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Alejandro Samhan-Arias

Departamento de Bioquímica, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (UAM), C/Arturo Duperier 4, 28029-Madrid, Spain

alejandro.samhan@uam.es

Neurosciences Free radical scavenging Metalloproteins NADPH oxidases Oxidative stress

Dr. Alejandro K. Samhan-Arias is an assistant professor in the Biochemistry Department of the School of Medicine at the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (UAM) and the Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas 'Sols-Morreale' (CSIC). He is dedicated to comprehending both the beneficial and harmful properties of free radicals and reactive oxygen and nitrogen species, with a particular focus on reactions occurring in biological membranes. His primary interests also encompass the physical biochemistry and structural biology of electron transfer proteins, particularly metalloproteins, whose function might be altered by specific microenvironments, such as those provided by specific lipid membrane domains. He has expertise in a multitude of biophysical and spectroscopic techniques.

Alessio Nocentini

Department of Neuroscience, Psychology, Drug Research and Child Health (NEUROFARBA), Section of Pharmaceutical and Nutraceutical Sciences, University of Florence, 50019 Florence, Italy

alessio.nocentini@unifi.it

Organic chemistry Drug design Enzyme modulators Enzymology GPCR Molecular dynamics Molecular modelling Spectroscopy Structure-based design

Alessio Nocentini is an academic researcher from the University of Florence. The author has contributed to research on topics such as carbonic anhydrase modulators for treating cancer, inflammation, infections, ocular pathologies, and neurodegenerative diseases. He has an H-index of 40 and has co-authored 215 publications, receiving 5057 citations. 

Alexander TH Wu

The PhD Program of Translational Medicine, College of Medical Science and Technology, Taipei Medical University, Taipei 11031, Taiwan

Clinical Research Center, Taipei Medical University Hospital, Taipei Medical University, Taipei 11031, Taiwan

TMU Research Center of Cancer Translational Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei 11031, Taiwan

Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei 11490, Taiwan

chaw1211@tmu.edu.tw

Cancer immunotherapies Cell-based therapies

Dr. Alexander TH Wu received his Ph.D. (Anatomy and Cell Biology) from Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada. He is currently an associate professor affiliated with several departments at Taipei Medical University: the Graduate Institute of Biomedical Informatics and the Ph.D. Program for Translational Medicine. His research interests primarily focus on the translational front. He is deeply involved in exploring agents that target cancer stem-like cells (CSCs) and profiling the genes or networks involved in the generation and maintenance of these CSCs across various cancer types. He also has a keen interest in cancer immunotherapies, cell-based therapies for tissue regeneration, and applications of extracellular vesicles derived from mesenchymal stem cells. 

Ana María Sánchez-Pérez

Universidad Jaume I, Castellon de la Plana, Spain

sanchean@uji.es

Abscisic acid Alzheimer’s disease Degenerative disease Inflammation and aging Insulin receptor substrates Nanoparticles RNA therapies

Dr. Ana María Sánchez-Pérez joined the University of Jaume I (Castellon, Spain) in September 2012, where she is the principal investigator of the Neurobiotecnologia research group. The laboratory uses molecular, behavioral, cell biology, immunological, and biochemical techniques to study the impact of neuroinflammation in neurodegenerative and psychiatric diseases. Dr. Sanchez-Pérez’s research interests are in developing effective interventions to alleviate symptomatology associated with neuro-inflammation and brain neurotrophic factors resistance to significantly manage brain-mental health. Her group is currently engaged in the development of nanoparticles for the safe delivery of drugs, hormones, peptides, or nucleic acids to target specific organs. In addition, research interest also focuses on advancing the knowledge of plastic effects on human health and the generation of effective enzymes with plastic degradation ability to reduce plastic burden. She has over 50 peer-reviewed publications with 1700 citations. She serves as an associate editor for two journals and has been a guest associate editor for several other journals.

