Dr. Amelia Mohamed Ainis a Consultant Intensivist and Anaesthesiologist,and head of Intensive Care Unit at Hospital Sultan Abdul Halim, Malaysia. She holds a Fellowship in Adult Intensive Care from the Ministry of Health Malaysia and a Fellowship in Emergency & Critical Care Ultrasound (WINFOCUS). A Master of Anaesthesiology graduate from the University of Malaya and an MBChB holder from the University of Sheffield, she is actively involved in research, teaching, and international collaborations, with publications in Intensive Care Medicine and the Singapore Medical Journal.

Dr. Amiruddin Bin Nik Mohamed Kamil is a Consultant Anaesthesiologist at Hospital Kuala Lumpur. He graduated from the University of Malaya, obtained a Master of Medicine in Anaesthesiology from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, and holds the European Diploma in Regional Anaesthesia.

With more than 25 years of clinical experience, he has extensive expertise in ultrasound-guided regional anaesthesia, perioperative POCUS, thoracic anaesthesia, and complex airway management. He currently serves as Director of the Ministry of Health Regional Anaesthesia Advanced Specialty Training Programme and is actively involved in teaching and training nationwide.

His special interests include non-intubated thoracic surgery and tracheal resection-reconstruction. He is recognised for his practical approach, commitment to patient safety, and dedication to medical education.

Dr. Gan Kiat Kee is a Malaysian Consultant Emergency Physician, educator, and advocate for the integration of Point-of-Care Ultrasound (POCUS) and Regional Anesthesia (RA) into emergency care. He currently serves as Head of the Emergency and Trauma Department, Hospital Pasir Gudang, and Adjunct Lecturer at Monash University Malaysia. A WINFOCUS Fellow and holder of the International Diploma in Regional Anesthesia and Analgesia (University of Montpellier, France), he has led numerous national initiatives in ultrasound education, trauma training, and emergency regional anesthesia. Dr. Gan is widely recognized for pioneering EDRA services in southern Malaysia and for his contributions to advancing ultrasound-guided patient care across multidisciplinary settings.

Hyungtae Kim, MD, PhD, is a Professor in the Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine at Seoul Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine. He holds key leadership positions in the field, currently serving as Director of Planning for the Korean Society of Regional Anesthesia. He is also a member of the Scientific Affairs and Medical Insurance committees for the Korean Society of Anesthesiologists. Furthermore, Professor Kim drives global engagement as Director of International Cooperation for both the Korean Society of Obstetric Anesthesiologists and the Korean Society of Geriatric Anesthesia and Pain.

Dr Iskandar Khalid is a Consultant Anaesthesiologist at Hospital Canselor Tuanku Muhriz, UKM, KualaLumpur, where he serves as Clinical Lead for Regional Anaesthesia and Acute Pain Services. He completed a Fellowship in Regional Anaesthesia and Acute Pain Medicine at the University of Toronto and holds the European Diploma in Regional Anaesthesia and Acute Pain Management (EDRA). He is currently the Secretary General of the Malaysian Society of Regional Anaesthesia (MySORA) and a Director of the Asian &Oceanic Society of Regional Anaesthesia & Pain Medicine (AOSRA-PM). He is an experienced educator and active researcher, with frequent contributions as a speaker and facilitator at national and international meetings.

Assoc. Prof. Jatuporn Pakpirom, is an anesthesiologist in department of Anesthesiology, Faculty of Medicine, at Prince of Songkla University. With a specialized focus on regional anesthesia and acute pain management, Assoc. Prof. Pakpirom is dedicated to advancing clinical practices and educations within the fields and he deeply devotes in conducting researches in ultrasound guidance intervention of regional anesthesia to improve the procedural and clinical outcomes and the quality of acute pain control. Currently, he serves as an Associate Professor, they bring extensive expertise to both academic research and patients care, contributing significantly to the development of modern anesthesiology techniques.

