Poveda (PhD, 1998, Water Resources) is full Professor, Universidad Nacional de Colombia at Medellín, Colombia. Member of: Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Academies of Sciences of Colombia and Spain. Scientific steering committees: Global Energy and Water Cycles Research Program of the Global Climate Research Program, Scientific Panel for the Amazon, Global Change and Human Health Program. He was part of the 2019 International Mission of Experts convened by the Colombian government to develop the road map for science, education and technology in Colombia for the XXI century. He has been elected as visiting fellow at: Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado, Boulder, USA (2001-2002), Centre for Hydrology and Ecology, Wallingford, UK (2005), National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colorado (2010 and 2019), and Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry, Jena, Germany (2019). He is the author and co-author of 9 books, and more than 200 peer-reviewed papers published on hydrology, meteorology, oceanography, hydroclimatology, climate change, human health and water resources engineering.

Stashenko is the director of the National Research Center for the Agroindustrialization of Tropical Medicinal and Aromatic Plants, CENIVAM. She has directed the research work of more than 300 new professionals in Chemistry, at undergraduate and graduate levels, which have been the basis for her publication of over 250 scientific articles. She has coauthored 11 patents. Research topics include the application of chromatographic and mass spectrometric techniques to the study of secondary metabolites from aromatic plants, to the determination of pesticide residues in various materials, and to petrochemistry and organic geochemistry. Stashenko founded the National School on Chromatography where she has taught over 150 specialized courses on separation sciences to practicing professionals from research labs and industry.

Altshuler Alvarez graduated summa cum laude from the Physics Faculty, University of Havana, Cuba in 1986, and got his PhD in 1994. Among his research interests are superconductivity, complex systems, granular matter and porous materials. Altshuler is Professor at the Physics Faculty, University of Havana. He has been Invited Researcher at the Texas Center for Superconductivity (USA), the Ecole supérieure de physique et de chimie industrielle (ESPCI) Paris (France), the Norwegian Academy of Sciences and Letters (Norway), and the Rockefeller University (USA) among others. Altshuler is Editor in Chief of the Cuban Journal of Physics, and an editorial board member of Granular Matter and Physical Review Applied. He has authored several books, such as Guerrilla Science: Survival Strategies of a Cuban Physicist (Springer, 2017). Among his hobbies are guitar playing (and composition), cartoon drawing, writing of short stories, elderly caregiving, snorkeling, plumbing, car fixing, tasteless cooking, and a dangerously long etcetera performed with different levels of love, audacity and mediocrity. He is also an avid science communicator–where a vitriolic sense of humor often plays a key role.

obtained her Ph.D. in Physics-Mathematics in Moscow, 1989 in the ex-USSR Academy of Sciences. Founded the Group of Numerical Analysis in the Institute of Cybernetics, Mathematics and Physics in 1986, where also was Deputy director. In 1999 she was elected as TWOWS Vice-president for Latin America and the Caribbean until 2005. In 1999 she took part as official member of the Cuban delegation, to participate in the World Summit of Sciences in Budapest, Hungary. Especially participated actively in the issues of the importance of Basic Sciences and Women in Sciences. Particularly relevant was her leadership in the Iberoamerican Program of S&T, in the Network on Gender, Science and Technology. Member and Co-chair of the IANAS Program for Women of Sciences 2013-2017, having publications of 2 books on Women and in sciences in the Americas. Has published more than 70 papers, author of 2 book on Numerical Analysis obtaining National Prize to the best scientific publication in Cuba in 1992 for the Book“Numerical methods of Mathematical Analysis. In TWAS Newsletter 2016, published "Maths are a must for Solving problems" . Was awarded in 2001 with the National Award "Carlos Finlay", 2001.