Arnold Spek

Center of Experimental and Molecular Medicine, Amsterdam University Medical Centers, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands

c.a.spek@amsterdamumc.nl

Oncology Biology Molecular and cell biology

Dr. Arnold Spek is an Associate Professor at the Academisch Medisch Centrum Universiteit van Amsterdam, Center for Experimental and Molecular Medicine. His research interests focus on these areas: protease-activated receptors and macrophages in pulmonary fibrosis; protease-activated receptor 1 in cell fate decisions; C/EBPdelta: master regulator of pancreatic cancer progression; mesoporous silica nanoparticles as drug carriers in pancreatic cancer.

Bernhard Ryffel

INEM, UMR7355, CNRS, University, Orleans, France

bryffel@cnrs-orleans.fr

Cachexia Chronic progressive respiratory diseases Cigarette smoke COPD Inflammation mechanism Inflammatory responses Innate immune danger sensing

Prof. Bernhard Ryffel received medical education in Bern and Geneva, obtaining an MD in 1978. Since 2001, he has been the director of research at CNRS Immunology, Orleans, France, with active research, and an advisor to several pharmaceutical companies. Prof. Bernhard Ryffel focuses on the following fields: 1) mechanisms of inflammation, especially respiratory inflammation, fibrosis, emphysema, and COPD, but also in skin, hepatic, intestinal, renal, and CNS inflammation. 2) innate immune danger sensing and cGAS/STING, ROS, and inflammasome activation in models of human inflammatory diseases and tumor development; the role of the microbiome and metabolome. 3) role of TNF and IL-1 family members in cell death and IL-33 and T2 and T17 polarization and differentiation. 4) translational research to evaluate new therapeutic targets for human chronic inflammatory disease.

Bjoern Petri

Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Snyder Institute for Chronic Diseases, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada

bpetri@ucalgary.ca

Immunology Molecular and cell biology

Dr. Bjoern Petri has been the scientific director of the Mouse Phenomics Resource Laboratory since January 2011. He obtained his PhD (Dr. rer. nat.) in Immunology/Cell Biology and Genetics from the Westfalian Wilhelms-University and the Max-Planck-Institute for Molecular Biomedicine in Münster, Germany. He can look back on over 20 years of in vivo experience working with rodent models in the fields of physiology and immunology.
Between 2007 and 2010, he worked as a postdoctoral fellow (AHFMR/AIHS) at the Snyder Institute for Chronic Diseases, where he continued to strengthen his expertise in the field of immunology and its related research models and imaging techniques.

Can Ince

Department of Intensive Care, Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, the Netherlands

c.ince@erasmusmc.nl

Anesthesiology Intensive care medicine Physiology

Professor Dr. Can Ince is a physiologist who heads the Department of Translational Physiology at the Academic Medical Center (AMC) of the University of Amsterdam. Together with his team, he conducts both experimental and clinical research directed at the cardiovascular aspects of perioperative medicine. Research topics include clinical microcirculation research in intensive care, cardiothoracic surgery, anesthesiology, blood transfusion, fluid resuscitation, sepsis, shock and resuscitation, acute renal failure, oxygen transport to tissue, and mitochondrial function. He is on the editorial boards of several journals. He has also authored close to 300 scientific, peer-reviewed papers.

Chien-Feng Li

Department of Medical Research, Chi-Mei Medical Center, Tainan 710, Taiwan

angelo.p@yahoo.com.tw

Cancer biology Cancer cells Cancer diagnostics Immunohistochemistry Metastasis Oncogenes Prognostic markers Tumors

Dr. Chien-Feng Li is the Chair of the Department of Pathology at Chi Mei Medical Center, and he also serves as a professor at the Southern Taiwan University of Science and Technology as well as a joint-appointment associate investigator at the National Institute of Cancer Research (Taiwan). His current research interest is integrative analysis of genetic, epigenetic, and expression alternations during cancer progression and metastasis, with special emphasis on sarcomas and therapy-resistant cancers. With the opportunities to integrate large-scale clinical samples and advanced functional evaluations, he has been more focused on the potential therapeutic opportunities of oncogenic metabolic transformations and the mechanisms by which the metabolic characteristics of cancer implicate tumor progression.

