A medical doctor with 30 years of health research experience in Bangladesh, including a research track record in disease epidemiology, population studies and health systems research, Naheed joined the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b) in 1994 after earning a degree in medicine from the University of Dhaka (1992). She began a research career in infectious disease epidemiology after obtained a Master of Public Health degree from the Johns Hopkins University (US), in 2002. After obtaining a PhD from Tulane University (US) in 2012, she focused on noncommunicable diseases and, after postdoctoral training from the University of Melbourne, Australia (2015), focused on health systems research. She served as the head of the Initiative for Noncommunicable Diseases at the Health Systems and Population Studies Division at icddr,b for eight years (2015–2022) where she is currently a senior scientist with the Nutrition Research Division. She received the Bangladesh Academy of Science Sultan Ahamed Choudhury Science and Technology Gold Medal Award in 2021, and in 2022 was elected to the fellowship of the Bangladesh Academy of Sciences.

Prof. Sultana N. Nahar ot The Ohio State University (OSU), USA, a co-founder of atomic astrophysics field, studies the four dominant atomic radiative and collisional processes, such as, radiative transitions, photoionization, electron-ion recombination, electron impact excitation, in astrophysical plasma, X-ray spectroscopy for Bio-medical applications, spectroscopy of kilonovae emission, diagnostics for bio-signature elements in exo-planetary atmosphere, with high accuracy methodology. She has made fundamental contributions to these processes in characterizing resonant features, developed algorithm for theoretical spectroscopy, developed precise unified theory for electron-ion recombination process with A. K. Pradhan at OSU. Findings of their studies are accumulated in the textbook “Atomic Astrophysics and Spectroscopy” (Cambridge U press). Her results from large scale computations are archived in her database, NORAD-Atomic-Data, at OSU. She is active in STEM education and research globally through research training, lectures, introducing and sponsoring programs. She is the founder of the International Society of Muslim Women in Science with members from 33 countries.

Nagendra is the director of the School of Climate Change and Sustainability, Azim Premji University, in Bangalore, India. Her research covers forest conservation and urban sustainability. Her interdisciplinary work on forests combines remote sensing, biodiversity and institutional analysis, to elucidate the pattern-process link in human-dominated tropics. Her urban research spotlights city commons and ecosystems, to determine the resilience and wellbeing of the poor in the global South. Her awards include an honorary doctorate from Utrecht University in 2025, the 2009 US National Academy of Sciences Cozzarelli Prize, 2013 Elinor Ostrom Senior Scholar award, and 2017 Clarivate Web of Science award. She is a well-known public speaker and writer, whose books include Nature in the City: Bengaluru in the Past, Present and Future; Cities and Canopies: Trees of Indian Cities; Shades of Blue: Connecting the Drops in India’s Cities, and Bangalore Detectives Club series. She was a lead author of IPCC AR5, and is on the scientific committee of the Future Earth Program for Ecosystem Change and Society, and the Advisory Board of WRI Ross Cities, Future Earth Urban KAN, and EIT Climate KIC.

Professor and Head of the Institute of Pharmacology and Molecular Biology at the Federal University of São Paulo. Obtained her PhD at Unifesp and post-doctoral training as a Fogarty fellow at the Univ. of Southern California. Since 1985, she is a 1A research fellow of the National Research Council for the Scientific and Technological Development. Her research field is molecular and cell biology of glycoconjugates. At Unifesp, she was the first woman to become Pro-Rector of Undergraduate and Pro-Rector of Research and Graduate programmes. She is a member of several national science and education councils and has received several national and international awards and honours. She is president of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences (BAS), co-chair of the Inter-American Network of Academies of Sciences and Governing Board member of the International Science Council. She is member of the BAS, The World Academy of Sciences, and the Latin America Academy of Sciencies. Former president of the Brazilian Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (2007-2008), honorary president, vice-president (2007-2011) and president (2011-2017) of the Brazilian Society for the Advancement of Sciences