Bello Pérez has a strong academic foundation in computer science, complemented by doctoral studies in mathematics. A member of the Cuban Academy of Sciences, Bello Pérez serves as a faculty member in the Department of Computer Sciences, where they lead the PhD Programme in computer sciences and informatics. He teaches courses in artificial intelligence (AI) at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels, and has authored over 300 scientific papers published in national and international journals, as well as several books. Their ongoing research focuses on advancing the field of AI, with current interests focused on explainable AI (XAI), responsible AI, and other emerging AI methodologies.

Besada Pérez is a professor and coordinator of master's degree courses in mass spectrometry, biochemistry and proteomics at University of Havana and the Technological University Jose Antonio Echeverria. He earned a PhD in 1995 from the University of Havana, with a thesis on Characterization of recombinant proteins by mass spectrometry. Recently, he was involved in the characterization of the Cuban COVID-19 vaccines. He has organized international meetings, courses and workshops in Cuba. He collaborates with laboratories in Europe, Asia and South America, has co-authored more than 100 publications, and is the owner of more than 10 patents. His work has also supported projects at major Cuban biotechnological institutions like the Centre for Neurosciences of Cuba, National Centre for Scientific Research, National Centre for Bioproducts, University of Havana, Centre for Engineering and Industrial Development, Institute of Pharmacy and Food, and Institute of Agricultural and Forestry Development. He has been awarded almost 15 times by the Cuban Academy of Science, and has received the Carlos J. Finlay Medal (2016), Order Lázaro Peña (first level) and the Hombres de Ciencia Medal.

Caballero Mota received more than 105 awards and distinctions: Finlay Order; 10 Cuban Academy of Sciences Awards; TWAS Regional Partner's Award for Young Scientists (Computer Science) awarded by the Cuban Academy of Sciences; Distinguished Foreign Expert Award in the 100 foreign experts plan from Hebei province, China; Distinguished Researcher of Hebei International Studies University, China; Sofia Kovalevskaya Award; 5 Special Distinctions by Cuban Ministers; National Award for Young Researcher in the Category of Technical Sciences; Pablo Miquel National Prize form the Cuban Society of Mathematics and Computing; National Vanguard of the Science Union; several National Prizes awarded by the Youth Technical Brigades, 20 provincial CITMA Awards, among others. She has participated in more than 200 congresses worldwide. She has over 140 scientific publications, several of them within the Web of Science and referenced databases. She participated in more than 30 research and development projects and has 33 software registrations in her name at the Cuban Copyright Center. 33 diploma projects, 64 master's theses, and 10 doctoral theses have been defended under her tutorship.

Castellanos Serra obtained her Doctorate in Chemistry in 1978 from U. of Paris XI (France), and in 2008 her 'Habilitation'. She is one of the founders of Cuban Biotechnology, first at the Center for Biological Research, and next at the Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology in Havana, as group leader in Protein Chemistry and Proteomics, Div. of Phys. Chem. and Snr Prof., Fac. of Chem. Engg. and the Fac. of Chem. at the U. of Havana. Her main contributions are in the field of development of new methods in Protein Chemistry and Proteomics. She also trains and advises young scientists in the craft of scientific publishing. Her honours include: Cuban Natl Prize in Chemistry; Natl Award in Sciences Carlos J. Finlay; Natl Forum on Sci. and Techn. Award; and Sophia Kowalewskaya Award (USA). She has been incorporated into the Cuban Directory of Relevant Professors of XXth Century.

Crombet (PhD,2004) is a Medical Doctor and Immunology Specialist (1997). Since 2009 she has been Medical Director of the Center of Molecular Immunology of Havana. She is Member of the Cuban Academy of Sciences; Senior Faculty of the Superior Institute of Medical Sciences of Havana; Member of the Board of Directors of Innovative Immunotherapy Alliance, a joint venture between US and Cuba; Member of the Cuban and Latin-American Societies of Immunology; Member of the Cuban and American Societies of Oncology. She has published more than 100 papers and participated in more than 200 international congresses as speaker. Crombet has received several times the annual National Award of the Cuban Academy of Sciences, the Technological Innovation Award of the Cuban Ministry of Science, and the TWAS Prize for Young Scientists in Developing Countries (2007). Crombet's main area of expertise is cancer immunotherapy and her work has contributed to the registration in Cuba and abroad of two cancer vaccines and two monoclonal antibodies for several epithelial tumors, autoimmune diseases and COVID-19. She is member of the international panel of experts on COVID-19 of the InterAcademy Partnership.