Daniele Tibullo

Section of Biochemistry, Department of Biomedical and Biotechnological Sciences, University of Catania, 95123 Catania, Italy

d.tibullo@unict.it

Biodiversity Cancer biology Clinical hematology Flow cytometry Hematologic diseases Lymphoma Marine biology Osteoporosis

Dr. Daniele Tibullo is a professor in the Section of Biochemistry, Department of Biomedical and Biotechnological Sciences, University of Catania, 95123 Catania, Italy. He completed his Ph.D. in the Presso Division of Haematology, AOU "Policlinico-Vittorio Emanuele," University of Catania, Catania, Italy. He has broad research interests in cancer biology, lymphoma, biodiversity, marine biology, hematologic diseases, flow cytometry, clinical hematology, osteoporosis, cell proliferation, and cells. The research activity of Prof. Tibullo since the beginning of his career has focused on the role of heme oxygenase 1 and the mechanisms connected to iron metabolism and the interaction between tumor cells and immune cells. In his scientific production, he did studies on the metabolic consequences in response to treatments, and the mechanisms of resistance to therapy have particular importance, with particular reference to the metabolic fitness of solid and hematological tumors. The research activity of Prof. Tibullo was primarily focused on preclinical research in mouse and zebrafish models and in vitro research using human and mouse cell models. Among the most significant lines of research, studies on the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory role of alpha-lipoic acid have a prominent place. The studies led by Prof. Tibullo, in synergy with authoritative colleagues of international standing and foreign institutions, have implications of both a strictly biochemical type and of a translational and clinical nature. Prof. Tibullo developed his scientific interests in the metabolic processes involved in the transformation of the tumor microenvironment, studying mitochondrial trafficking phenomena between different cell populations and the role of lactate metabolism in terms of cellular energy expenditure and signal molecules, in order to determine a remodeling of the biochemical processes of tumor, stromal, and immune cells that make up the tumor microenvironment.

Edward Chouchani

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Department of Cell Biology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

echouchani@gmail.com

Metabolism and metabolic diseases Oncology

Dr. Edward Chouchani joined the faculty of Harvard Medical School as an assistant professor of Cell Biology in 2017. He received his Ph.D. in Biological Sciences at the University of Cambridge and the MRC Mitochondrial Biology Unit. He then performed postdoctoral research at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School. Research in the Chouchani Lab focuses on deciphering molecular mechanisms that drive metabolic disease and using this information to develop targeted therapeutic strategies. The Chouchani Lab combines mass spectrometry and targeted pharmacological approaches in vivo to understand how mitochondrial redox metabolism controls physiology in clinically informative mouse models of obesity and diabetes.

Eleonore Fröhlich

Center for Medical Research, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria

eleonore.froehlich@medunigraz.at

Apoptosis Cancer biology Cell culture Immunocytochemistry Microscopy Nanoparticles Pharmacy Screening

Dr. Eleonore Fröhlich is a biochemist and Medical Doctor with a specialization in anatomy, histology, and embryology. Her current affiliations include the Medical University of Graz (Director of the Core Facility Imaging at the Center for Medical Research), the University of Tübingen (extraordinary professor at the Institute of Anatomy), and the Research Center Pharmaceutical Engineering (key researcher). Her research activities aim to link basic science and clinical research by using physiologically relevant 2D and 3D cell cultures and various cellular readout parameters. She is particularly interested in the assessment of the effects of inhaled pharmaceutical and environmental particles on the respiratory system. Her expertise is also present in thyroid diseases and cancer. 