Nadeem is a tenured professor in the Mathematics Department at Quaid-i-Azam University. He is an outstanding researcher and teacher, skilled in administrative duties. His research areas include peristaltic motion, blood flow through stenosis arteries, computational techniques, Newtonian and non-Newtonian fluids, stretching and shrinking phenomena, stagnation flows, and analytical techniques to solve highly nonlinear differential equations. The main area of Nadeem's work is applied mathematics. He has considered highly nonlinear physical problems of applied nature obtaining their exact, analytical, and numerical solutions. He is an expert in analytical and numerical techniques. Nadeem has published more than 750 research papers in international journals of high impact factor. His impact factor is greater than 2,000 and his citations are over 30,000. He has received many awards including Sitara-i-Imtiaz, Tamgha-i-Imtiaz, Salam Prize, Best Young Researcher, Best Teacher, PAS Gold Medal, Raziuddin Gold Medal, PCST Awards, TWAS Young Affiliate, Fellow Pakistan Academy of Sciences, and Obada Prize, and has supervised 35 PhD and 140 Master of Philosophy Graduates.

N’Guerekata (Ph. D. Montreal Canada 1980) is a University Distinguished Professor of Mathematics and Associate Dean, School of Computer, Mathematical and Natural Sciences, Morgan State University, Baltimore, Maryland, USA. Former Vice Rector of the University of Bangui, Deputy Minister for Scientific and Technical Research and Senior Advisor to the Head of State, N'Guerekata is a Fulbrighter, and an African Academy of Science Fellow, The World Academy of Sciences Fellow, American Mathematical Society Fellow. He received numerous honors and awards in the US, France, India, and Central African Republic. Founder and Chief Editor of the International Journal of Evolution Equations and the Journal of Nonlinear Evolution Equations and Applications, he is also a member of editorial boards of over 18 other international mathematical journals. Dr. N'Guerekata is (co) author of over 286 mathematics publications including 12 books.

Mutabingwa (MD 1979 University of Dar-es-Salaam, MSc. Communicable Diseases 1984 London University, PhD 1993 University of Amsterdam) is a professor at Hubert Kairuki Memorial University (HKMU), Dar-es-Salaam; Founder and president of Tanzania Non-Communicable Diseases Alliance, Founder and past-president of the East Africa Network for Monitoring Antimalarial Treatment. He was: WHO/Technical Expert Group (TEG) member on malaria chemotherapy, malaria prevention in pregnancy (IPTp) and in infants (IPTi), and is still a WHO Clinical Monitor. Was a Board member: Malaria Clinical Trials Alliance (MCTA), Malaria in Pregnancy Consortium (MiPc), and Board member, World Antimalarial Resistance Network (WARN). Recipient of NIMR Best scientist and International Society of Infectious Diseases travel awards. Founder and coordinator of Master of Science in Public Health degree at HKMU since 2012. Member of the Editorial Board of malaria and treatment Journal.

Musoke (MBChB, PhD) is a professor, pediatric infectious diseases specialist in the department of Paediatrics and Child Health, Makerere University, and has carried out research with the Makerere University-Johns Hopkins University research collaboration since 1995. She has conducted multiple perinatal HIV prevention clinical trials with US National Institute of Health Division of AIDS network (HIVNET/HPTN/IMPAACT), including the landmark HIVNET012 (Ugandan vice-chair), single dose nevirapine (NVP) to mother and infant for prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) of HIV, which have informed WHO guidelines for PMTCT. She has also conducted pediatric HIV treatment clinical trials to improve antiretroviral therapy for children in resource-limited settings, and pediatric TB diagnostics and treatment. In 1999, she received the Recognition Award, for outstanding contributions to advancing the prevention of perinatal HIV transmission, Canada, and in 2017 the National Bioethics Award, Uganda National Council for Science and Technology, Uganda. Musoke is a fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics, and in 2016 she was appointed fellow of the Uganda Academy of Sciences.

