ProgressPotentialAndPossibilities

Dr. Erwin Gianchandani, Ph.D. is Assistant Director for Technology, Innovation and Partnerships, U.S. National Science Foundation, leading the newly established TIP Directorate ( https://new.nsf.gov/tip/leadership ). The TIP Directorate is focused on harnessing the nation's vast and diverse talent pool to advance critical and emerging technologies, addressing pressing societal and economic challenges, and accelerating the translation of research results from lab to market and society, ultimately improving U.S. competitiveness, growing the U.S. economy and training a diverse workforce for future, high-wage jobs. Prior to becoming the Assistant Director for TIP, Dr. Gianchandani served as the senior advisor for Translation, Innovation and Partnerships, where he helped develop plans for the new TIP Directorate in collaboration with colleagues at NSF, other government agencies, industry, and academia. During the previous six years, Dr. Gianchandani was the NSF deputy assistant director for Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE), twice serving as acting assistant director. His leadership and management of CISE included the formulation and implementation of the directorate's $1 billion annual budget, strategic and human capital planning, and oversight of day-to-day operations for a team of over 130. During this time, Dr. Gianchandani has led the development and launch of several new NSF initiatives, including the Smart & Connected Communities program, Civic Innovation Challenge, Platforms for Advanced Wireless Research, and the National Artificial Intelligence Research Institutes. Before joining NSF in 2012, Dr. Gianchandani was the inaugural director of the Computing Community Consortium, providing leadership to the computing research community in identifying and pursuing bold, high-impact research directions such as health information technology and sustainable computing. Dr. Gianchandani holds a Ph.D. in biomedical engineering from the University of Virginia. In 2021, he received the Distinguished Presidential Rank Award, awarded to members of the Federal Government’s Senior Executive Service for sustained extraordinary accomplishment.

Colonel Christopher Grice is the Acting Director, Joint Science and Technology Office, of the U.S. Defense Threat Reduction Agency ( https://www.dtra.mil/ ), a combat support agency within the United States Department of Defense (DoD), focused on countering weapons of mass destruction (WMD; chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and high explosives) and their mission enables DoD and the U.S. Government to prepare for and combat weapons of mass destruction and improvised threats, as well as to ensure nuclear deterrence. Previous to DTRA, Colonel Grice was Director of Materiel for the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff, Headquarters Department of the Army (HQDA), as well as Division Chief for the Full Dimension Protection division. Prior to those assignments, Colonel Grice commanded the 69th Chemical Company in Hanau, Germany, the Blue Grass Chemical Activity at Blue Grass Army Depot, Kentucky, and the Pueblo Chemical Depot in Pueblo, Colorado. Colonel Grice's other key assignments included Instructor and Chief of Officer Training at the CBRN School, Battalion Executive Officer and Operations Officer for 110th Chemical Battalion at Joint Base Lewis McCord, Washington, Executive Assistant to the Director of the Joint Staff and Counter-proliferation Branch Chief for the Joint Staff, Senior Strategic Planner, U.S. Plans for United States Forces Korea. Colonel Grice's other operational and support deployments include Operation Joint Guardian in Kosovo as part of Task Force Falcon while the CBRN Officer for 2nd Brigade, 1st Armored Division and Operation Iraqi Freedom as the company commander of the 69th Chemical Company. A native of Galesburg, Illinois, Colonel Grice enlisted in the Army National Guard in 1989. He earned a Biological Sciences Degree from Southern Illinois University and a commission as a Chemical Officer in 1995. Colonel Grice also earned a Master of Science Degree in Environmental Management from Webster University in 2006 and a Master of Science Degree in Joint Campaign Planning and Strategy from the National Defense University (Joint Advanced Warfighting School) in 2015. Colonel Grice's awards and decorations include the Legion of Merit (with OLC), Bronze Star Medal, Defense Meritorious Service Medal (with OLC), Meritorious Service Medal (with OLC), Army Commendation Medal (with OLC), Army Achievement Medal (with OLC), Joint Meritorious Unit Award, Army Reserve Component Achievement Medal, Kosovo Campaign Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Korean Service Medal, Humanitarian Service Medal, NCO Professional Development Ribbon, Army Service Ribbon, Overseas Service Ribbon (Numeral 2), NATO Medal, Joint Chiefs of Staff Identification Badge, Army Staff Identification Badge, and the Senior Parachutist Badge. His foreign awards include the German Armed Forces Efficiency Badge.

Dr. Mang Shi, Ph.D. is a Professor at Sun Yat-sen University ( https://www.sysu.edu.cn/sysuen/ ) in Guangzhou, China, where his research is focused on the genomics of RNA viruses, and his work uses metagenomics and meta-transcriptomics tools for virus discovery and characterization, based on which he has helped re-define the diversity and evolutionary history of the RNA virosphere. Currently he is interested in using the same approaches to reveal the interesting interactions between virome, microbiome, and hosts within an infected individual. Prior to joining Sun Yat-sen University, Dr. Shi was a senior research associate at the University of Sydney. He was also an adjunct faculty at Shanghai Public Health Clinical Centre and before that, an Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE) fellow and Guest researcher at the U.S. CDC. Dr. Shi received his undergraduate degree in microbiology and Mphil degree in viral evolution from the University of Hong Kong, and his Ph.D. in virus evolution from the University of Sydney, with work also accomplished at Penn State. Mr. Keegan Li serves as Director for Alibaba Cloud Digital Medical Product / Solution team, a division of Alibaba Cloud Intelligence ( https://www.aliyun.com/ ), and prior to Alibaba has spent time in a range of research and business development roles at health-tech organizations including Philips, Synovate and Ali Health. Mr. Li studied Biology for his undergraduate degree at The University of Hong Kong, and did his Master work in Economics, firstly at University of Navarra in Spain, and later at London School of Economics and Political Science.