Enrico Mastrobattista

Department of Pharmaceutics, Utrecht Institute for Pharmaceutical Sciences, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands

e.mastrobattista@uu.nl

Drug delivery Nanomedicine

Prof. Enrico Mastrobattista is a full professor of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology and Delivery at the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences at Utrecht University. Prof. Mastrobattista’s expertise lies in drug delivery, pharmaceutical biotechnology, and nanobiotechnology. He currently leads a research program to develop biomimetic drug delivery systems for the targeted delivery of proteins, peptides, and nucleic acids at the nanoscale. Prof. Mastrobattista has published over 120 scientific articles, contributed to several book chapters in pharmaceutical biotechnology, and holds several patents. He has received a Vici and Vidi grant and has been awarded the prestigious Prix Galien Research Award for his work on drug delivery.

Eun Jeong Park

Department of Molecular Pathobiology and Cell Adhesion Biology, Graduate School of Medicine, Mie University, Japan

epark@med.mie-u.ac.jp

Exosome Inflammation Integrin MicroRNA Mucosal immunology

Dr. Eun Jeong Park is an associate professor at the Graduate School of Medicine, Mie University, Japan. Dr. Park is a researcher with diverse expertise in the field of biomedical science, particularly cancer biology and immunology. His research interests encompass the study of molecular mechanisms underlying cancer development, with a focus on signaling pathways and immune responses. Dr. Park’s current interest is to shed light on unknown mechanisms by which microRNAs and exosomes derived from different cellular sources regulate inflammations or cancers via interspecies and interkingdom communications. His research outputs include more than 70 publications in peer-reviewed journals, reflecting his impactful contributions to the field.

Felice Femiano

Multidisciplinary Department of Medical-Surgical and Dental Specialties, University of Campania, Luigi Vanvitelli, 80138 Naples, Italy

felice.femiano@unicampania.it

Conservative dental restoration Dentinal hypersensitivity Diode laser in dentistry

Felice Femiano, MD, DMD, Ph.D., is an associate professor in Dentistry (MED28) at the University of Campania "Luigi Vanvitelli" in Naples, Italy. From 1999 to 2008, he devoted himself to the study and research of patients with Burning Mouth Syndrome. Since 2005, he has dedicated himself to the study and research of the etiopathogenesis of oral pemphigous. Since 2010, he has dedicated himself to the study of dentinogenesis and the treatment of dentinal hypersensitivity. He has more than 150 publications. He collaborates on a national project about the diagnosis and prevention of oral cancer, directed by important research groups.

Franz Zemp

Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada

fjzemp@ucalgary.ca

Biochemistry Molecular and cell biology

Dr. Franz Zemp began his research training studying plant-pathogen interactions and epigenetics during his undergraduate (BSc, ’06) and graduate (MSc, ’08) degrees at the University of Lethbridge. It was followed by doctoral training (PhD, ’15) at the University of Calgary, where he studied neuroimmune responses to oncolytic virus treatment in brain cancer. He also completed two post-doctoral fellowships at the University of Calgary, studying mucosal immunology and tumor immunology, before being appointed as an adjunct assistant professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the University of Calgary. Dr. Zemp is also the Lead of the synthetic immunology arm of the Alberta Cellular Therapy Immunology (ACTION) Program.

His research interests focus on three main themes, including discovering novel immunotherapy targets for pediatric and AYA sarcomas, developing immunotherapies to target or co-target the tumor microenvironment, and utilizing oncolytic viral vectors as adjuvants for CAR T-cell therapy.

Frédéric Becq

Laboratoire Signalisation et Transports Ioniques Membranaires, Université de Poitiers, CNRS, Poitiers, France

frederic.becq@univ-poitiers.fr

Biochemistry Cystic fibrosis Electrophysiology Human physiology Patch clamp Patch clamp recording Patch-Clamp electrophysiology Pharmacology Stem cell biology

Dr. Frédéric Becq graduated from the University of Nantes and Toulouse III-Paul Sabatier University in France. Ph.D. in molecular and cellular nutrition at the University of Aix-Marseille, and several postdoctoral positions at McGill University, Montréal, Canada, and INSERM, Marseille, France. His research interests focus on ion channels, especially those regulating epithelial functions, with a strong focus on cystic fibrosis and CFTR chloride channels, and expertise in cell-based assay development, molecular biology, and genetics, as well as drafting corresponding technical and research documents. He has published over 130 scientific papers and several patents.