Garcia Rivera is an experienced researcher in synthetic organic chemistry, drug discovery, peptide pharmaceuticals, protein conjugation and vaccine development, with a solid career built in both the academy and the biotech industry in Cuba and Germany. He is the regional director of a global health and pandemic prevention centre operating between Germany and Latin America, devised to develop vaccine technologies, immunological tools, gene delivery systems, adjuvants, and antimicrobial drugs. He is the past-president of the Cuban Society of Chemistry and the Latin American Federation of Chemical Associations, and a co-developer of the Cuban COVID-19 vaccine Soberana. He earned a BSc (2002), and an MSc both in chemistry at the University of Havana, graduating with the highest academic honours in 2003. In 2007, he earned a PhD summa cum laude in synthetic chemistry at the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg. Between 2016–2018, he worked as an experienced researcher fellow with the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, Germany. Since 2018 he has been a full research professor at the University of Havana and, since 2026, at National Autonomous University of Mexico.

García-Rivera holds a PhD in pharmaceutical sciences (2006), became a senior researcher in 2015, and a first-level biotechnologist in 2023. Since 2008, she has been working on the development of preventive vaccines. Since 2022, she has served as vice-director for research and development at the Finlay Vaccine Institute, Cuba. She is the author or co-author of more than 50 scientific papers published in high-impact journals, including The Lancet Regional Health-Americas, Med, Vaccine, and ACS Central Science. In 2020, she accelerated the development of the SOBERANA® COVID-19 vaccines, whose phase I, II, and III clinical trials proved their safety, immunogenicity, and effectiveness in both children and adults. Her expertise encompasses conjugate vaccines, immunology, preclinical models, clinical trials, and technology transfer. She holds two patents and has received several annual awards from the Cuban Academy of Sciences, two WIPO Gold Medals (2022), the Carlos J. Finlay Order (2019), and the title of Hero of Labour of the Republic of Cuba (2021). She is a full member of the Cuban Academy of Sciences, and of the Innovation Committee of the Cuban Ministry of Public Health.

Guillen is currently Biomedical Research Director at the Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (CIGB) in Havana. He received his Bachelor in Science degree in Chemistry and his Master in Chemistry in 1986 in Odessa I.I. Mechnikov National University, and his PhD degree in Biological Sciences in 1995 from Havana University. He joined the CIGB in 1986. For more than 25 years, he was supervisor of several projects related to prophylactic and therapeutic vaccine developments on hepatitis, dengue, meningitis, pertussis, cancer and COVID as well as drug development against infectious diseases, cancer, cardio protection, neuro-protection and wound healing. Guillen is a Senior Researcher at CIGB, Full Professor at the Havana University and Latino American School of Medicine, Distinguished Professor-at-Large at the University of Science and Technology of China and has been a Member of the Cuban Academy of Science since 2012. He is also member of several scientific societies, editorial boards and advisory committees. He has published 226 scientific papers and holds 56 patents. He has been honored with 52 National Awards for Scientific Results from the Cuban Academy of Sciences.

Pérez Rojas is senior researcher at the Institute of Cybernetics, Mathematics and Physics, Ministry of Science and Technology, Cuba; emeritus member of the Academy of Sciences of Cuba; and member of the Latin American Academy of Sciences. His national awards include the Rafael Maria Mendive and Carlos J. Finlay Medals. He was awarded in 2011 the National Prize in Physics from the Cuban Physical Society. His interests include quantum field theory and its applications to finite temperature problems in high energy physics and condensed matter. Among these, he has devoted special attention to quantum electrodynamics in matter and in vacuum in the presence of external fields, phase transitions in electroweak theory, relativistic quantum Hall effect, Bose-Einstein condensation in magnetic fields, and applications of physics to social sciences.