Dr. Pablo Garcia Tello, Ph.D. is Section Head, New Projects & Initiatives, at the EU Office Of CERN ( https://home.cern/ ), the European Organization for Nuclear Research, an intergovernmental organization that operates the largest particle physics laboratory in the world. As section head of the CERN EU Office he is responsible for developing new EU funded projects and initiatives ( https://ideasquare.cern/ ) and has also served as Knowledge Transfer (KT) Liaison Officer collaborating to enhance the KT CERN industrial network and relationships ( https://knowledgetransfer.web.cern.ch/ ). Dr. Tello graduated with a degree in Physics from the Complutense University of Madrid, Spain and has a Ph.D. in Material Science from the Basque Country University in San Sebastian, Spain. He was Postdoctoral Associate and Teaching Assistant of Semiconductor Processing Technology in the Department of Material Science and Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Boston, USA. Dr. Tello has worked at Philips and NXP Semiconductors in the areas of Micro/Nano-Electronics and Biotechnology. He has also served as a Contracts & Programs Manager at the Aerospace and Defense Industry Association of Europe, and has worked as a Consultant in EU Innovation Programs for PNO Consultants, for private and public sector organizations in the Chemical and ICT areas. Dr. Tello is also participating actively in EC Innovation Initiatives and Funding Programs such as the ATTRACT Project ( https://attract-eu.com/ ). His expertise is certified by having published more than 50 scientific papers in top international peer reviewed journals and conferences, and holds more than 10 international patents in the areas of Micro/Nanotechnology and Biotechnology. He has received among others the NXP Semiconductors Golden Patent of the Year award.

Dr. Chris Altman, Pharm.D., is Director, Immunization and Clinical Programs, at Rite-Aid Corporation ( https://www.riteaid.com/ ), one of the largest U.S. drug store chains that operates 2,177 pharmacies across the United States. Dr. Altman received his Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.) from Ohio Northern University, and over the past couple of decades has served in a series of roles of increasing responsibility in the organization, from pharmacy manager, to Manager, Field Clinical Services, and into his current role of Director, Immunization and Clinical Programs.

Dr. Aysha Akhtar, MD, MPH ( https://ayshaakhtar.com/ ) is the Co-Founder and CEO of the Center for Contemporary Sciences ( https://contemporarysciences.org/ ), which is catalyzing the replacement of unreliable animal testing with more effective human-specific research techniques. As a double Board-certified neurologist and preventive medicine/public health specialist, she is on a mission to educate the world and demonstrate how there is a mutual benefit to both humans and animals when animals are protected. A U.S veteran, Dr. Akhtar previously served as Deputy Director of the U.S. Army Traumatic Brain Injury Program developing the Army’s brain injury prevention and treatment strategies for soldiers, and as a Commander in the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, Dr. Akhtar frequently deployed to assist with national public health emergencies. For a decade, Dr. Akhtar was a Medical Officer at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), most recently in the Office of Counterterrorism and Emerging Threats, implementing studies on vaccine effectiveness and safety and using her Top Secret Security clearance to develop national preparedness strategies for public health threats. She is published in peer-reviewed journals including Lancet, Pediatrics, Journal of Public Health Policy and Reviews in the Neurosciences. Dr. Akhtar is a Fellow of the Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics. She is the author of the two books, Our Symphony With Animals. On Health, Empathy, and Our Shared Destinies and Animals and Public Health, which argues for the need for health institutions to include animals as part of the “public” in public health. Dr. Akhtar is a graduate of the Eastern Virginia Medical School. She subsequently completed her general medicine internship at Washington Hospital Center and her neurology and preventive medicine residencies at the University of North Carolina Medical School in Chapel Hill. She received her Masters in Public Health at the University of North Carolina School of Public Health, where she focused on bioethics.