Murty (PhD, 1992, Indian Inst. of Science, Bangalore) is Professor, Dept. of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, Indian Inst. of Technology (IIT) Madras. He is Institute Professor and Girija and R. Muralidharan Chair Professor, IIT Madras. He is also Adjunct Professor, Ryerson Univ., Toronto, Canada since 2011 and Associate faculty of School of Engineering, Univ. of British Columbia, Canada since 2016. His is a Fellow of Asia Pacific Acad. of Materials (2013), Indian National Science Acad. (2013), ASM International - the Materials Information Society (2010), Indian Acad. of Sciences (2008), National Acad. of Sciences (2008), Indian National Acad. of Engineering (2007). He is a recipient of a number of awards including JC Bose Fellowship award (2018-2023), Honorary Doctorate from Deakin Univ., Australia (2017), Life time Achievement Award of IIT Madras (2016), Distinguished Alumnus Award of Visvesvaraya National Inst. of Technology (2010), Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award (2007), Metallurgist of the Year Award (2004), Indian National Acad. of Engineering Young Engineer Award (1997), Indian National Science Acad. Young Scientist Award (1995), Young Metallurgist Award (1994).

Murthy is INSA senior professor in the Molecular Biophysics Unit, Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore. He obtained his bachelor's from Bangalore University (1970), master's from the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (1972) and PhD from the IISc, Bangalore (1977). His research interests are X-ray crystallography, protein and virus structure. He has been awarded the Shantiswaroop Bhatnagar Prize, Rustum Choksi award, GN Ramachandran commemoration award, Hari Om Ashram Trust Award, Jagdish Chandra Bose Award for Life Sciences and G.N. Ramachandram gold medal for excellence in biological sciences. He has been elected to the Indian Academy of Sciences, Indian National Science Academy, and the National Academy of Sciences, India.

Murenzi (PhD Louvain, Belgium) has been professor at Worcester Polytechnic Institute since 2024. He was Executive Director of TWAS from 2011-2023, with a year interruption across 2016-2017 when he served as Director of the Division of Science Policy and Capacity Building in UNESCO's Natural Sciences Sector (July 2016). He previously was Minister of Science, Technology and Scientific Research in Rwanda and Director of the Center for Science, Technology and Sustainability at the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Washington, DC; he was also visiting Professor at the University of Maryland. He was Chair and Professor in the Department of Physics at Clark Atlanta University, USA. He was also designer of the two-dimensional continuous wavelet transform. In 2012 he was elected as a Fellow of the African Academy of Sciences (AAS). He chairs the UN Secretary General's High-level Panel of Technology Bank and Science, Technology and Innovation Supporting Mechanism dedicated to the Least Developed Countries; he is a Member of the ITU/UNESCO Broadband Commission for Digital Development and of the Carnegie Mellon University President’s Global Advisory Council.

Munasinghe is founder chairman, Munasinghe Inst. for Development; Chairman, Presidential Expert Committee on Sustainable Sri Lanka 2030 Vision; distinguished guest prof., Peking Univ; and hon. senior adviser, Sri Lanka Govt. He has degrees in physics, engg. and economics from Cambridge U., UK; MIT, USA, and McGill and Concordia U., Canada. He was sr. energy adviser to the Pres. of Sri Lanka; advisor, US President's Council on Envir. Quality; sr. adviser/director, World Bank; vice chair, Intergov. Panel on Climate Change; chairman, Computer and Inf. Tech. Council, Sri Lanka; and chancellor, Int. Water Acad., Oslo. He shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize and won many major research awards, incl. 2021 Blue Planet Prize Laureate; Eminence in Engineering; award, Institution of Engineers, Sri Lanka, 2014; Lifetime outstanding achievement in energy award from President of Sri Lanka, 2016; Officer of French Legion of Honour decoration from French President, 2018; and highest national award "Deshmanya" from Sri Lanka President, 2019. He has authored over 120 scientific books and 350 papers. He is fellow of 10 science academies, and editorial board member of 21 journals.