Verez Bencomo is a chemist dedicated to understand the molecular basis of protection from infectious disease and to use this knowledge for the development of vaccines. He led this development from bench to introduction into preventive medical practice for 5 different vaccines: The first was Quimi-Hib, a conjugate vaccine against Haemophilus influenza type b using for the first time a synthetic carbohydrate antigen (Science, 2004) and prequalified by the World Health Organization. Quimi-Vio, a conjugate vaccine including the most prevalent Streptococcus pneumoniae serotypes actually in the last clinical steps before commercial introduction in Cuba. In the period 2020-2021 during the COVID19 pandemic, he also led the development of a series of 3 vaccines call SOBERANAS. SOBERANA 02 is the only conjugate vaccine developed. The safety record of this vaccine platform allowed a quick introduction in children in Cuba as early as September 2021 allowing Cuba to be the first country in the world mass vaccinating children against COVID-19. He is “Knight of the Legion of Honor”, (France, 2015) and “National Hero” (Cuba, 2021)

Mpiana has been a professor in the Department of Chemistry and Industry, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), since 2003. In 2022, he started serving as president of the National Scientific Council of DRC, coordinating the activities of the country's research institutions. He is a member of the Congolese Academy of Sciences, where he serves as secretary of the natural sciences section, and a Fellow of the African Academy of Sciences. He is also president of the permanent scientific commission of the Association of Chemists of the DRC, and was a senior associate at the Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics (Trieste, Italy), from 2009 to 2015. The editor-in-chief of the Congolese Journal of Science and Technology, he serves on the editorial boards of many scientific journals. He has supervised or co-supervised 17 doctoral theses and securing funding for several research projects. He has received many national awards, including the DRC Diploma and Medal of Scientific Merit, awarded by the Ministry of Higher Education in 2010. He is the author or co-author of 6 books and more than 400 research articles.

De los Reyes is Founding Director of MODEMAT Research Center for Mathematical Modeling and Optimization and Full Professor of Mathematics at Escuela Politécnica Nacional de Ecuador. He obtained his PhD in 2003 at the University of Graz, Austria, and worked as postdoctoral researcher at the Technical University of Berlin (2005-2006). In 2009 he was awarded an Alexander von Humboldt Fellowship for Experienced Researchers to carry out research in Germany, and in 2010 he was awarded a J.T. Oden Faculty Fellowship at The University of Texas at Austin. He has held Visiting Professor positions at the Humboldt University of Berlin (2010), the University of Hamburg (2013) and the Weierstrass Institute of Berlin (2021). He is former President of the Ecuadorian Mathematical Society (2012-2014), former Director of Research of Escuela Politécnica Nacional de Ecuador (2019-2021), Fellow of the Ecuadorian Academy of Sciences (since 2015), and Fellow of TWAS (since 2016). Dr. De los Reyes has served as member of organizing committees of various academic events worldwide, and has promoted the creation and strengthening of scientific networks in Latin-America.

del Pino is emeritus professor of biological sciences at the Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador (PUCE). After obtaining her PhD at Emory University, del Pino returned to Ecuador in 1972 and worked at PUCE until 2013. Her honours include: an Alexander von Humboldt Fellowship (1984-85), a diploma from the World Wildlife Fund for the Education for Conservation in the Galapagos Islands (1986); the International L'Oreal/UNESCO Award For Women in Science (2000); the Sheth Distinguished International Emory Alumni Award (2003); the TWAS Medal (2005); the Eugenio Espejo Prize in the Sciences, Govt. of Ecuador (2012), the 2019 Prize of The Latin American Society for Developmental Biology (LASDB) and The Developmental Biology – Society for Developmental Biology Lifetime Achievement Award (2022). She is hon. foreign member of the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists, member of the Latin American Academy of Sciences, hon. foreign member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, International member of the US National Academy of Sciences and founding member of the Ecuador Academy of Sciences.