Dr. Aysha Akhtar, MD, MPH ( https://ayshaakhtar.com/ ) is the Co-Founder and CEO of the Center for Contemporary Sciences ( https://contemporarysciences.org/ ), which is catalyzing the replacement of unreliable animal testing with more effective human-specific research techniques. As a double Board-certified neurologist and preventive medicine/public health specialist, she is on a mission to educate the world and demonstrate how there is a mutual benefit to both humans and animals when animals are protected. A U.S veteran, Dr. Akhtar previously served as Deputy Director of the U.S. Army Traumatic Brain Injury Program developing the Army’s brain injury prevention and treatment strategies for soldiers, and as a Commander in the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, Dr. Akhtar frequently deployed to assist with national public health emergencies. For a decade, Dr. Akhtar was a Medical Officer at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), most recently in the Office of Counterterrorism and Emerging Threats, implementing studies on vaccine effectiveness and safety and using her Top Secret Security clearance to develop national preparedness strategies for public health threats. She is published in peer-reviewed journals including Lancet, Pediatrics, Journal of Public Health Policy and Reviews in the Neurosciences. Dr. Akhtar is a Fellow of the Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics. She is the author of the two books, Our Symphony With Animals. On Health, Empathy, and Our Shared Destinies and Animals and Public Health, which argues for the need for health institutions to include animals as part of the “public” in public health. Dr. Akhtar is a graduate of the Eastern Virginia Medical School. She subsequently completed her general medicine internship at Washington Hospital Center and her neurology and preventive medicine residencies at the University of North Carolina Medical School in Chapel Hill. She received her Masters in Public Health at the University of North Carolina School of Public Health, where she focused on bioethics.

Dr. Paul-Peter Tak, M.D., Ph.D., FMedSci ( https://www.candeltx.com/our-team/paul-peter-tak-m-d-ph-d-fmedsci/ ), is President, Chief Executive Officer and member of the Board of Directors of Candel Therapeutics, a biotech company developing and commercializing novel viral immunotherapies to induce immunogenic cell death in cancer cells at the site of injection, with a focus on unmasking tumor neo-antigens within an activated microenvironment, leading to a systemic, durable immune response against the tumor, with the potential to change disease outcomes across a variety of indications. Dr. Tak received his medical degree cum laude from the Free University in Amsterdam and was trained as an internist, rheumatologist and immunologist at Leiden University Medical Center, where he also received his Ph.D. Dr. Tak has been Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of California San Diego as well as Professor of Medicine and founding Chair of the Department of Clinical Immunology and Rheumatology at the Academic Medical Center/University Medical Center Amsterdam, during this time, where he founded Arthrogen b.v., a biotech company focused on gene therapy. Dr. Tak has published over 580 papers in peer-reviewed journals, received numerous awards, and been elected Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences (U.K.). Dr. Tak previously served as Senior Vice President, Chief Immunology Officer, and Global Development Leader at GlaxoSmithKline from 2011 to 2018 where he oversaw a cluster of Therapy Area Units including Dermatology, Immuno-Inflammation, Infectious Disease, and Oncology, where he oversaw the creation of a portfolio of new medicines. He was also the President and CEO of Tempero Pharmaceuticals, which was integrated into GSK in 2015. From 2018 to 2020, Dr. Tak served as venture partner at Flagship Pioneering and also as President and CEO of Kintai Therapeutics (Senda Biosciences). In addition, he has served as board director of Galvani Bioelectronics, ViiV Healthcare, and Omega Therapeutics. Currently, he is also on the Board of Sitryx Therapeutics (co-founder), Levicept, and Citryll. He is a 2021 PharmaVOICE100 honoree (100 most inspiring people in life sciences). Dr. Tak has also been a member of the Scientific Advisory Boards of Index Life VI and Medicxi Ventures funds.

The University Kidney Research Organization ( UKRO - https://ukrocharity.org/ ) is a Los Angeles-based nonprofit charity, co-founded prominent entertainment attorney Kenneth Kleinberg, inspired by his personal journey with kidney disease, focused on supporting medical research and education related to the causes, treatment, and eradication of all forms of kidney disease. Dr. Andrew McMahon, Ph.D. ( https://keck.usc.edu/faculty-search/andrew-p-mcmahon/ ) is Director of the Eli and Edythe Broad Center for Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research at USC, Provost Professor and the inaugural holder of the W. M. Keck Professorship of Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, and is responsible for overseeing UKRO's Synthetic Kidney Project. In addition, Dr. McMahon chairs the recently created Department of Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine at the Keck School. He also holds an appointment in the Department of Biological Sciences in the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences. Previously Dr. McMahon served as professor in the Department of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology, Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology and principal faculty member in the Harvard Stem Cell Institute, as well as led the Department of Cell and Developmental Biology at the Roche Institute for Molecular Biology. Dr. McMahon received his bachelor’s degree from St. Peter’s College, Oxford University and his Ph.D. from University College in London. He subsequently worked for three years as a postdoctoral fellow at the California Institute of Technology. Lewis Kleinberg, a board member of UKRO and son of Kenneth Kleinberg, is a writer/producer who has written, developed and produced projects for Sony Pictures, Walt Disney Pictures, New Regency, 21st Century Fox, TNT, Anonymous Content, BBC Productions, Renegade 83, Kapital Entertainment, and USA Network, among others, and currently creates and produces films for UKRO’s website, media outreach, and benefit dinners. A graduate of the USC School of Cinematic Arts, he serves as an advisor to Donate Life Hollywood and as a mentor for USC’s Compass program, which supports undergraduate students pursuing careers in regenerative medicine.