Mulugetta is a professor of energy and development policy at University College London (UCL), and a member of the management team of the Climate Compatible Growth programme. Prior to joining UCL, he held an academic position at the Centre for Environmental Strategy at the University of Surrey, UK. He is also a founding member of the African Climate Policy Centre at the Ethiopia-based UN Economic Commission for Africa, where he served as senior climate and energy specialist (2010–2013). He has over 25 years of research, teaching and advisory experience specialising on the links between energy infrastructure provision and human welfare. His research focuses on three interconnected areas: energy systems and development; energy systems and climate change; and political economy of low carbon development. He served as a coordinating lead author of the energy systems chapter of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 5th Assessment Report (Working Group III on mitigation), lead author in the IPCC Special Report on global warming, and lead author in the IPCC 6th Assessment Report. He is a Fellow of the African Academy of Sciences.

Mukhi (PhD, 1981, Stony Brook) is Raja Ramanna Chair, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), Pune. After acquiring his Ph.D. in Theoretical Physics from Stony Brook University, he spent two years as post-doctoral fellow at the International Centre for Theoretical Physics, Trieste in the group of Prof. Abdus Salam. He went on to join the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai, where he worked for 28 years and held the offices of Dean, Graduate Studies and Chair, Theoretical Physics. He has published extensively in the areas of Quantum Field Theory, Supersymmetry, Conformal Field Theory and String Theory. He has spent sabbaticals at the Institute of Advanced Study Princeton, CERN, Geneva, and Trinity College, Cambridge. His awards include the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar prize for Physical Sciences and the J.C. Bose Fellowship, and he is an Editor of the Journal of High Energy Physics. He has a keen interest in Academic Ethics and has chaired Ethics Committees at the Tata Institute, IISER Pune, the Indian Academy of Sciences and presently at TWAS.

Mukherjee is Professor Emeritus, Raman Center for Atomic, Molecular and Optical Sciences, and the Ex-Director of the Indian Assoc. for the Cultivation of Science. He is also adjunct professor of the Theoretical Chemistry Dept., Nanjing University. He is recognized for his work on quantum many-body theory, especially multi-reference coupled-cluster approaches, and other areas of theoretical chemistry and theoretical spectroscopy. His awards include: Humboldt Prize of Germany, 2010, SS Bhatnagar, 1987; Asutosh Mukherjee, 1965; Jagdish Shankar Memorial Award, INSA, 1994; Fukui Memorial Prize, Asia-Pacific Assoc. of Theoretical and Computational Chemists (APATCC), 2008; Silver Medal, Chemical Research Soc. of India, 1999 and the Medal of the Centre of Applied Wave Mechanics, France (2014). He is a fellow of all Indian academies of sciences; APATCC; and Intl. Academy of Quantum Molecular Sciences.

Mukhamedov got his MSc in pure mathematics from the National University of Uzbekistan in 1996, and his PhD at the Institute of Mathematics (Tashkent), in 1998. In 1999–2005, he worked as an Associate Professor at the National University of Uzbekistan, where he then successfully defended his Doctor of Science degree (Habilitation). From 2005 to 2007 he held a postdoctoral position at the University of Aveiro (Portugal). He then joined the Faculty of Science, International Islamic University Malaysia, initially as an Associate Professor, and later as a Professor (2012). In 2016 he joined the Department of Mathematical Sciences at the United Arab Emirates University as Professor. Moreover, he was a grantee for several international congresses for mathematicians. From 2009 to 2015 he was a Junior Associate at the Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics. His research interests relate to operator theory, dynamical systems, non-commutative ergodic theory, p-adic analysis etc. He has published over 300 papers, and seven books/edited books, one of which is published by Springer. Since 1996, he has been teaching many different undergraduate and graduate math courses.