Freek Ariese

LaserLaB, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands

f.ariese@vu.nl

Spectroscopy

Dr. Freek Ariese is an Associate Professor, coordinator of the minor program in Biomedical Imaging, and Deputy Director of LaserlaB Amsterdam, a European Large-scale Research Institute. Nowadays, his main research activities are focused on Raman spectroscopy, with an emphasis on advanced Raman modes. The results have been disseminated through almost 200 peer-reviewed publications. He teaches various spectroscopy courses at the bachelor, master, and PhD levels. He is also involved in the management of a Europe-wide consortium of laser research centers. For several years, he was also a visiting scientist at the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore, focusing on special applications of Raman spectroscopy. Current research activities are focused on advanced Raman spectroscopy for extra sensitivity, selectivity, or speed. Applications can be pre-clinical, environmental, space, cultural heritage, or material science. A deep-UV Raman setup was developed to improve plastic waste sorting in a recycling factory.

Gal Shafirstein

Department of Cell Stress Biology, Department of Head and Neck Surgery, Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Buffalo, NY, USA

Gal.Shafirstein@roswellpark.org

Oncology Photochemistry and photobiology Photodynamic therapy

Dr. Gal Shafirstein is a member and professor of Oncology in the Department of Cell Stress Biology and the Director of Photodynamic Therapy (PDT) Clinical Research at Roswell Park Cancer Institute. He is a materials scientist focusing on the development of laser and thermal ablation devices and techniques for the treatment of cancerous tumors. Working in Roswell Park's PDT Center, Dr. Shafirstein's goal is to expand the use and enhance the translation of PDT. His research team invented and created real-time light dosimetry and treatment planning systems for PDT, which support three clinical studies at the PDT Center. He is also the co-leader of the clinical project of the PDT-PPG and serves as Director of the PDT Clinical Research Team, providing support for all light-base diagnostic and treatment protocols at Roswell Park.

George G. Koliakos

Department of Biochemistry, School of Medicine, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece

koliakos@yahoo.gr

Aging Rejuvenation mechanisms Stem cell differentiation Stem cell-extracellular matrix interactions

Prof. George Koliakos is a faculty member of the Medical School at Aristotle University, currently serving as a full professor of biochemistry (since 2012). He is the President of the Hellenic Society for the Study of Regenerative Medicine. Dr. Koliakos has collaborated for the last 30 years with clinical departments of Aristotle University, including the Departments of Internal Medicine, in research considering metabolic syndrome, oxidative stress, atherosclerosis, and hypertension. His collaboration with the Department of Ophthalmology focused on exfoliation syndrome, the most common cause of blindness among senior citizens. The collaboration with the Department of Surgery focused on wound healing. His current research interests include stem cell differentiation, stem cell-extracellular matrix interactions, and aging and rejuvenation mechanisms. Dr. George Koliakos has co-authored 194 peer-reviewed papers in PubMed and Scopus, with a total of 5635 citations and a current Hills Index of 39 (Google Scholar). 