H.E. Salem Humaid Al Marri, is Director General, Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Center (MBRSC), in Dubai, UAE, which is an advanced scientific and technological hub, responsible for making the UAE a world leader in space services and exploration. Established in 2006, MBRSC started out with five engineers but since then, the center has significantly expanded on a journey to be the incubator of the UAE National Space Program, building, developing, and operating a number of Earth observation satellites, providing imaging services and analysis, as well as producing relevant data to scientific communities and research centers around the world. Among the satellites that the center operates are DubaiSat-1 & DubaiSat-2. The MBRSC is also responsible for KhalifaSat, celebrated as the first satellite that was fully built by Emiratis in 2018. Recently, the center revealed its plan to develop the new satellite MBZ-SAT, which is expected to be launched at the end of 2023 and to be the latest in the field of high-resolution imaging from outer space. Mr. Al Marri’s role is centered on ensuring that the vision and mission of MBRSC are achieved through the different technical and scientific programs being run at the Center and has previously held the same position at the Emirates Institution for Advanced Science and Technology (EIAST) before it was integrated into the Center. He is currently overseeing the expansion of the Center in different scientific and technical fields along with the center's continued development in the space field, and working towards ensuring all initiatives at MBRSC serve the stakeholders with useful value added services, with one of his major goals ensuring the achievement of domestic satellite development through Emirati engineers. Mr. Al Marri’s has over 10 years experience in the Space Field, was part of the team which setup EIAST and MBRSC, was formally the Director of the Space Program Department at (EIAST), and he was the Project Manager for MBRSC’s earlier satellite projects DubaiSat-1 and DubaiSat-2.

Colonel Alex Cann serves as both Chief Instructor, Ghana Military Academy and Operations and Training Staff Officer, Headquarters Central Command, Ghana Army, as well as a Research Fellow, Africa Research Institute, Doctoral School on Security and Safety Sciences, Obuda University. Colonel Cann has over 20 years of military experience with extensive backgrounds in Leadership, Security Policy, Operations Management, Humanitarian Operations, Program Management, Monitoring & Evaluation, Training, And Conflict, Crisis & Security Management. His extensive, management and leadership experience and positions on national and international United Nation missions has equipped him with a variety critical problem-solving skills. Colonel Cann is also a professional security management specialist, a certified protection professional, Senior Consultant for United Nations Institute for Training and Research’s Multilateral Diplomacy Program, a member and Subject Matter Expert for the International Association of Professionals in Humanitarian Assistance and Protection (PHAP) Program, and a member of ASIS International, an American professional security management group with about 40,000 members. Colonel Cann previously has served in a wide variety assignments including as Chief Military Training and Evaluation Officer of UN Peacekeeping Mission in Mali; led the operational, logistics, and administrative efficiency of Ghanaian troops UN peacekeepers in South Sudan; led an international team of commissioned Officers to monitor and report cease fire violations in a remote village in Democratic Republic of Congo; served as Director of Army Peacekeeping Operations, Army Headquarters in the Ghana Army. Colonel Cann has studied at the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration with a focus on Public Administration and Defense and Conflict studies, the Ghana Military Academy, with a focus on Military Operational Art and Science Studies, has an MBA in Finance from University of Leicester, and is currently completing his PhD, with a focus on Conflict Analysis and Resolution.

Ilana Golant is the Founder and CEO of The Food Allergy Fund ( https://foodallergyfund.org/ ) a leading nonprofit dedicated to funding food allergy research, with a focus on identifying underlying causes, discovering new therapeutics, and improving the lives of all people living with food allergies, and through their ground-breaking research and unique thought leadership summits, accelerating innovation to find solutions. Ms. Golant is a marketing and PR executive, an attorney, and a former government official, as well as a mother of a child with food allergies. Ms. Golant has extensive experience working with media organizations, academic institutions, and Fortune 100 clients. She has held executive roles at WPP, the world’s largest advertising and PR conglomerate, as well as at NBCUniversal, specifically working with CNBC, MSNBC, and NBC News. Prior to joining NBCU, Ms. Golant was an attorney-advisor in the Office of Financial Stability at the U.S. Department of Treasury and an attorney at Mayer Brown LLP. She received her B.A. from Columbia University and her J.D. from the New York University School of Law.

Dr. Rovshan Muradov is the Secretary General of the Nizami Ganjavi International Center ( https://www.nizamiganjavi-ic.org/ ), a leading international cultural organization based in Baku, Azerbaijan, aimed at promoting Dialogue, Understanding, Learning and Tolerance across the globe. He is also a Fellow of the World Academy of Art and Sciences, Board of Governance Member of the East West Bridge, and the driving force behind the huge success of the Baku International Forum which assembles dozens of current and former heads of state or government and hundreds of academicians from all over the world to help solve critical global issues. Born in 1987, Dr. Muradov studied at the State Economic University/Azerbaijan and graduated with a masters in International Economic Relations, and was later accepted for the doctorate program in political science. He also studied at Cambridge College Boston/USA, Sterling University Edinburgh/UK, and the University of Georgia Tbilisi. In 2007, Dr. Muradov was nominated to represent the Republic of Azerbaijan at the United Nations General Assembly as a youth delegate and the only delegate serving for the full 4-year term. He is also Founder of the first and the biggest Student Youth Organization in the Republic of Azerbaijan with 17,000 student members. Dr. Muradov also interned at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Communication and Information Technologies, and State Committee on work with the Diaspora. He has lectured at the State Economic University, participated at international scientific conferences in Tbilisi, Bucharest, London, Istanbul, Alexandria and Warsaw, and has also published several books dedicated to the economic situation of Caucasus Region, and cultural and historical view on Azerbaijan. He worked as a Country coordinator, and later International Advisory Board Member, of the Youth Employment Summit International Organization based in Massachusetts, USA.