Dr. Ken-Yi Lui is a consultant anaesthesiologist and pain physician at Universiti Malaya Medical Centre, where he serves as Clinical Lead for Regional Anaesthesia and Pain Medicine. He completed postgraduate anaesthesia training in Malaysia and undertook two years of advanced subspecialty training at University of Toronto. He holds fellowship credentials from the College of Anaesthesiologists of Ireland, the European Society of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care, and the World Institute of Pain. His interests include regional anaesthesia, cryoneurolysis, neuromodulation, and regenerative pain therapies. He is a regular faculty atinternational conferences and workshops in pain medicine and regional anaesthesia..

Professor Manoj Kumar Karmakar is Emeritus Professor in the Department of Anaesthesia and Intensive Care at The Chinese University of Hong Kong, specializing in paediatric and regional anesthesia. He is internationally recognized for pioneering research in regional anesthesia in adults and children, with key interests in thoracic paravertebral block, spinal sonography, ultrasound-guided neuraxial blocks, and local anesthetic pharmacology. He has authored 370 publications, including 185 in high-impact journals. Ranked in the top 0.5% of scholars worldwide and 13th in regional anesthesia (ScholarGPS 2024), he received the ESRA Carl Koller Awardin2023for his lifetime contribution to advancing regional anaesthesia.

Assistant Professor Dr Muhamad Rasydan bin Abd Ghani is currently the Head of the Anaesthesiology Department at the Kulliyyah of Medicine and also SASMEC @ IIUM. He obtained his MBBS from IIUM. Later further his study in anaesthesiology at UKM and obtained Doctor of Anaesthesiology and Critical Care. Along the way in his journey, he pursued his regional anaesthesia interest and obtained Post Graduate Diploma in Regional Anaesthesia from University Of Montpellier. Bridging clinical practice and healthcare law, he also holds a Professional Certification in Medico legal through a specialized UKM microcredential program.

A passionate advocate for medical education for undergraduate and also postgraduate. He actively serves as a Trainer and Examiner for the Part 1 and Part 2 Masters Anaesthesia Conjoint Examinations. MySORA board member. Core research interests include regional anaesthesia, ergonomics in RA, HMD applications in RA, and medical education.

A speaker both national and internationally in Regional Anaesthesia.

Dr Elkassabany is currently the vice chair of clinical operations in the Department of Anesthesiology, University of Virginia (UVA). He is also the Medical Director of perioperative services at UVA Dr. Elkassabany did his undergraduate and medical education in Alexandria University. He was then appointed as a faculty in the department of Anesthesiology, Menoufia University, Egypt. He completed his anesthesia residency training at Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio and his regional anesthesia subspecialty training at the University of Florida at Gainesville, Florida. He earned a master degree in clinical epidemiology and biostatistics in December 2012 from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and had his MBA in December 2021 from the Fox School of Business, Temple University in Philadelphia. Dr Elkassabany’s research interest focuses on patients’ outcomes after orthopedic surgery, specifically patient who receives regional anesthesia in different clinical settings. His track record of research and publication exceeds a hundred peer reviewed articles, multiple book chapters, and other articles in different media outlets. Nabil was a member of the Board of Directors for the American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine (ASRA) from 2018-2022. He also chairs educational track subcommittee on regional anesthesia and acute pain medicine at the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA). More recently Nabil was appointed as the editor in chief for Updates in Anaesthesia, the official journal of the world federation of the society of anesthesiologists.

Dr Ng Sze Teck obtain his medical degree from Universiti Sains Malaysia in 2006 and Master of Anaesthesiology from Universiti Malaya in 2015. He served as a specialist in Hospital Umum Sarawak from 2016 until 2018 and subsequently in Hospital Kuala Lumpur since 2018. He completed his subspecialty training in Regional Anaesthesia in 2023. He is active in the training of regional anaesthesia and has facilitated in various workshops and conferences in Malaysia.