Ríos-Touma earned her PhD in 2008, from Barcelona University, Spain. She is an aquatic ecologist with more than 25 years of experience studying the biodiversity, ecological functions, quality, restoration, and conservation of rivers and their species. Her current research focuses on Andean streams and rivers, the effects of land use on rivers, the diversity, ecology, and biogeography of Ecuadorian Trichoptera, the ecological quality of urban streams, and on strategies for their restoration. In her research, she works closely with managers, local communities, and non-governmental organizations, addressing their information needs through her research. She has more than 15 years of teaching experience at both the undergraduate and graduate levels in biology, biodiversity, ecology, and environmental management, and mentors undergraduate and postgraduate students in their research.

Ron (PhD, 2007, University of Texas) professor, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador, Quito. Founding member of the Ecuadorian Academy of Sciences. Young Affiliate of TWAS (2008–2013) and member of the Global Young Academy (2010–2013). He is Principal Professor and Director of the Center of Biodiversity Research at Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador. His research focuses on evolution and biodiversity conservation. In his work on evolution he has contributed to the field of systematics and taxonomy of Neotropical amphibians. In the field of conservation, he has studied to global phenomenon of amphibian population declines. He was Director of the ARCA initiative, a large-scale study to inventory and characterize genetically the Ecuadorian biodiversity. He is editor in chief of BIOWEB, a web portal that publishes general information of Ecuadorian fauna.

Amin Ibrahim Shendi is an associate professor in the Department of Polymers and Pigments of the National Research Centre in Cairo, Egypt. She is also the president and founder of the Egyptian Scientific Society of Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology. She obtained her BSc in chemistry at the Faculty of Science, Ain Shams University in Cairo, and her MSc and PhD in organic chemistry (polymer technology and catalysis) at the Faculty of Science, Cairo University. Her research interests include the synthesis of highly functionalized hyperbranched star polymers and other nano-structured polymeric structures via different synthetic routes, employing polymers in pharmaceuticals, drug delivery systems and building materials and manufacturing of nanocomposites from clay or silica/hyperbranched polymers for industrial applications. In recognition of her contributions, she was awarded a German Academic Exchange Service PhD scholarship to pursue her PhD in both Egypt and Germany, and a postdoctoral fellowship at the Leibniz Institute for Polymer Research in Dresden, Germany.

Assem is vice-president of the Agricultural Research Center in Egypt. She was the former director of the Agricultural Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering Research Institute (ARC). She is specialized in plant molecular biology and biotechnology. She visited and exchanged her experiences as a visiting scientist at several universities and biotech companies in the USA. Assem is a member of the African Union High Level Panel on Emerging Technologies and the former vice-chair of the Genetic Sciences National Committee of the Egyptian Academy of Science and Technology, Egypt. She is a Fulbright Alumnus, USA (2002-2003). Assem is a member of the Board of Directors of the Biotechnology Programme, Faculty of Agriculture, Banha University, Egypt. She was a team leader for one of the groups updating the Sustainable Agricultural Development Strategy (2019) of the Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation, Egypt, and she received the FAO Prize 2017. She participated in several basic and applied national and international research projects, she has several publications in peer reviewed journals, and is a reviewer for some national and international funding schemes.

Aziz is a professor at the Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Cairo University—which he chaired from 2016–2021, and the head of MARC Bioscience Research Laboratories in Giza, Egypt. From 2021–2024, he has directed the Microbiology and Immunology Research Programme at the Children’s Cancer Hospital of Egypt. In 2005, he received his PhD in microbiology and immunology from the University of Tennessee, Health Science Center in Memphis, and carried out postdoctoral research at the University of Chicago, San Diego State University, and UCSD (2008–2013). He collaborates with the Argonne National Laboratory. His research spans microbiology and immunology, genomics of microbial pathogens and phages, and microbiomics. He is a pioneer of pharmacomicrobiomics, a discipline that studies drug-microbiome interactions. He has published more than 120 peer-reviewed articles, a book, nine book sections, and is maintaining two bioinformatics databases. His work has been nationally and internationally acknowledged through awards from TWAS, COMSTECH, and Shoman Awards. He is ranked among the 1% most productive authors in the SCOPUS database (based on c-score).