Muhammed is rector of the National University of Computer and Emerging Sciences, Islamabad. He received his DPhil in biochemistry. Oxford University, and completed postdoctoral research at the Oakridge National Laboratory, USAEC. He established the Nuclear Institute for Agriculture and Biology, Faisalabad, in 1969 and was its first director. He was also the vice-chancellor of Agriculture University, Faisalabad, and founder-chairman of the Pakistan Agricultural Research Council from which he retired in 1990. He was awarded an honorary DSc, the Prime Minister's Gold medal, and the Gold Medal for lifetime achievement by FAO. He is fellow and past-president of the Pakistan Academy of Sciences. He was elected president of the Pakistan Association for Advancement of Science and the Scientific Society of Pakistan.

Mudali is the vice-chancellor of the Homi Bhabha National Institute, a deemed-to-be university under the Department of Atomic Energy, Mumbai, India. He served as vice-chancellor of Vellore Institute of Technology Bhopal University (2021–2023), honorary professor of practice at IIT Madras (2021–2022), and chairman and chief executive (2017–2020) of the Heavy Water Board (HWB), Mumbai, a flagship industrial unit of the Department of Atomic Energy. At HWB, Mudali demonstrated outstanding leadership, overseeing the production of strategic heavy water and specialty materials, while managing seven plants located across different parts of the country. He was associated with the Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research, Kalpakkam (1984–2017), where he served as director of the materials chemistry and metal fuel cycle group. A distinguished alumnus of IIT Bombay and Peelamedu Samanaidu Govindaswamy College of Technology, Coimbatore, he is an internationally renowned expert in metallurgy and corrosion science and has made significant contributions to the fields of advanced materials and coatings, surface engineering and modification, and corrosion science, technology, and engineering.

Mu (Phd 1985, Fudan U.) is an academician and researcher, working in the Key Laboratory of Ocean Circulation and Waves (KLOCW) – Inst. of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (IOCAS). He worked as a postdoctorate researcher at Inst. of Atmospheric Physics (IAP), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). His main contributions are on predictability of weather and climate and stability of geophysical fluid motions. He proposed and applied a new method called CNOP to study predictability, ensemble forecast and adaptive observations of ENSO, thermolhaline circulation of oceans, tropical cyclone, blockings, Kuroshio etc. He established a series of nonlinear stability criteria of atmospheric and oceanic motions. He is a member of CAS (2007); First Class Prize of Nature Scientific Award, CAS (2001); Natl.-wide Excellent Post Doc, Ministry of Personnel (2005); and Ho Leung Ho Lee Sc. and Tech. Prize (2010).

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.

Moura is director, Instituto Nacional de Meteorologia and vice-Pres., World Meteorological Organization. He was previously: Dir. Gen., Intl. Res. Inst. for Climate and Society, Columbia U.; snr. researcher and dir. meteorology, INPE, Brazil; and physics prof., U. of Taubate, Brazil. He has advanced research in climate forecasting, El Nino and Atlantic influences on droughts in northeastern Brazil and contributed to application of meteorological satellites and climate modelling in agriculture and water resources. He works on climate forecast system for global food security and relationships between climate and vector-born diseases. Awards include: Rossby Award, MIT; Awards from U. Fed. de Minas Gerais, Brazil; Award for Young Scientists, WMO, Geneva; Santos Dumont Medal, Min. of Aeronautics; Tamandaré Award, Navy, Brazil; elected Hon. Fellow of the Royal Meteorological Society, 2013.