Dr. Ebere Okereke, MD is a highly respected public health physician, specializing in global health security and health system strengthening, who has dedicated her career and won awards for her work promoting women and under-represented groups in public health leadership. Dr. Okereke currently serves as a Senior Adviser in Health at the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change ( https://www.institute.global/experts/ebere-okereke ), honorary senior public health adviser at Africa CDC, Associate Fellow at Chatham House, and is the incoming CEO of Africa Public Health Foundation ( https://aphf.africa/ ). Dr. Okereke is currently on a career break from Public Health England (now the UK Health Security Agency) where she led the UK-aid funded International Health Regulations strengthening project; a technical assistance project aimed at sustainably strengthening public health systems. Dr. Okereke is an experienced trainer, coach and mentor and was an honorary senior lecturer at the Leeds and Hull-York medical schools. Dr. Okereke is a graduate of the University of Nigeria College of Medicine and a Fellow of the UK Faculty of Public Health. Her journey in global health started at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM) where she was first introduced to the field of communicable diseases and where she completed post-graduate work in International Health Consultancy. After leaving LSTM for the first time, Dr. Okereke joined the Public Health Specialty Training Program, where she trained across Northern England and became a consultant in communicable disease control. Her interests then took her to emergency preparedness, emerging and re-emerging infections, and zoonoses, ultimately leading her to Kenya where she worked for the International Rescue Committee.

Mariah Collins ( https://www.bridgespan.org/team-members/mariah-collins ) is a Partner at The Bridgespan Group, a global nonprofit, that strives to make the world more equitable and just. Since 2000, they have had the privilege of advising and collaborating with many of the world’s most extraordinary social change leaders including philanthropists, nonprofit and NGO leaders, and impact investors. The Bridgespan Group is passionate about helping social change leaders find solutions to economic and social barriers that perpetuate inequities and prevent individuals, families, and communities from having access to opportunities they need to thrive. They use rigorous research to gain insights that help clients solve problems and achieve their goals. Mariah leads Bridgespan’s Measurement, Evaluation, and Learning Area of Expertise and co-leads the Public Health Area of Expertise. She has experience working with philanthropists, donor collaboratives, foundations, nonprofits, and impact investors. With her philanthropy clients, including the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and the Steven and Alexandra Cohen Foundation, Mariah helped to design high-impact strategies (including many big bets), strengthen operations, set grantmaking priorities, determine impact targets, and identify potential grantees. Mariah’s nonprofit clients include Compass Working Capital, East Boston Neighborhood Health Center, Nurse-Family Partnership, and the National Council for Mental Wellbeing. With these clients, she has primarily focused on growth strategy and measurement. Mariah recently published an article on how Nonprofits can Incorporate Equity into their Measurement, Evaluation, and Learning. Mariah’s impact investing clients include Texas Pacific Group’s (TPG) Rise Fund—where Bridgespan partnered to develop and deliver rigorous, quantitative impact underwriting, as detailed in Harvard Business Review’s “Calculating the Value of Impact Investing.” Mariah has also explored opportunities for family offices and high-net-worth individuals to get involved in "impact-first" forms of impact investing in the article “Back to the Frontier: Investing that Puts Impact First.” Mariah has a longstanding interest in the social determinants of health and co-authored “The Community Cure for Health Care” for Stanford Social Innovation Review and “Why Big Health Systems are Investing in Community Health” for Harvard Business Review online as well as “With the ACA Under Fire, Can Health Conversion Foundations Patch the Safety Net for Low-Income Americans” in Health Affairs Grantwatch Blog. Mariah holds a Master of Science degree from the T.H. Chan Harvard School of Public Health. She graduated Phi Beta Kappa and summa cum laude from Brandeis University where she studied health policy/public health and environmental studies.

Dr. Andrea (Annie) Kritcher, Ph.D. is a nuclear engineer and physicist who works at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory ( https://www.llnl.gov/ ). She is the design lead of the HYBRID-E capsule technology within Lawrence Livermore’s Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF) program, and is a member of the ICF leadership team and lead designer for shot N210808, at their National Ignition Facility, a recent experiment that heralded a significant step towards a fusion break-even target. She was elected Fellow of the American Physical Society in 2022. Dr. Kritcher was first employed at Lawrence Livermore as a summer intern in 2004, as an LLNL Lawrence Scholar during her time at UC Berkeley, where she earned a master's degree and doctorate in nuclear engineering, and as a Lawrence postdoctoral fellow in 2009 following completion of her Ph.D. During her postdoctoral appointment she explored using X-rays to measure the properties of warm and hot dense matter (plasma), and measuring how nuclei interact with dense plasma. In 2012, Dr. Kritcher became a member of scientific staff and now serves as team lead for integrated implosion modeling and is a group leader within the design physics division at LLNL. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) is a federally funded research and development center in Livermore, California, United States. Originally established in 1952, the laboratory now is sponsored by the United States Department of Energy. Its principal responsibility is ensuring the safety, security and reliability of the nation's nuclear weapons through the application of advanced science, engineering, and technology. The laboratory also applies its special expertise and multidisciplinary capabilities towards preventing the proliferation and use of weapons of mass destruction, bolstering homeland security, and solving other nationally important problems, including energy and environmental needs, scientific research and outreach, and economic competitiveness.