El-Beltagy served as Egypt’s Minister of Agriculture and Land Reclamation. He is currently Chair, International Drylands Development Commission (IDDC); Professor, Arid Land Agricultural graduate studies & Research Institute (ALARI), Ain Shams University; Chair, Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees, Bibliotheca Alexandrina, Egypt, Board Member of the Egyptian Academy for the Scientific Research & Technology; Chair, Food and Agriculture Research Council, Egyptian Academy of Science; Former President, governing board, CIHEAM; Chair, Global Forum for Agric. Research (GFAR); DG, ICARDA; The Golden Medal of CIHEAM & France Commander of the Order of Agric. in recognition of enhancing the Ag development in the Mediterranian ; Member of: Russian Acad. of Agric. Sciences, Moscow; Tajik Acad. of Agric. Sciences; Kyrgyz Agrarian Acad.; and Scientific Council, Azerbaijan Agric Acad. Awards include: Fellow of Univ. of Wales, UK; Al-Istiklal Medal, HM King Abdullah II bin Hussein of Jordan; Golden Medal Award, Armenia; hon. DSc, Univ. of Khartoum, Sudan; and member, Sultan Qaboos ‘first class’ order for Culture, sciences&Arts for enhancing Develop.of Ag in the Dry Areas.

Specializing in metabolomics, natural products chemistry, and plant biochemistry, Farag completed his PhD at Texas Tech University, USA, in 2003. In 2005, after spending time as a postdoctoral fellow at The Samuel Noble Foundation, USA, and the James Graham Brown Cancer Center, USA, he became assistant professor in 2005 at the Faculty of Pharmacy, Cairo University, Egypt. Since 2009, Farag has been working as a part time visiting professor at the Technical University of Munich, Germany, to participate in teaching plant metabolomics and chemomterics modelling for master students, and in 2009–2010 he held the Alexander von Humboldt fellowship in Germany. Farag now works full time as a professor at the American University in Cairo (AUC) where his research work focuses primarily around applying innovative biochemical technologies (metabolomics) to help answer complex biological questions in medicine, herbal drugs analysis and agriculture. For his highly cited publications of close to 5000 citations and an H index of 32, Farag was selected as a top researcher in the field of plant biology in Africa by the American society of plant biology, United States.

Magdy Madkour (PhD University of Wales 1977, UK) is Prof of biotechnology, Arid Lands Agricultural Research Inst., Ain Shams University, Egypt, and Editor in Chief, Journal of Agriculture and Food Security, BioMed Central. He was the Chairman, Executive Committee, Agriculture Research for Development Fund (ARDF), Min. of Agric and Land Reclamation, Egypt; Senior Advisor, Bibliotheca Alexandrina, Deputy Director General,ICARDA. Madkour was Prof of Plant pathology, Alexandria University. He served on the Technical Advisory Committee of CGIAR, the Board of Trustees of ICARDA and IPGRI (Bioversity). In 1990 he established the Agricultural Genetic Engineering Research Institute (AGERI-Egypt). In 2007 he received Egypt’s Presidential Gold Medal for Science & Technology, three AOAD awards for scientific excellence; FAO World Food Day recognition; TWAS Arab Regional Prize. He holds three patents, authored 140 peer reviewed publications and contributed with chapters in 9 international books.