Mosyakin is the director of the M.G. Kholodny Institute of Botany, National Academy of Sciences (NAS) of Ukraine (Kyiv, Ukraine), as well as the head of the Vascular Plants Department. Since September 2011, he hes been the president of the Ukrainian Botanical Society; head of the plants subcommittee of the National Commission on the Red Data Book of Ukraine; editor-in-chief of the Ukrainian Botanical Journal; member of the editorial boards of Botanica (Lithuania), Biodiversity Research and Conservation (Poland), and other botanical periodicals. He is a corresponding member of the NAS of Ukraine (2012), holds a Doctor of Sciences degree in biological sciences (2003) from M.G. Kholodny Institute of Botany, and has been a professor of botany since 2006. He was awarded by NAS Ukraine “For Professional Achievements” (2011) and “For Scientific Achievements” (2021). The Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine bestowed him for his educational achievements with the Petro Mohyla (2008) and Sofia Rusova (2005) awards. His main research interests include plant taxonomy, biogeography and ecology, botanical nomenclature, biodiversity conservation, and science education.

Morshed is a leading authority in microbiology, specializing in zoonotic and vector-borne diseases, diagnostic microbiology and public health. With over 150 scientific publications and $20 million in research funding, he has addressed a broad range of topics, including SARS-CoV-2, and syphilis. His career began at the Teknaf Dysentery Project, where he established a microbiology laboratory in a remote, power-deprived area using innovative methods. He helped establish microbiology labs in Dhaka Children Hospital and Jahangirnagar University, which later was turned into a full department. Before moving to Canada, he pursued a PhD in Japan. He has been a key scientist at the British Columbia Centre for Disease Control and University of British Columbia, mentoring students and managing outbreaks like SARS-CoV-2 and West Nile Virus. He has delivered over 50 international lectures. His accolades include UBC’s Excellence in Education (2023), the Distinguished Microbiologist Award (2018), Top 25 Canadian Immigrants People’s Choice Award (2017) and Excellence in Clinical Services Award from UBC (2016). Morshed’s contributions highlight resilience and dedication in public health.

Lynn Morris was appointed as the Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Research and Innovation at Wits University from 1 April 2021. Her previous positions include Interim Executive Director of the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) and Principal Medical Scientist and head of the HIV Virology Section at the NICD, Johannesburg, South Africa. She holds a joint appointment as Research Professor at the University of the Witwatersrand and an Honorary appointment as a Senior Scientist at CAPRISA. She completed her undergraduate studies at Wits University and obtained a DPhil from the University of Oxford in 1988. Lynn is an NRF A-rated researcher (leading international scholar) who has made significant contributions to our understanding of how the antibody response to HIV develops and her laboratory conducts validated end-point assays for HIV vaccine clinical trials. She has been recognised through several national and international awards including the Wits Vice Chancellor’s Research Award and The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) Prize in Medical Sciences. She has supervised 30 PhD and MSc students, has published over 270 papers holding a current author H-Index of 63

Morel is director, Centre for Technological Development in Health (CDTS), Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (FIOCRUZ), Rio de Janeiro. A molecular biologist and medical doctor, he received his MD from the Medical Faculty, Federal Univ. of Pernambuco, Recife, Brazil, and completed PhD work at the Biophysics Inst., Federal Univ. of Rio de Janeiro, and Molecular Biology Dept., Swiss Cancer Inst., Lausanne. He has led research projects in molecular parasitology and collaborated with others on neglected diseases and capacity building. He was previously: Professor, UnB; president, FIOCRUZ; and director, UNICEF/UNDP/World Bank/WHO Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases, Geneva, where he moved WHO forward in areas such as the unveiling of genomes of parasites and vectors, and establishing relationships with product-development partnerships and global ventures in public health.

Moraes R., biologist (PhD, 1996, Aarhus University) is professor and researcher, Herbario Nacional and Instituto de Ecología at the Universidad Mayor de San Andrés, La Paz; member of the Academia de Ciencias de Bolivia. She documented flora and vegetation in the lowlands of Bolivia and is specialist in the study of native palms of Bolivia. Her prizes include 2006 Jubilee Award from the International Foundation for Science; 2016 Procer Pedro Domingo Murillo in the Degree of Civic Honor of the Municipal Council of La Paz; 2017 Grand Master in the Adela Zamudio degree, Chamber of Deputies. She published 86 scientific articles: 21 edited books; 77 chapters; 29 prologues, editorials and other publications; among others. In 2013 she created the Marie Curie award at the Bolivian science academy to recognize Bolivian female scientists abroad. She was the first women scientist elected to be president of the Bolivian science academy (2021-2024). She is member of MESAG for GEO7 of the UNEP (2023-2025). Dr. Moraes is member of the Science Panel for the Amazon.