A highly skilled, passionate, and dedicated physician, she has consistently demonstrated her commitment to improving the care of critically ill patients. After graduating with honors from Crimea State Medical University, she refined her expertise by completing specialty training at the National University of Malaysia. Her deep interest in critical care medicine and medical ultrasound inspired her to pursue advanced subspecialty training in Emergency Critical Care in both Malaysia and the United Kingdom. Her dedication to professional growth is evident in her successful completion of prestigious fellowships and the recognition she has received through awards from hospitals in Malaysia and the United Kingdom. A sought-after facilitator and speaker, she regularly conducts critical care-related courses and is a prominent advocate for the use of ultrasound in medicine. She has delivered lectures at national and international forums, including in the United Kingdom, Belgium, the Philippines, and Indonesia. As a dedicated researcher, she has co-authored significant publications, such as the WINFOCUS Focused Echocardiography Course, the SUCCES Paramedic Ultrasound Course, and the NeuroPOCUS Course at King’s College Hospital, CACU for ESICM. Beyond her contributions to book publications, journal articles, and newsletters, she has played a pivotal role in developing educational tools, such as the SUCCES Malaysia POCUS Sonocard, further establishing her influence in the field. Since 2019, she has served as the main coordinator for the Emergency Mechanical Ventilation Course (EMVeC) in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor. She has also designed mechanical ventilation charts and guidelines, authoring Malaysia’s first EM Mechanical Ventilation Pocket Card, now widely used by junior doctors across multiple states. In addition to supervising and teaching students in the Ministry of Health's Advanced Diploma in Emergency Care(ADEC), she was elected research coordinator by the hospital’s research board from 2020 to 2022. During this tenure, she actively participated in national and international oral and poster presentations, further solidifying her contributions to the field.

Dr. Nurul Zaynah Nordin is a Consultant Nephrologist and Clinical Lead of the Critical Care Nephrology Unit at Department of Nephrology, Hospital Kuala Lumpur. She graduated in 2005 and later obtained Membership of the Royal College of Physicians (UK)(2011)before being elected a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians, London (FRCP). She completed her Nephrology Subspecialty training under the Malaysian Ministry of Health in 2018.She further attended a one year fellowship in Critical Care Nephrology as the first ISN AKI Ravi-Mehta Fellow at St Thomas’ Hospital, London(2022-2023), focusing on AKI and extra corporeal therapies in critically ill patients. Dr. Nordin is also a WINFOCUS fellow in Emergency and Critical Care Ultrasound and serves on the Ministry of Health ACT-KID(National Action Plan for Kidney Health)Technical Working Group.

Awards:

• Lifetime achievement award: Indian Society of Anaesthesiologists 2015

• K Y Bhojraj Award: Best review article (Indian J Anaesth 2018-19 and 2020-21)

• Best Original Research article for Indian Journal of Anaesthesia (Indian J Anaesth 2018-19).

• Best Paper Awards: 15

Visiting Professor:

• Adjunct Professor: Kasturba Medical College, Manipal.

• Visiting Professor: Invited Professor: Cliniques Universitaires Saint-Luc at Brussels (Belgium).

• Former Professor and Head: Dept of Anaesthesiology & Critical Care. JIPMER, Puducherry

Courses/Fellowships:

• UGC Sponsored Fellowship: Ultrasound applications in Anaesthesia (Hong Kong)

• WHO Fellowship: Intensive Care

• WHO Fellowship: Interventional Pain Management

Orations: 12

Positions held:

• Past President: AIDAA (National)

• Airway Guidelines Committee Chairman: AIDAA 2025 Difficult Airway Guidelines

Publications:

• 150 (Pubmed Indexed); Citations = 4000, h-index = 34, i10-index = 85

Chapters: 14

Areas of Interest: Airway, Regional Anaesthesia, Critical Care

Prof Paul Kessler was from 2003 to 2020 Chair of the Department of Anaesthesiology, Intensive Care medicine and Pain Medicine of the Orthopaedic University Clinic in Frankfurt, Germany. Since 2024 he is Senior Consultant. Paul Kessler has co-authored over 120 peer-reviewed papers. Paul Kessler is a member of many national and international societies of anaesthesia. From 2009 to 2013 he was Board member of the ESRA and from 2014to 2018 he was the German Zone Representative in the ESRA Council. Since 2016 he is Chair of the ESRA cadaver workshops and since 2025 ESRA-DRA Board Member.

Dr Canounderwent a Fellowship in Molecular Biology in Kobe, Japan and a Fellowship in Transplant Anesthesia in Bonn, Germany.She underwent Preceptorships in Regional Anesthesia in the US, France and Denmark.

