Dr Abe Woo is a non-resident fellow for marine environmental research at WPS. He received his PhD in Natural History Sciences from Hokkaido University. His interest of study includes systematics, taxonomy, and diversity study of marine invertebrates, focusing on the group Echinoderms. Since 2009, he has been actively uncovering the marine biodiversity and systematics of sea cucumbers across the region. He is currently serving as a senior lecturer in the Centre for Marine and Coastal Studies (CEMACS), Universiti Sains Malaysia where he is also actively leading several marine biodiversity research in the Southeast Asian region that includes several taxa of marine invertebrate. At the global front, he is a serving in several UN Decade of Ocean Science Program ECOP co-chairs and also an active contributor to the IOC Sub-Commission for the Western Pacific (WESTPAC) programmes.
Dr Woo recently graduated from the Advanced Masters in Sustainable Blue Economy from Unviersity of Trieste, Italy that focuses on science diplomacy through management and development of regional blue economy plans. He is now involved in formulating Malaysia’s Blue Economy Blueprint commissioned by the government

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Elina Noor is a senior fellow in the Asia Program at Carnegie where she focuses on developments in Southeast Asia, particularly the impact and implications of technology in reshaping power dynamics, governance, and nation-building in the region.

Previously, Elina was director of political-security affairs and deputy director of the Washington, D.C. office at the Asia Society Policy Institute. Prior to that, Elina was an associate professor at the Daniel K. Inouye Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies in Honolulu. She spent most of her career at the Institute of Strategic and International Studies Malaysia, where she last held the position of director, foreign policy and security studies. Elina was also formerly with the Brookings Institution’s Project on U.S. Relations with the Islamic World.

Between 2017 and 2019, Elina was part of the Global Commission on the Stability of Cyberspace. From 2021 to 2023, she served on the International Committee of the Red Cross Global Advisory Board on digital threats during conflict. She currently serves on the United Nations Secretary-General’s Advisory Board on Disarmament Matters.

Elina read law at Oxford University. She obtained an LL.M (Public International Law) from the London School of Economics and Political Science, University of London, graduating with distinction at the top of her class. A recipient of the Perdana (Malaysian Prime Minister’s) Fellowship, she also holds an MA in security studies from Georgetown University, where she was a Women in International Security Scholar.

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Dr Tricia Yeoh is Associate Professor of Practice at the University of Nottingham Malaysia’s School of Politics and International Relations. She is also Senior Fellow at the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada, Senior Visiting Fellow at ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore and Senior Adjunct Research Fellow at Monash University Malaysia. She was recently a 2024/25 Atlantic Council Millennium Leadership Fellow. She is former CEO of the Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (IDEAS) Malaysia, where she served up to September 2024.
She was a Southeast Research Group (SEAREG) Fellow 2020/21 and has won several awards including the 2017 Distinguished Alumni Award for Monash University Malaysia, the Postgraduate Award Prize 2020/21 from the University of Nottingham and the Malaysia Australia Alumni Council Female Alumnus of the Year Award 2023. She writes and speaks widely on federalism, comparative politics and public policy in Malaysia. She has previously worked in the Chief Minister’s Office of the Selangor State Government. Dr Yeoh holds a PhD in Political Science from the School of Politics, History and International Relations at the University of Nottingham Malaysia. Her writings can be found at www.triciayeoh.com

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