Giuliana Muzio

Department of Clinical and Biological Science, University of Turin, 10125 Turin, Italy

giuliana.muzio@unito.it

Biocompatibility of materials for medical devices Cancer biology Cancer resistance Lipid aldehydes Lipid peroxidation Osseointegration of dental implants Oxidative stress PPARs Tissue regenerations

Prof. Giuliana Muzio is from the Department of Clinical and Biological Science, University of Turin, 10125 Turin, Italy. She is actively engaged in scientific research in the fields of oncology and tissue regeneration. In the field of oncology, her research focuses on the role of acids, lipid peroxidation, and lipid peroxidation products in cancer development and progression. In the field of tissue regeneration, her research focuses on the evaluation of the biocompatibility and ability of new biomimetic materials to stimulate bone formation, the determination of the biological factors involved in osteogenesis in dental implantology, and the effect of super-pulsed laser radiation and shock waves in stimulating osteogenesis. The results of the research activity of Prof. Muzio have been the subject of 101 full-length publications in peer-reviewed international journals and 120 meeting communications. Moreover, she has been the author of 21 chapters in national and international books and the editor of scientific books.

Giulio Gabbiani

Department of Pathology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva, 1 rue Michel-Servet, 1211 Geneva, Switzerland

Giulio.Gabbiani@unige.ch

Cancer biology Connective tissue Fibromatoses Fibrosis Immunohistochemistry Myofibroblast Wound healing

Dr. Giulio Gabbiani obtained an MD degree in 1961 at the University of Pavia (Italy) and a PhD degree in 1965 at the University of Montreal (Canada). He has been an assistant professor at the Department of Pathology and Immunology of the University of Geneva (Switzerland) and then a professor in the same department, where he is now an emeritus professor. The scientific interests of Dr. Gabbiani include soft tissue remodeling during development and pathological situations, such as wound healing and organ fibrosis, as well as arterial smooth muscle adaptation during development and diseases, e.g., atheroma formation and restenosis. Cell modulation during these phenomena has been studied using cytoskeletal markers, in particular actin isoform expression. Dr. Gabbiani has been Secretary and President of the European Cytoskeleton Forum, Secretary and Chairman of the European Vascular Biology Association, and Secretary of the European Tissue Repair Society.

Giuseppe Esposito

Department of Physiology and Pharmacology "Vittorio Erspamer", Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy

giuseppe.esposito@uniroma1.it

Colitis Gut microbiome Gut–brain axis Leaky gut Metabolic disorders Obesity

Therapeutics at Sapienza University of Rome, Italy. His scientific focus is on the role of gliosis and neuroinflammatory processes in the central and enteric nervous systems. He is also involved in characterizing the role of gut microbiota-glia-neuron interplay during neuropathological disorders to provide more efficient pharmacological approaches to neurodegenerative diseases acting through the so-called gut-brain axis. Prof. Esposito is the author of almost 100 articles published in international peer-reviewed journals and is a member and co-founder of NEXTBIOMICS SRL. This spin-off operates in the field of microbiota engineering. Professor Esposito has been recently nominated as the President of the Scientific Committee of the Educational Society of Precision Medicine (SIEMPRE). Prof. Esposito is a permanent member of the editorial board of international peer-reviewed pharmacology journals, such as Phytotherapy Research, and an associate editor for Frontiers in Pharmacology (gastrointestinal session).

Guillermo Aguilar

Department of Mechanical Engineering, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA

tamu-me-head@tamu.edu

Biophysics Engineering Mechanical engineering

Prof. Guillermo Aguilar received his Bachelor's degree in Mechanical and Electrical Engineering from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) in 1993 and his Master's and Doctor of Philosophy degrees in Mechanical Engineering from the University of California, Santa Barbara, in 1995 and 1999, respectively. His research interests include biological tissue thermal management/cryogenic spray cooling, biomedical optics/biomaterials development and characterization, non-invasive optical imaging, medical laser applications/laser-tissue rewarming, and optical-induced cavitation/controlled surface erosion/mitigation.