Obayya is an internationally recognized scientist who holds fellowships from several leading scientific societies, including the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Optical Society of America, Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers, American Physical Society, African Academy of Sciences, Applied Computational Electromagnetics Society, Higher Education Academy, Institution of Engineering and Technology, and the Institute of Physics. He joined Zewail City of Science and Technology (ZC) in 2012, where he served as vice-chairman and currently holds the position of director-general of research institutes. Prior to joining ZC, Obayya spent 15 years at leading universities in the United Kingdom, including serving as chair professor of photonics at the University of South Wales. His outstanding contributions have been recognized with several prestigious awards, including the African Union Kwame Nkrumah Continental Award for Scientific Excellence; Africa’s highest scientific honor (2021), the OPTICA Diversity and Inclusion Advocacy Recognition Award (2023), and the distinguished title of UNESCO Chair-Holder for Sustainable Development in Africa (2019).

Salama was educated at Ain Shams and Cairo (Faculty of Sciences) Universities. He obtained his MSc (1959), PhD (1962) and DSc (1987). He is emeritus research professor (entomology), Natl. Res. Ctr. (NRC), Cairo. His previous positions include: Head, Dept. of Pests and Plant Protection, NRC, 1976-87; chairman, Agricultural Res. Div., NRC, 1978-80, 1988; vice-president, NRC, 1986-87; and president, NRC, 1988-92. His awards include: State Prize for Biological Sciences, Egypt; Order of Sciences and Arts, First Rank; State Prize for Agricultural Sciences, Egypt; Order of Sciences and Arts, First Rank; and African Academy of Sciences/Ciba Geigy Prize, Agricultural Biosciences; Recognition State Prize in Basic Sciences, 1992; Nile (Mubarak) Prize in Advanced Technological Sciences, 2006 and Khalifa International Award for Date Palm and Agricultural Innovation 2017. His membership includes the Islamic, African,TWAS and Egyptian Academies of Sciences, and Executive Committee, IUBS, Paris.

Professor Tawfik is founding director of the Egyptian Center for Theoretical Physics (ECTP), founding director of the World Laboratory for Cosmology And Particle Physics (WLCAPP), and research director at "ICSC-World Laboratory" in Erice, Italy. Professor Tawfik is serving in several committees and panels for education, scientific research, and development. In 1999, He has earned Dr.rer.Nat at Philipps Universität Marburg, and in 2012 Doctor of Science (D.Sc.) in “physics and mathematics” at Uzbekistan National University. Tawfik has accomplished successive academic posts at Marburg, Stuttgart, Trier, Bielefeld (Germany), Hiroshima (Japan), MTI, Nile, and Future universities (Egypt). He was elected as a Fellow of the E African Academy of Science (AAS) and the Egyptian Academy of Scientific Research and Technology (ASRT).

Limonta-Vidal is Regional Director of the Internatonal Science Council (ISC) Reg. Off. for Lat. Am. and the Caribbean. He was head of biotechnology and science adviser, Natl. Inst. of Haematology, Cuba and prof., Medical U. of Havana. He was the founder director general of both the Centre for Biological Research, Cuba (1982-86) and the Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, Cuba (1986-99) and founder of the Centres for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, provinces of Camaguey (1989) and Sancti Spiritus (1990). His honours include: two Dr. (h.c.), Universidad Central, Ecuador and Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana, Mexico; 2 Medals Comendador Merito Cientifico, Brazil; 3 medals, Natl. Sciences Trade Union, Cuba; member, editorial board, 7 scientific journals; member, 13 natl. and intl. scientific and medical associations; and fellow, Caribbean Acad. of Sciences and Cuban Acad. of Sciences. Member of teh academy of Sciences of The Caribbean (since 2000) of the World Academy of Science (TWAS, since 1995). In the last 28th TWAS General Assambly Meeting in Trieste, Italy, Prof. Manuel Limonta was elected Vice President of TWAS for the period 2019 - 2031.

