About | Women's Health Network

About Us

Strengthening healthcare for Malaysian women requires a comprehensive and multifaceted strategy that integrates research, education, and collaboration. This involves fostering interdisciplinary partnerships across sectors, including government agencies, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and the general public, to enhance health literacy and address systemic challenges.

By bringing together experts from various disciplines, we can develop targeted, evidence-based interventions that improve healthcare access, outcomes, and overall well-being for women across the country.

Committee Members

Nisha Angela Dominic

Chair

Associate Professor

Monash University Malaysia

Nisha Angela Dominic is an Obstetrician and Gynaecologist and Associate Professor at the Clinical School Johor Bahru, Jeffrey Cheah School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Monash University Malaysia. With over 20 years of clinical, academic, and research experience, she has worked in Malaysia, New Zealand, and Ireland, contributing significantly to women’s health. She currently serves as the Co-Academic Lead of Women’s Health at Monash University Malaysia, focusing on Women’s Health education and research. Her research interests include maternal wellbeing, gestational diabetes, reproductive health, and medical education. She actively contributes to advancing women's physical and mental health through her leadership in developing the Women’s Health Network and Women’s Health Research platform at Monash University Malaysia, aiming to improve women's health and medical education, through intersectoral collaboration.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Jayanthi Arasoo

Deputy chair

Associate Professor, Monash University Malaysia

Jjayanthi is an Obstetrician & Gynaecologist with an interest in Reproductive Medicine. She is cognizant of the impact of genetics and epigenetic factors on the evolution of disorders faced by the local population and seeks to garner local research data to enable more precise and targeted interventions.

Dr Vithya Velaithan

Secretary

Research Fellow, Monash University Malaysia

Vithya is a Research Fellow at Action Lab Malaysia, specializing in public health research with a focus on ageing, quality of life, secondary data analysis, evidence synthesis, and qualitative methods. Her work explores innovative approaches to enhance well-being and tackle the complex challenges faced by diverse populations, particularly older adults. Building on her strong foundation in ageing research, she is expanding her research into women's health, aiming to address critical issues and contribute to advancements in
this field.

Dr Sharuna Verghis

Member

Senior Lecturer, Monash University Malaysia

Sharuna Verghis is a dedicated public health researcher and humanitarian whose work has significantly advanced the well-being and rights of marginalised communities. A co-founder and director of Health Equity Initiatives, Dr Verghis is deeply engaged in projects that combine health systems, policy, and human rights.

Prof Dr Ravichandran Jeganathan

Member

Professor, Monash University Malaysia

As a former National Head of Ob Gyn and Maternal Fetal Medicine Services, Ministry of Health, Malaysia, Dr Ravi continues to serve as a Senior Consultant in the State of Johor, and maintains a role as a Co-chair of the Sub-speciality Education Committee MMC, and is a Consultant to WHO, UNFPA, JICA. Having chaired the CEMD over the years, he is also widely published in areas of maternal mortality.

Dr Subatra Jayaraj

Member

Medical Director, Klinik Rakyat P

Subatra Jayaraj is a Primary Care Reproductive Health Specialist, with a Masters in Medicine (Sexual & Reproductive Health) from the University of Sydney and a Masters in International Development Studies, with her research focusing on Barriers to Maternal and Child Healthcare Access in migrant populations. She has worked at the United Nations ESCAP, 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 Situation for Asia Pacific.

She is a reproductive justice advocate and is the current Treasurer of the Reproductive Rights Advocacy Alliance Malaysia (RRAAM). She runs a primary care women's health clinic focusing on Reproductive Health in Malaysia.

Dr Faizul Jaafar

Member

Senior Lecturer of Biochemistry, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia

Faizul Jaafar is a Senior Lecturer of Biochemistry at the Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, with research expertise in brain and reproductive axis aging. His current research focuses on reproductive neuropeptides and their roles in female infertility and other women’s health-related diseases. He aims to identify novel therapeutic targets to improve reproductive health and overall well-being by investigating the molecular and neuroendocrine mechanisms underlying these conditions. Dedicated to interdisciplinary collaboration, he actively contributes to initiatives promoting better health outcomes for women.

Dr Kee Ee-Kim

Member

Family Medicine Physician, Klinik Kesihatan Tampoi

Kim is a doctor with over 10 years of experience in diverse hospital and clinic settings. As a team player, she is a well-rounded physician with a strong background in family medicine. She is also proficient in managing chronic diseases, infectious diseases, antenatal care, and interpreting investigation results.