Professor Moncada’s scientific career began at the Royal College of Surgeons, where he was part of the team that discovered the mechanism of action of aspirin-like drugs, thus explaining how they act to relieve pain, control temperature, reduce inflammation and cause gastric damage. During his time at the Wellcome Research Laboratories he led the team that discovered thromboxane synthase and the vasodilator prostacyclin. This work is the basis for the understanding of how low doses of aspirin prevent cardiovascular cardiovascular disease and events such as heart attacks and strokes. In the 1980’s he discovered nitric oxide as a biological mediator, the mechanism of its biosynthesis and many of its biological functions. As Director of Research at Wellcome, he also presided over the work that resulted in the development of several new medicines, including Lamotrigine, Atovaquone, Somig and La

Momba is a citizen of the Democratic Republic of the Congo living in South Africa since 1991. She is a full research professor and holds the South African National Research Chair of Water Quality and Wastewater Management at Tshwane University of Technology. Her core research in these areas includes drinking water treatment, industrial wastewater and municipal wastewater treatment, health-related water microbiology, nanotechnology, environmental biotechnology, bioremediation and microbial ecology. After 31 years of specializing in the field of water research, she is a C1 rated scientist in South Africa, and an elected Member of the Academy of Science of South Africa. Her research has attracted global recognition as evidenced by numerous awards, publications in peer review journals, collaborations she has established with other universities beyond the borders of South Africa, and the number of students originating from many parts of Africa who obtained their master and PhD degrees under her guidance and mentorship. Momba is a member of 13 scientific committees and reviewer of about 15 refereed journals. She is a mother.

Mohan is Chairman of Dr. Mohan’s Diabetes Specialities Centre and President of the Madras Diabetes Research Foundation, Chennai, India. He obtained PhD in 1987 and DSc in 1997. He has over 1530 publications including 986 original research articles in peer reviewed journals, 367 review articles and 186 chapters in text books. His work has a h-index of 145 and has over 174,000 citations. He has received Fellowships from all the four Royal College of Physicians of UK and Ireland, American College of Endocrinology and the American College of Physicians. He has received 200 awards including the prestigious Dr. B.C. Roy Award by the Medical Council of India and the Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Centenary Award from the Indian Council of Medical Research. In 2012 he was awarded the Padma Shri, one of the highest civilian awards given by the Govt. of India. He was conferred Hon. Doctorate from Deakin University of Melbourne in 2017. He has been conferred with the prestigious Harold Rifkin Distinguished International Service in the Cause of Diabetes Award by the American Diabetes Association in 2018 for his pioneering work in the field of diabetes and he is the first Indian to receive this award. He

Mizrahi is Professor Emerita and Senior Scholar, former Professorial Director of the Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine and Director of the Molecular Mycobacteriology Research Unit at the University of Cape Town (UCT). Awards include the 2013 Christophe Mérieux Prize from the Mérieux Foundation and Institut de France; UNESCO-L'Oréal For Women in Science Prize (Africa and Middle East region, 2000); the Gold Medal of the SA Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (2006); Platinum Lifetime award from the South African Medical Research Council (2017) and the Order of the Mapungubwe: Silver of South Africa (2006). She is fellow of the Royal Society, International Member of the US National Academy of Sciences, Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, International Honorary member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Fellow of the Royal Society of South Africa, Fellow of the African Academy of Sciences, Member of the Academy of Science of South Africa, Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology and Fellow of UCT. She has trained dozens of young researchers and participated in many capacity strengthening programs in Africa.