Ambassador Dr. John-Arne Røttingen, MD, Ph.D. ( https://www.bsg.ox.ac.uk/people/john-arne-rottingen ) is Ambassador for Global Health, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Norway, and a Visiting Fellow of Practice, at the Blavatnik School of Government, Oxford University. Ambassador Dr. Røttingen has previously served as the Chief Executive of the Research Council of Norway; the founding Chief Executive Officer of the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI); Executive Director of Infection Control and Environmental Health at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health; founding Chief Executive of the Norwegian Knowledge Centre for the Health Services; Professor of Health Policy at the Department of Health Management and Health Economics, Institute of Health and Society, University of Oslo; and Adjunct Professor at the Department of Global Health and Population, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. From 2020, Ambassador Dr. Røttingen also chaired the Executive Group and the International Steering Committee of the WHO Solidarity trial to compare four untested treatments for hospitalized people with severe COVID-19 illness. In early 2021, he was appointed by the G20 to the High Level Independent Panel (HLIP) on financing the global commons for pandemic preparedness and response. That same year, he was also appointed to the Pandemic Preparedness Partnership (PPP), an expert group chaired to advise the G7 presidency. From mid-2021, he was part of the Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator's Vaccine Manufacturing Working Group. Ambassador Dr. Røttingen received his MD and Ph.D. from the University of Oslo, an MSc from Oxford University and an MPA from Harvard University.

Dr. Michael Nestor, Ph.D., is Board Director, of the Government-University-Industry Research Roundtable ( GUIRR - https://www.nationalacademies.org/guirr/about ), within the Policy and Global Affairs Division, at the U.S. National Academy of Sciences (NAS). The GUIRR is charged with improving the research enterprise of the United States by successfully resolving the cross-sectoral issues that prevent the U.S. research enterprise from reaching its full potential. This mission is achieved by convening senior-most representatives from government, universities, and industry to frame the critical issues, followed – when appropriate – by the execution of activities designed to address specific cross-sectoral impediments to achieving a healthy, vibrant research enterprise. GUIRR provides a unique forum for dialogue among top government, university and industry leaders of the national science and technology enterprise. Prior to this role at NAS, Dr. Nestor was a Scientific Engagement Lead at Johnson & Johnson Innovation – JLABS in Washington, D.C. where he was responsible for external scientific engagement with regional academic research institutions, start-ups, investment partners, and portfolio management, sourcing and evaluating innovative companies with the aim to foster a productive life science ecosystem and bring value to the pipeline of the Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies. Dr. Nestor received his Ph.D. in Neuroscience from The University of Maryland, School of Medicine, and completed postdoctoral fellowships at the National Institutes of Health and The New York Stem Cell Foundation, where he was also a Staff Scientist. He was also an NIH Institutional Research and Academic Career Development Award (IRACDA) Fellow at Rutgers University, focused on teaching in minority-serving institutions and helping increase the participation of traditionally underrepresented groups in science. Dr. Nestor was also Director of Neural Stem Cell Research at The Hussman Institute for Autism where he led his own lab studying autism by creating brain organoids from human induced pluripotent stem cells. His lab developed a multiplexed high-throughput CRISPR and drug-screening platform. Dr. Nestor also served as Co-Chair of the Neural Stem Cell Working Group at the University of Maryland, School of Medicine and as a venture advisor to the UM Momentum Fund and the Abell Foundation. Further, he was an American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), Science and Technology Policy Fellow in the Office of Science at The Department of Energy (DOE). At the DOE, he was focused on synthetic biology, artificial intelligence, and biosecurity initiatives. He also launched his own human stem cell consulting company, Synapstem. Dr. Nestor's book, "Anticipatory Ethics and The Use of CRISPR in Humans" was published in 2022.

Dr Emily Osborne, Ph.D. ( https://www.aoml.noaa.gov/people/emily-osborne/ ) is a Research Scientist, in the Ocean Chemistry and Ecosystems Division, at the Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory. The Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory (AOML), a federal research laboratory, is part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR), located in Miami in the United States. AOML's research spans tropical cyclone and hurricanes, coastal ecosystems, oceans and human health, climate studies, global carbon systems, and ocean observations. It is one of ten NOAA Research Laboratories. With a B.S. in Geology from the College of Charleston and a Ph.D. in Marine Science from University of South Carolina, Dr. Osborne is currently involved in investigating regional and global biogeochemical issues related to ocean health and climate through the use of a combination of paleoceanographic approaches, new autonomous sensors, and conventional measurements on large multi-disciplinary oceanographic cruises. Paleoceanography is the study of the history of the oceans in the geologic past with regard to circulation, chemistry, biology, geology and patterns of sedimentation and biological productivity. Paleoceanographic studies using environment models and different proxies enable the scientific community to assess the role of the oceanic processes in the global climate by the re-construction of past climate at various intervals.

