Mahtab is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland, the Indian College of Physicians, and the Bangladesh Academy of Sciences (BAS). He is a former member of the strategic and technical advisory group on viral hepatitis, HIV, and sexually transmitted infections of the WHO South-East Asia Regional Office (WHO-SEARO). He has conducted clinical trials and served as principal investigator for phase I, II, and III clinical trials of NASVAC, a novel therapeutic vaccine for chronic hepatitis B, and as principal investigator in a clinical trial of an mRNA vaccine candidate against SARS-CoV-2 developed in Bangladesh, as well as a phase I clinical trial in humans. He has authored 429 peer-reviewed publications, delivered 550 conference presentations, and authored or edited six books: Liver, Comprehensive Textbook on Hepatitis B, Fatty Liver Disease, Textbook of Hepato-Gastroenterology, Practical Hepato-Gastroenterology Prescriber, and Hepatology. His honors include the Orden Carlos J. Finley, conferred by decree of the President of Cuba in 2024; the Premio Nacional, awarded by the Cuban Academy of Sciences in 2019; and the BAS Gold Medal Award 2021 in Biological Sciences.

Bhuiyan obtained his PhD in 2010 from the University of Gothenburg, Sweden. He serves as senior scientist and head at enteric infections and vaccines under Infectious Diseases Division at icddr,b. The primary goal of his studies is to understand the T-B cell interaction, and the type of T cells that are mainly responsible for B cell help. He is also actively involved in oral cholera vaccine clinical trials, where his team is evaluating humoral and adaptive immune responses in different age groups of participants of Bangladesh. He is currently a Fellow of the Bangladesh Academy of Sciences. During COVID-19 pandemic, his research area focused on measuring antibody responses in cases and contacts of Bangladeshi population to know the seroprevalence and the acquired information greatly assisted policymakers in planning and rolling out COVID-19 vaccination programs in Bangladesh. He is actively working at icddr,b for capacity building of the young researchers, and collaborating with scientists at Harvard Medical School, Johns Hopkins University, University of Gothenburg, University of Utah and University of Washington, including different institutes of Africa.

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.

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.

Ali is the honorary chief scientist and advisor of the Pothikrit Institute of Health Studies (PIHS) in Dhaka, Bangladesh, and the chair of Pothikrit Foundation, a PIHS parent nonprofit organisation working for socioeconomic development and liberal cultural environment. He earned his PhD in 1990 from Uppsala University, Sweden. He was a professor of medical biochemistry and cell biology in institutes at Dhaka University, vice-chancellor at Bangladesh University of Health Sciences, president of the Bangladesh Society of Medical Biochemists, secretary-general of the Bangladesh Endocrine Society, a public health advisor of the government during COVID-19 pandemic, and a reviewer-designer of the 4th and 5th health sector programmes. As a short-term consultant, he has served various organizations like WHO, UNICEF, and USID. He is now an expert member of the Primary Health Care Forum of WHO-SEARO, and a distinguished visiting scientist of COMSTECH-OIC. He has been honoured by organizations like the Bangladesh Academy of Sciences, Islamic World Academy of Sciences, Indian Public Health Association, and Indian Association for the Study of Asian Traditional Medicine.