Dr Abraham Aseffa is a Senior Scientist (formerly Director) at the Armauer Hansen Research Institute in Ethiopia. He graduated in Medicine from Addis Ababa University (1984) and studied Microbiology at the University of Leipzig, Germany (Dr. med, 1990, summa cum laude). He taught Microbiology at Gondar College of Medical Sciences (Ethiopia) until 1998, then joined the WHO IRTC at Uni Lausanne, Switzerland, for postdoctoral research before moving to AHRI in 2001. He was the Implementation Research Unit Head at TDR from 2020 to 2024. Dr Aseffa has conducted several studies on infectious disease microbiology, immunology and epidemiology, with national and international partners (> 500 publications). He has a strong interest in postgraduate training and works closely with the MoH in Ethiopia on capacity building for clinical and operational research, and on translating research findings into practice. Dr Aseffa has also been active in regional partnerships, particularly in clinical trial capacity building and health research ethics. He has served in several WHO/TDR, WHO and EDCTP advisory bodies. He is a member of the Ethiopian Academy of Sciences

Ashenafi is professor emeritus of food microbiology at the Institute of Pathobiology, Addis Ababa University in Ethiopia. He has studied the microbial dynamics of the fermentation of traditional Ethiopian foods and beverages and the behavior of several enteric pathogens during the fermentation process. This special research into the food and dietary practices of Ethiopians has generated foundational scientific knowledge about microbial fermentation, spoilage, preservation, and safety in traditional Ethiopian foods. He has recently been working on the importance of food safety and nutrition to the food security of Ethiopian households. His work has helped in laying the groundwork for further research in the field. He has been a Fulbright fellow and has also won the Faculty Scientific Achievement Award of the Ethiopian Scientific Society. in 2022, he was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award from People to People (P2P) Health Care Professionals organization in diaspora. Washington DC, USA.

Beyene earned his PhD in prehistory in 1992 from the Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, Paris, France. He is researcher at the Ethiopian Heritage Authority and affiliated with the French Center for Ethiopian Studies in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Beyene is Fellow of the Ethiopian Academy of Sciences, and International Member of the American Academy of Sciences. He is recipient of the Order of Academic Palms from the French Ministry of Education, France. He is corresponding member of the Institut de paléontologie humaine (Paris, France) and of the Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny (CARTA), University of Sandiago, CA, USA. He is actively leading and co-leading paleoanthropological research programmes in Ethiopia. He represented Ethiopia in the World Heritage Committee at UNESCO between 2009 and 2012. He initiated and prepared the nomination file for the Konso Cultural Landscape on UNESCO’s World Heritage list (nominated in 2011). He also led the field research and preparation of the dossier for the nomination of the Gedeo Cultural Landscape for UNESCO’s World Heritage List.

Ermias Dagne is Prof. of Chemistry and Dir., African Laboratory for Natural Products (ALNAP). He is founding member, Natural Products Research Network for Eastern and Central Africa (NAPRECA). His main research area is natural products chemistry. He has more than 90 publications, mainly on the isolation and structure elucidation of natural compounds. His research was supported by grants from the Internatl. Foundation for Science, ISP-IPICS and Sida-SAREC (Sweden) and fellowships from the Humboldt Foundation (AvH, Germany) and Fulbright (USA). He is recipient of IFS/DANIDA (1997) and IOCD Pierre Crabbe (2003) awards. With his wife Tadelech he manages a natural products business Ariti Herbal (www.aritiherbal.com) and has created a versatile plant species-based database for African plants available on the web at www.alnapnetwork.com.

Fanta is a an Adjuct Professor in the Department of Plant Biology and Biodiversity Management, College of Natural and Computational Sciences, Addis Ababa University (AAU), Ethiopia. He holds PhD (1996) from SLU, Sweden. He was Executive Manager of AEM, Associate Professor in University of Botswana, African Regional Director of FSC, Forestry Research Director and Director General, ex-EARO, Ethiopia. He has produced 331 scientific publications. His awards include Trophy for outstanding contribution to forest research in Ethiopia; Gold Medal and Certificate of Appreciation for meritorious achievements in NARS-Ethiopia; Man of the Year (2008) representing Ethiopia; Key of Success; Commemorative Medal of Honour; International Cultural Diploma of Honor and Man of the Year (2000).