Dr. Namandjé Bumpus, Ph.D. is U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) Chief Scientist ( https://www.fda.gov/about-fda/fda-organization/namandje-bumpus ). The Office of the Chief Scientist supports the research foundation, science, and innovation that underpins the FDA’s regulatory mission. It does this through a broad framework that encompasses scientific collaborations, laboratory safety, the transfer of FDA inventions to the private sector, scientific integrity in FDA policy- and decision-making, the professional development of regulatory scientists, and its core research component—the FDA’s National Center for Toxicological Research—which generates the vital data that the FDA requires for its regulatory decision-making and development of sound regulatory policy. Before joining the FDA, Dr. Bumpus was the E.K. Marshall and Thomas H. Maren Professor and chair of the Department of Pharmacology and Molecular Sciences at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. She served previously as associate dean for basic research in the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Dr. Bumpus’ research has focused on drug metabolism, pharmacogenetics, bioanalytical chemistry, and infectious disease pharmacology. Dr. Bumpus joined the faculty at Johns Hopkins in 2010 as an assistant professor. She earned a bachelor’s degree in biology at Occidental College in 2003, a doctorate in pharmacology at the University of Michigan in 2007 and completed a postdoctoral fellowship in molecular and experimental medicine at The Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, CA in 2010. Dr. Bumpus currently serves as president-elect of the American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics. She previously served as chair of the NIH Xenobiotic and Nutrient Disposition and Action study section. Her many honors include the Leon I. Goldberg Award from the American Society for Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics, the James Gillette Award from the International Society for the Study of Xenobiotics, the John J. Abel Award in Pharmacology from the American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics and the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, which is the highest honor bestowed by the United States government on early career scientists and engineers. Dr. Bumpus is an elected fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. She became a Member of the National Academy of Medicine, Class of 2022, one of the highest honors in the fields of health, science and medicine.

The Honorable Dr. Aminata Touré, Ph.D., is a 2024 Presidential Candidate, of the Republic of Senegal, and Former Prime Minister of the Republic of Senegal; the second female to hold that position. ​Dr. Touré also served as Justice Minister of Senegal where she was heavily focused on anti-corruption campaigns, and was a special envoy of President Macky Sall for Internal and External Affairs. She has led several Presidential election observation missions including in Mauritius, Côte d’Ivoire, Liberia and Kenya, where she co-led the first round of the election observation mission on behalf of the Carter Center with then-US Secretary of State, John Kerry. She has also held the position of Harvard Kennedy School Fisher Family Fellow with the Future of Diplomacy Project. Additionally Dr. Touré was Director of the Gender and Human Rights World Department of the United Nations Population Funds (UNFPA) in New York, Senior Adviser at UNFPA Headquarters in New York, UNFPA Senior Adviser in Côte d’Ivoire, and UNFPA Senior Adviser in Burkina Faso. Dr. Touré is passionate about areas including Economic Development, Good Governance, and Gender. Dr. Touré is fluent in English, French and Wolof, has led more than 30 UNFPA worldwide publications, and holds a PhD in International Business Administration and Finance from the International School of Management ISM in New York and Paris. She also studied in France, where she obtained a MBA from University of Dijon Business School, France and a Master Degree in Economics from Aix Marseille II University.

Dr. Gonzalo Castro de la Mata, Ph.D. is the Executive Director of Earthna (https://www.earthna.qa/about-us), a sustainability center established by the Qatar Foundation ( https://www.qf.org.qa/ ), and is an ecologist recognized as a global leader in the promotion of sustainability, with emphasis on innovative free market solutions to environmental issues. Prior to joining Earthna / Qatar Foundation, Dr. Castro de la Mata was the managing director for External Affairs with Pluspetrol, the largest private gas and oil company in Latin America. From 2014 to 2018, he was the chairman of the World Bank's Inspection Panel in Washington, where he ensured compliance with the Bank’s environmental and social standards. He was also the founder of Ecosystem Services LLC and the managing director of Sustainable Forestry Management (SFM) for the Americas. Prior to that, Dr. Castro de la Mata was the head of Biodiversity at the Global Environment Facility in Washington, the largest source of funds to address global environmental challenges, and a Lead Environmental Specialist at the World Bank in Washington. Dr. Castro de la Mata has been involved in the founding of leading international conservation organizations, including Wetlands for the Americas (today Wetlands International) and American Bird Conservancy. He has served as a member of the Accreditation Panel at the Green Climate Fund, as chair of the US Ex-Im Bank’s Independent Advisory Panel on Development Issues in South-Central Peru, and as a high-level international expert engaged by the United Nations to assess the social end ecological impacts of the Barro Blanco Dam in Panama. In 2021, he was appointed as a Counselor of Honor for the Supervisory Council of Wetlands International, and as a member of the Independent Oversight Advisory Committee of the International Labour Organization (ILO) for the period 2022 to 2024. Dr. Castro de la Mata has appeared in numerous publications in topics related to ecology, environment, mining, oil and gas, and sustainable development, and is a regular editorial contributor to El Comercio in Lima, Peru, and Diario Altavoz. He has published over 250 articles in scientific journals, magazines, and book chapters. He is the author of two books. Dr. Castro de la Mata received a Ph.D. in ecology and population biology from the University of Pennsylvania in 1988, and M.Sc. in Biophysics (1985) and B.Sc. in Biology (1983) degrees from Cayetano Heredia University in Lima, Peru.