Dr Siti Noraida Habibullah

Member

Senior Lecturer, Monash University Malaysia

Siti Noraida is a medical doctor, with 25 years of GP experience, and holds an MBA and MSc in Global Migration & Social Justice. She is a senior lecturer at Monash University, Malaysia. As an experienced administrator and self-motivated leader with over 15 years of service in a hospital environment, she spent five years in Directorship roles focusing on service and quality.

Currently, she leads and inspires a diverse team to commit and contribute to healthcare services for the refugee and underprivileged communities. Through her charity organization, Little Steps, she founded and continues managing multiple charity healthcare facilities. Given her extensive humanitarian work, Dr Siti Noraida has received several international awards and grants, which included the Julia Taft Refugee Grant Award, the Philanthropist Award from Rabata, United States, and the Gold Award from The Government of Cambodia.

In the next phase of social advocacy, she focuses on enhancing the knowledge and capability of healthcare providers to facilitate and support refugee advocacy in Malaysia.

Dr Muniswaran Ganeshan

Member

Maternal Fetal Medicine Subspecialist and Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist

Pantai Hospital Kuala Lumpur, National Heart Institute of Malaysia

Muniswaran Ganeshan is the President of the Obstetrical and Gynaecological Society of Malaysia (OGSM) and the founding president of the Malaysian Obstetric Medicine Society (MOMS). A Maternal Fetal Medicine subspecialist, he pioneered and leads maternal medicine services in Malaysia, running a high-risk pregnancy clinic at Pantai Hospital Kuala Lumpur and serving as the lead obstetrician for cardiac services at the National Heart Institute (IJN) since 2016.

A prolific author and academic, he has written award-winning books such as Handbook in Obstetric Emergencies and Preeclampsia: An Enigma. Dr. Muniswaran is passionate about advancing maternal medicine services in Malaysia and improving care for mothers with high-risk pregnancies.

Dr Dhurga Devi

Member (past secretary)

Research Fellow & Tutor, Monash University Malaysia

Dhurga is engaged in research exploring the prevalence and impact of Human Papillomavirus infections among immunocompromised women. Her work focuses on understanding the unique challenges this vulnerable population faces in accessing and utilizing essential healthcare services. Driven by a commitment to health equity, Dr. Dhurga's research aims to identify and address the systemic barriers that limit access to preventative care, early detection, and effective treatment for HPV-related conditions.

Her research transcends purely economic considerations, recognizing that equitable access to healthcare is a fundamental pillar of inclusive and thriving communities. Beyond her principal research, Dr. Dhurga provides research assistance to the Pro Vice Chancellor of Monash University Malaysia, contributing to the institution's research advancement and academic standing.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Jacqueline Boyle

Advisor

Associate Professor, Monash University Australia

Jacqueline is an academic obstetrician/gynaecologist. She has a clinical appointment at Monash Health, and is the Head and Director of the Monash Centre for Health Research and Implementation, School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, and has an honorary appointment at Menzies School of Health research.

Her research is in women's public health and health services to improve health across the lifetime, with equity in health literacy, access and outcomes a priority. Key areas of interest include polycystic ovary syndrome, preconception health, infertility, obesity in reproductive health, and premature ovarian insufficiency.

Dr Siew Lim

Advisor

Senior Research Fellow, Health Systems and Equity, Eastern Health Clinical School, Monash University

Siew Lim is a research fellow and Accredited Practising Dietitian specializing in health equity and women’s reproductive health, with a focus on gestational diabetes and chronic disease prevention in postpartum women. A top graduate in Biomedical Science and Nutrition & Dietetics, she has received prestigious awards, including an NHMRC Early Career Fellowship.

Dr. Lim’s research centers on developing scalable and sustainable lifestyle interventions for chronic disease prevention in clinical and community settings. Her current research focuses on translating and implementing evidence-based research in lifestyle intervention to address existing health service gaps to prevent chronic diseases in women at high risk. This involves evidence synthesis, framework analysis, pragmatic randomised controlled trials, quality improvement methodologies, mixed methods research, implementation science and systems approaches.

She collaborates widely with multidisciplinary teams across Australia and internationally and has secured major grants, including NHMRC Partnership and NHF Vanguard grants.

Prof. Dr. Patrick Olivier

Advisor

Professor, Monash University Australia

Patrick is a human-computer interaction researcher with particular expertise in human-centred design methods, digital-in-health, and collaborative and social computing. He has founded Action Lab: Australia, a multidisciplinary research group comprising impact-focused researchers working at the intersection of communities, technology and social innovation. This has since grown into the Action Lab Network, a transnational research network spanning Action Lab's in Monash University Malaysia, Monash University Indonesia, and Northumbria University in the United Kingdom.