Dr Cano is the First Filipino to Obtain the European Diploma in Regional Anesthesia (ESRA-DRA). She is the pioneer of Ultrasound Guided Regional Anesthesia in the Philippines.She is presently the Head of the Division of Regional Anesthesia at the University of the Philippines-Philippine General Hospital

Dr Cano is the Immediate Past President of the Phiippine Society of Anesthesiologists. She holds the position as Deputy Chair of the Asian Australasian Regional Section of WFSA, the President of the Manila Academy of Regional Anesthesia, President of POCUS Special Interest Group – Sonography in Critical Care and Anesthesia and the Philippine Representative of the ESRA International Committee

She is a Reviewer of the European Journal of Anesthesia and the Journal of Clinical Anesthesia.She has been invited as a speaker not only in Asia but also in Africa, Europe, the World Congress of Anesthesia and the World Congress of Regional Anesthesia.

Dr. Prangmalee Leurcharusmee is a consultant anesthesiologist and educator at Maharaj Nakorn Chiang Mai Hospital, Chiang Mai University, with special interests in regional anesthesia, orthopedic anesthesia, and perioperative ultrasound. She has authored multiple international publications and is actively involved in teaching and research in regional anesthesia, including both clinical and cadaveric investigations, as well as point-of-care ultrasound. Her current work focuses on optimizing perioperative recovery and improving patient-centered outcomes through advanced regional anesthesia techniques.

Pryambodho is one of the pioneers who introduce modern Regional Anesthesia and Point of Care Ultrasound among Indonesian Anesthesiologists. Working as senior consultant in the Department of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care, Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital Jakarta, his current position is the Coordinator of Regional Anesthesia interest in Anesthesiology Subspeciality Program, and now also serving as the President of Indonesian Society of Regional Anesthesia since 2025. He has been recognized as international faculty at many international meetings, including ASNACC Congress, AOSRA-PM Congress, WFSA World Congress, RA-ASIA Conference, and Winfocus World Congress; and has produced at least 26 international publication articles.

Dr. Ranjith Kumar Sivakumar is Research Associate in Anaesthesia and Intensive Care at The Chinese University of Hong Kong. Specializing in regional anesthesia and biostatistics, he completed his MD Anesthesia in 2017 and clinical fellowship in RA under Prof Karmakar in 2021, gaining significant expertise in ultrasound-guided peripheral nerve blocks and advanced neuraxial techniques. With 60 peer-reviewed publications and an H-index of 15( Google Scholar, Feb2026), his research focuses on regional techniques and clinical outcomes. He actively serves as faculty for multiple international academic conferences including ASRA and ESRA, and peer reviews for various leading anesthesiology journals. Dr. Sivakumar advances patient care through regional anesthesia innovation and evidence-based clinical practice.

▪ Consultant Anesthesiologist, Gleneagles Medini Hospital, Iskandar Puteri, Malaysia

▪ Part-time Lecturer, Dept of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care, Faculty of Medicine, Univerisiti Kebangsaan Malaysia

▪ Dr Shahridan Mohd Fathil obtained his MBBS from the University of Malaya in 1996. He underwent anaesthesia training initially in Malaysia, and then Ireland and England, and completed a Regional Anaesthesia Fellowship in Royal Perth Hospital, Western Australia. He was a consultant and later senior consultant with Alexandria and Ng Teng Fong General hospitals, and also a clinical senior lecturer with National University of Singapore Yoong Loo Lin School of Medicine before his move to Gleneagles Johor.

▪ His passions are ultrasound guided regional anaesthesia and point-of-care ultrasound.

▪ He was the past convenor for the Special Interest Group in Regional Anaesthesia, College of Anaesthesiologists, Academy of Medicine, Malaysia and is the member of the executive committee for the Society of Critical and Emergency Sonography, Malaysia.

▪ He has been on humanitarian relief work in post-natural and complex disaster missions in Indonesia, Philippines, Pakistan, Iraq, Bangladesh and recently in Gaza in 2024.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Shalimar Abdullah

Course Director Hand & Microsurgery Programme

Hospital Canselor Tuanku Muhriz,UKM Medical Centre.

