Gumel is a Distinguished Professor of Mathematics and the Michael and Eugenia Brin Endowed E-Nnovate Chair in Mathematics at the Department of Mathematics, University of Maryland, USA. He also holds the honorary Extraordinary Professor position at the University of Pretoria, South Africa. His research focuses on using mathematical approaches to gain insight and provide understanding on the transmission dynamics and control of emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases of major public health significance. He has authored over 170 peer-reviewed research articles, supervised many graduate students and postdoctoral fellows, and written four edited books. He is the editor-in-chief of Mathematical Biosciences, one of the premier journals for mathematical biology research, and the recipient of numerous awards and honours, including the 2021 Bellman Prize, and elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, American Mathematical Society, Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics, African Academy of Sciences, Nigerian Academy of Science, African Scientific Institute. He presented the 2021 Einstein Public Lecture of the American Mathematical Society.

Ovbiagele, MD, MSc, MAS, MBA, MLS, is professor of neurology and associate dean at the University of California, San Francisco. His primary research involves translation of evidence-based interventions into clinical practice and community settings, to improve stroke outcomes for underserved and vulnerable populations around the world. He currently leads several studies of stroke in the US and sub-Saharan Africa. Ovbiagele has published over 600 peer-reviewed articles (h-index 89) in the areas of stroke prevention, risk factors and outcomes. His work has been recognized with the Pessin and Wartenberg Awards of the American Academy of Neurology; Penn Award of the American Neurological Association; Mridha Humanitarian Award of the American Brain Foundation; Feinberg and Stroke Council Awards of the American Stroke Association; Haddock International and Distinguished Scientist Awards of the American Heart Association, and Meritorious Achievement Award of the National Medical Association. He chaired the International Stroke Conference (2016-2018) and is current editor-in-chief of the Journal of the American Heart Association. He serves on the board of the World Stroke Organization.

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.

Hung, PhD, is president for China Medical University in Taiwan. He was vice-president for basic research and professor and chair of the Department of Molecular and Cellular Oncology at the MD Anderson Cancer Center, The University of Texas. Hung is a basic scientist with a keen translational vision and especially his recent research effort has significantly contributed to understanding the biology of cancer and to developing combinational cancer therapies to overcome resistance. Up to date, Hung has published more than 679 peer-reviewed articles, of which over 194 were published in journals with impact factor 10 or above. His lifetime h-index reaches to 177 (Google Scholar). He is one of the members of the selection committee for Tang Prize in Biopharmaceutical Science category, and is one of the founding editorial members for Cancer Cell (2002–2020). He serves as Advisory Board/Editors for Molecular Cell, Cancer Research, Cancer and Metastasis Reviews, Molecular Carcinogenesis, Cancer Letters, JCI...etc. He recnetly received the JCA International Award (2023) and the Cell and Cancer Research Elite Award from PPSSC (2024).

Eltahir is H. M. King Bhumibol Professor of hydrology and climate, and professor of civil and environmental engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Eltahir made significant contributions defining the role of land surface processes in climate system. He has been actively engaged in projecting future impacts of global climate change at local and regional scales, with the objective of informing and hence enabling proactive adaptation by local communities. Examples for topics of his projections include: water in Nile basin, malaria in Africa, droughts over Mediterranean, and extreme heatwaves in Asia. Eltahir is the director of the UM6P-MIT Research Program at MIT with a focus on sustainable development in Africa. He is also the lead principal investigator in a large Climate Grand Challenges Project at MIT with the goal of reinventing adaptation to climate change. He was recently elected Member of the US National Academy of Engineering. Eltahir is a recipient of the Kuwait Prize in Applied Science in 2000, an elected Fellow of the American Geophysical Union (AGU) in 2008, and a recipient of the Hydrologic Sciences Award in 2017, from AGU.

Hildebrand is Regents Professor Emeritus of Neuroscience at the University of Arizona in Tucson. He received his baccalaureate degree (biology) from Harvard University and PhD (biochemistry) from Rockefeller University. After 16 years of faculty service at Harvard and Columbia Universities, he moved to Arizona in 1985 as Founding Head of the Division of Neurobiology (1985–2009), later the Department of Neuroscience (2009–2013). Research fields: insect neurobiology and behavior, olfaction, chemical ecology, and arthropod vector biology. A past President of: Association for Chemoreception Sciences; International Society of Chemical Ecology; and International Society for Neuroethology. Elected member: National Academy of Sciences (International Secretary 2014-2026); American Academy of Arts and Sciences; American Philosophical Society; African Academy of Sciences; Brazilian Academy of Sciences; German National Academy of Sciences ‘Leopoldina’; Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters; Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters. Honorary Fellow: Royal Entomological Society (UK). Fellow: American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS); Entomological Society of America, I

Kwok, MD, PhD, graduated at University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine. After residency in dermatology and postdoctoral training at Washington University School of Medicine, USA, he joined its faculty in 1993. He was Distinguished Fellow and Director of the Institute of Biomedical Sciences at Academia Sinica from 2017-2023, and Henry Bachrach Distinguished Professor at University of California San Francisco from 2002-2024. Kwok’s research focused on developing tools and strategies to study the human genome and the role of human variation in common diseases. He holds several patents on genomic analysis tools and played key roles in many large consortia, including the SNP Consortium, the International HapMap Project, the NSIGHT Consortium, and the CSER Consortium. He led the Taiwan Precision Medicine Initiative, where a reference database with genetic profiles and clinical data of 500,000 people was built to improve health through disease risk prediction and tailored heath management guidelines. Kwok is a Fellow of the AAAS and the recipient of the 2022 Chen Award for Distinguished Academic Achievement in Human Genetic and Genomic Research by the Human Genome Organization.

Soboyejo is a materials scientist whose research focuses on the mechanical properties of materials. His work has explored the structure and properties of metals/alloys, intermetallics, ceramics, composites, porous materials, cancer cells/tissues, biomaterials, and materials for energy and the environment. He received his BSc in mechanical engineering from King’s College London in 1985, and a PhD in materials science from Cambridge University in 1988. He worked as a Research Scientist at the McDonnell Douglas Research Labs, USA (1988–1992). Since then, he has been a faculty member at The Ohio State University, MIT, Princeton, African University of Technology (AUST) and Worcester Polytechnic (WPI). Soboyejo served as President and Provost of AUST (2012–14). He then returned to Princeton (2014–16), before moving to WPI as the Bernard M. Gordon Dean of Engineering (2016–18). He was Senior Vice President and Provost at WPI from September 2018 to May 2022, when he was appointed as Interim President of WPI. He is the recipient of National Young Investigator Awards by National Science Foundation/Office of Naval Research. He is a Fellow of the US National Academy of Engineering.