CERiA) that conducts multi-disciplinary research on HIV ranging from clinical to public health and policy research. She has used her clinical and academic leadership to engage in the national and community response to HIV/AIDS. She is currently the CEO of Monash University Malaysia and Pro Vice-Chancellor and President (Malaysia), Monash University Australia. She is also the Chair of the Malaysian AIDS Foundation and an Executive Council member of the Malaysian AIDS Council, the peak HIV NGO in Malaysia. At the international level, Prof. Dato’ Dr Adeeba was formerly the President of the International AIDS Society and a member of the UNAIDS Scientific Expert Panel on HIV. Recently, she has been appointed as a member of the World Health Organisation (WHO) Science Council, a high-level Scientific Advisory Group that will act as the voice of scientific leadership and will advise on advances in science and technology that could directly impact global health. Her achievements have been recognised through several national and international awards including the Tun Mahathir Science and the Merdeka Awards for her role as a member of the University of Malaya’s Nipah Investigative Team. She is the first recipient of the Advance Australia Global Award in the category of Alumni in 2012 and in April 2015 she was honoured with a Doctor of Laws (honoris causa) from her alma mater, Monash University.
Director & Founder
Dr Hannah Nazri
Dr Hannah Nazri is an NIHR Academic Clinical Fellow and specialty trainee in obstetrics & gynaecology at the University of Warwick, following her DPhil in endometriosis pathophysiology and biomarker research at the University of Oxford. She received her medical degree from the University of Bristol in 2013, with a BSc (Hons) Medical Physics & Bioengineering from University College London (one-year intercalated degree) in 2010. She pursued her MSc Clinical Embryology at the University of Oxford with two merit scholarships to explore her reproductive sciences and research interests. She then graduated in 2016 before commencing her DPhil. As a finalist of the 2020 UK Women of the Future Award for the Commonwealth Category and a finalist of the 2023 WeAreTheCity Award for Healthcare, Hannah is committed to combining her obstetrics and gynaecology career with non-profit work, not limited to youth education and women’s rights advocacy. Hannah also writes on women’s issues in the HPHR (formerly Harvard Public Health Review). She is also a Member of the Board of Advisors of the Asia Network to End FGM/C.
Secretary
Dr Syed Hadi Arief
Dr Syed Hadi Arief is a general practitioner (family medicine specialist) at NHS England. Hadi received his medical degree from the University of Manchester. He has a keen interest in lifestyle medicine and looking forward to more male advocates in Malaysian Doctors for Women and Children.
Committee Members
Dr Wan Namaziah Azhari
Dr Wan Namaziah Azhari received her medical degree from the National University of Malaysia in 1988. In 2000, she graduated from Malaysian Science University with a Diploma in Therapeutic Medicine. She had wide experience of working in multiple hospitals in Malaysia including Kuala Lumpur Hospital and Kota Bharu Hospital. Currently, she works as a general practitioner in Malaysia.
Dr Subatra Jayaraj
Dr Subatra Jayaraj is a medical doctor with experience in anaesthesia and intensive care in the Ministry of Health Malaysia. She has a Master’s in International Development Studies, with her research focusing on barriers to maternal and child healthcare access in migrant populations. She currently runs a primary care women’s clinic focusing on Sexual & Reproductive Health in Petaling Jaya, Malaysia. She has worked at the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific based in Bangkok, where she focused on the 20-year review of the ICPD Programme of Action. She has also managed the Sexual and Reproductive Health Programme in Crisis Situations in the South East Asian and Pacific regions. She was the Vice President of AWAM (2018-2020) and is the current President of the Reproductive Rights Advocacy Alliance Malaysia.
Dr Diyanah Iman
Dr Diyanah Iman is a general practitioner (family medicine specialist) at NHS England. She was born in Melaka, Malaysia, and educated in Brunei, Jakarta, Malaysia, and finally in the UK for her medical degree. She graduated in 2011 and worked as a foundation doctor in Leicester, then a histopathology trainee in Leicester for 2 years before having an epiphany that her true calling was in general practice. She then moved to Bedfordshire to complete her general practice training. Being of mixed ethnic origin she has grown up like most Malaysians, in a melting pot of cultures and traditions. Having this diverse experience and influence has piqued her deep interest in the anthropological perspective on how medical and non-medical practices affect our lives.
Dr Farnaz Keshavarzi
Dr Farnaz Keshavarzi is a specialty trainee in obstetrics and gynaecology at the University of Malaya Medical Centre, Kuala Lumpur. Her areas of interest include sexual health and reproductive medicine, and she is currently pursuing further education and training in these fields. Dr Keshavarzi received her undergraduate degree from the University of Bristol in 2015 and completed her foundation training in the UK.
Dr Rafeeq Ruslan
Dr Rafeeq Ruslan is a specialty trainee in obstetrics and gynaecology at NHS England. He attended Monash University, Australia for his undergraduate degree in biochemistry and molecular biology and later earned his medical degree from the University of Warwick, UK. After completing foundation training in Lancaster, UK he took one year out of training to take a clinical fellowship in obstetrics and gynaecology in Bristol. Rafeeq is currently in his second year of obstetrics and gynaecology specialty training in the Kent, Surrey, and Sussex Deanery. He has a keen interest in women’s health. In his spare time, he enjoys skateboarding, football, and reading books.
Editor
Dr Janani Devaraja
Dr Janani Devaraja is a consultant paediatrician at NHS England and a graduate of the University of Nottingham. She is passionate about child health and believes achieving this is more than just applying medicine; it involves investing in their mental health and development; family health, the standard of living and relationships; societal influences, and ultimately laws that enable a good quality of life to be achieved. In her spare time, she enjoys reading fiction and non-fiction books from a diverse range of authors.
Publicity
Dr Zafira Azih
Dr Zafira Azih is a specialty trainee in psychiatry at NHS England. She attended Universitas Padjadjaran, Indonesia for her undergraduate degree in Biomedical Science and later earned her medical degree from the same university with distinction. After completing a two-year foundation training in Malaysia, she obtained her Master’s degree in Translational Neuropathology at the University of Sheffield, UK. While doing her Master’s degree, she also had the opportunity to work with a team of researchers as part of the Medical Research Council’s Cognitive Function and Ageing Study (CFAS) UK. Outside medicine, her interests lie in travel, scuba-diving, and arts. She stands by Malaysian Doctors for Women and Children as she believes in advocating women’s empowerment, and child protection, and standing up for the rights of refugees.
Dr Ashvinderjit Kaur
Dr Ashvinderjit Kaur is a recent medical graduate of Taylors University, Malaysia. She hails from Johor Bahru. She has a keen interest in Emergency Medicine and aspires to specialise in that medical field. Being a debater in the past, she is passionate about issues surrounding the needs of women and children, both medically and non-medically as she believes causes such as Malaysian Doctors for Women and Children with powerful and influential women in the industry have the power to push ideas forward, get conversations going and ultimately inspire other women. In her spare time, she enjoys kickboxing and volunteering.