Dr. Shalimar Abdullah currently works as a Hand Surgeon and Senior Lecturer in the Hand & Microsurgery Unit, Department of Orthopaedics, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur. She obtained her medical degree together with a Bachelor of Medical Sciences from the University of Nottingham, England, UK in 1998. She returned to Malaysia to begin her housemanship and proceeded to train in Orthopaedics completing her training in Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia in 2005.

In 2007, she began training in the Orthopaedic subspeciality of hand surgery and received her Fellowship in Hand Surgery from the prestigious Kleinert Institute, Louisville, USA in 2010. She also received the Diploma of Hand Surgery (FESSH exams) in 2012. She was awarded the Junior Travelling Fellow for the American Society for Surgery of the Hand (ASSH) in 2015. She is currently the Honorary Secretary for the Malaysian Society for Surgery of the Hand (MSSH) and is a member for the American Society for Surgery of the Hand (ASSH).

Her interest is in Nerve, Tissue Engineering, Brachial Plexus, and WALANT (Wide Awake Local Anaesthesia No Tourniquet) surgery. She is also a proponent of WALANT surgery both in soft tissues and bony fixation. She is part of the Nerve Team in UKM’s Tissue Engineering Center and is in a project to produce the perfect nerve conduit. She has published up to 70 articles to date. She is very active with an international humanitarian NGO named Mercy Malaysia since 1998. Currently she holds the post of Vice-President III and has responded to many humanitarian crisis in Malaysia and also countries such as Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Japan, Indonesia, Myanmar, Cambodia and Philippines. She is the Team Lead for the EMT or Emergency Medical Team.

Professor Dr Shaik Farid Abdull Wahabis a Consultant Emergency Physician and senior academic at the Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin (UniSZA), and currently serves as Deputy Director of Hospital UniSZA. He obtained his MD and Master of Emergency Medicine from Universiti Sains Malaysia and completed advanced fellowship training in Emergency and Critical Care Ultrasound at Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School. His academic and clinical interests include point-of-care ultrasound, critical care, wilderness medicine, and healthcare leadership. Professor Shaik Farid has held numerous national and international leadership roles and has made sustained contributions to specialist training, curriculum development, and professional governance in emergency medicine.

Dr. T. Sivashanmugam currently works as Professor in the Department of Anaesthesiology at Mahatma Gandhi Medical College & Research Institute, Puducherry, India. He has extensive experience in the field of ultrasound guided regional anaesthesia and his special interest extends to acute pain service and vascular access as well. Currently he serves as the Course Director for the Fellowship in Ultrasound Guided Regional Anaesthesia at his institute. With a strong research background his publications made significant contribution to the present understanding of spine and brachial plexus sonography. He holds several awards and recognitions, including founder secretary for the board of studies of AORA India and has delivered numerous lectures at national and international conferences.

Dr. Takayuki Yoshida graduated from Niigata University with an Igakushi (equivalent to MBBS/MD) in 2006. He underwent a short-term regional anesthesia training under Dr. Yasuyuki Shibata in2011. He defended his PhD thesis in 2015 at Niigata University. He and his colleagues have published some peer-reviewed articles regarding regional anesthesia and vascular access in renowned journals. In 2017, he attained the ESRA-DRA. He obtained a master's degree in clinical research from Monash University in 2021 at the top of his class. He completed a clinical fellowship in regional anesthesia directed by Prof. Ki-Jinn Chin at Toronto Western Hospital in 2022.

Dr Wong Wan Yi is a Senior Consultant in Anaesthesia, Intensive Care and Pain Medicine, Tan Tock Seng Hospital, Singapore where she also serves as Head of the Regional Anaesthesia Service.

She completed an advanced fellowship in Regional Anaesthesia at Aarhus University Hospital. Denmark, under the mentorship of Professor Thomas Bendsten, and holds the European Diploma in Regional Anaesthesia and Acute Pain Management (EDRA).

Dr Wong has a strong clinical and academic interest in ultrasound-guided regional anaestheisa, acute pain management, and peri-operative education. She is actively involved in residency training and faculty development, with a particular focus on advancing regional anaesthesia teaching and practice.

In addition to her educational role, she has held leadership positions in perioperative operations, including serving as Deputy Operating Director of the Operating Theater Complex at Tan Tock Seng Hospital.