Dr. Keith Sumption, Ph.D. is Chief Veterinary Officer and Leader of the Animal Health Program at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations ( FAO - https://www.fao.org/home/en ) as well as their Director of the Joint Centre for Zoonoses and Anti-Microbial Resistance (CJWZ). The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations is an international organization that leads international efforts to defeat hunger and improve nutrition and food security. The FAO comprises 195 members and helps governments and development agencies coordinate their activities to improve and develop agriculture, forestry, fisheries, and land and water resources. It also conducts research, provides technical assistance to projects, operates educational and training programs, and collects agricultural output, production, and development data. Dr. Sumption has worked on disease ecology at the interaction of wildlife, domestic and the environment for more than 30 years. Dr. Sumption holds a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) from the University of Reading, gained following 3 years of field and molecular epidemiology research upon African Swine Fever in southern Africa, and veterinary medicine (Vet.MB) and Natural Sciences degrees from the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom. Dr. Sumption has served as Executive Secretary of European Commission for the Control of Foot-and-Mouth Disease (EuFMD), where he has been responsible for developing strategy, negotiating funding and managing implementation of the Commission's work programs, which now involve over 80 countries, and reports to the member states of the Commission and FAO Regional Conference and Department (AGD) for progress. Prior to FAO, Dr. Sumption was a research group leader and Master’s program Coordinator at the Centre for Tropical Veterinary Medicine (CTVM), University of Edinburgh, managing projects on African high impact tick borne and contagious diseases including heartwater , theilerioses, mycoplasmoses (CBPP and CCPP), and viral Transboundary Animal Diseases TADS (rinderpest , PPR and sheep and goat pox) and as a seconded technical officer to the United Kingdom Department for International Development (DFID), leading work to define demand and impact of research at the primary animal health care level in Kenya, for almost 2 years.

Joel Greshock is VP, Oncology, Data Science & Digital Health, Janssen Research & Development ( https://www.janssen.com/oncology/leadership-team ). In this position, he is responsible for creating unique and actionable medical insights using large and increasingly available datasets. The focus of this research includes discovering novel therapeutic targets, identifying areas of unmet medical need, and enhancing clinical trial recruitment and execution. Prior to joining Janssen R&D, Joel served as Vice President of Bioinformatics at Neon Therapeutics, Inc., where he built and managed the Data Sciences organization. At Neon, he was responsible for the design and deployment of personalized cancer therapies now under clinical evaluation. Prior to joining Neon, Joel served as Head of Oncology Translational Informatics for Novartis, where he was responsible for the correlation of patient outcomes with molecular biomarkers, identification of mechanisms of clinical resistance and computational research for assets approaching or being evaluated in early phases of development. Before joining Novartis, Joel assumed numerous roles for GlaxoSmithKline Oncology, which included Head of Bioinformatics. Earlier in his career, Joel was a Data Analyst at Abramson Family Cancer Research Institute at the University of Pennsylvania, where he built early generation microarray platforms and developed widely used predictive models for cancer predisposition mutations. Joel holds a Bachelor of Science in Comprehensive Science and a Master of Science in Biology/Biostatistics, both from Villanova University. He also completed studies at the University of Pennsylvania and Temple University in Statistics and Computer Science.

Dr. Sadid Hasan, Ph.D. ( http://sadidhasan.com/ ), is AI Lead at Microsoft, and member of the leadership team in Microsoft's AI Development Acceleration Program (MAIDAP) at the Microsoft New England Research & Development (NERD AI) center ( https://www.microsoftnewengland.com/maidap/ ). Dr. Hasan leads teams to drive the state-of-the-art in AI by developing advanced AI capabilities, products, and solutions applicable across the enterprise, as well as growing the next generation of AI leaders who can make a transformational impact to the world. Previously, Dr. Hasan was an Executive Director of AI at CVS Health, where he led the team responsible for AI-based clinical care planning initiatives. Prior to that, he was a Senior Scientist and Technical Lead of the AI Group at Philips Research North America, where he focused on solving various Natural Language Processing (NLP) problems such as Clinical Information Extraction, Clinical Question Answering, Natural Language Inference, Paraphrase Generation, and Medical Image Caption Generation using Deep Learning. Before joining Philips, Dr. Hasan was an NSERC-Engage Post Doctoral Fellow at the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, University of Lethbridge, Canada, from where he obtained his PhD. in Computer Science with a specialization in NLP and Machine Learning. Dr. Hasan has over 12 granted patents along with 35+ patents pending, and 80+ peer-reviewed publications in top-tier NLP/Machine Learning venues, where he also regularly serves in the program committees, including ACL, EMNLP, COLING, NeurIPS, ICML, IJCAI, AAAI, ICLR, NAACL, EACL, JAIR, AI Journal, Nature etc.