Guillermo Herrera

Department of Pathology, College of Medicine, University of South Alabama, Mobile, AL, USA

Gherrera@health.southalabama.edu

Amyloidosis Immunoiglobulin light chain and the kidneyx Renal pathology Ultrastructure

Prof. Guillermo Herrera now serves as the Chair and Professor in the Pathology Department at the University of South Alabama, Whiddon College of Medicine in Mobile, Alabama. Dr. Herrera has held similar positions at two other institutions: Saint Louis University in St. Louis, Missouri, and Louisiana State University in Shreveport, Louisiana. His work has always bridged basic science and patient care with a fundamental translational approach. Dr. Herrera is specialized and passionate about renal pathology, with a focus on kidney injury produced by monoclonal light or heavy chains. He has extensively published on the pathophysiology of renal injury caused by monoclonal proteins in various renal compartments. He has also been engaged in serious clinical work as a nephropathologist and has developed outreach programs at various institutions, which have helped fund his research work.

Hans Deckmyn

Laboratory for Thrombosis Research, KU Leuven Campus Kulak Kortrijk, Kortrijk, Belgium

hans.deckmyn@kuleuven.be

Thrombosis and hemostasis

Dr. Hans Deckmyn is from the Department of Chemistry at KU Leuven, Belgium. One of the main research themes of the group led by Prof. Deckmyn was the study of the interaction between platelet glycoprotein Ib and von Willebrand factor (VWF), which forms the bridge between collagen in the damaged vessel wall and platelets. Prof. Hans Deckmyn is the author or coauthor of over 260 papers in international peer-reviewed journals, 14 chapters in books, and four patents.

Hardeep Singh Tuli

Department of Biotechnology, Maharishi Markandeshwar (Deemed to be University), Mullana-Ambala, Haryana 133207, India

hardeep.biotech@mmumullana.org

Biotechnology Cancer biology Cell culture Cell signaling Flow cytometry Gene expression

Dr. Hardeep Singh Tuli is an Associate Professor in the Department of Biotechnology, Maharishi Markandeshwar (Deemed to be University), Mullana-Ambala, Haryana 133207, India (2015–present). He completed his PhD at Maharishi Markandeshwar (deemed-to-be-university) in 2015. He has broad research interests in cancer biology, biotechnology, cell culture, cell signaling, flow cytometry, gene expression, western blot analysis, immunohistochemistry, molecular cell biology, and PCR. As a peer reviewer, he has helped many journals review a lot of manuscripts.

Hariprasad Vankayalapati

Biolexis Therapeutics, Inc., Salt Lake City, UT, USA

hari@biolexistx.com

Autoimmune disorders Breast cancer DNA methylation Glioblastoma Multiforme (GBM) High Throughput Screening Kinases Neurodegenerative diseases Ovarian cancer Pancreatic cancer Synthesis

Dr. Hariprasad Vankayalapati is a co-founder and currently serves as Chief Scientific Officer of Biolexis Therapeutics, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company that discovers and develops novel first-in-class small-molecule targeted therapeutics for cancer, immune-mediated, auto-immune, inflammatory, and metabolic diseases. He developed the empirical-driven MolecuLern technology implemented with experimental data in ML/LLM algorithms and successfully discovered novel agents in the clinical stage of development. Dr. Vankayalapati is the author of more than 100 publications and presentations, and he is the inventor of several issued or published US and WO patents.

Hassan Marzban

Department of Human Anatomy and Cell Science, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, Max Rady College of Medicine, University of Manitoba, Canada

hassan.marzban@umanitoba.ca

Cerebellar circuit formation Cerebellar gene expression pattern Cerebellar neurodegeneration pattern Genetic regulation in cerebellar development Neurogensis/axonogensis Neuronal migration White matter degeneration

Dr. Hassan Marzban is a renowned cerebellar developmental biologist and professor at the University of Manitoba. He joined the University of Manitoba in 2010. Since then, he has dedicated his research to uncovering the mysteries of the cerebellum, a critical part of the brain responsible for motor control and cognitive functions. His research program focuses on elucidating the mechanisms that underlie neurodevelopmental disorders and will positively impact human well-being by advancing the identification and development of (therapeutic) approaches to prevent birth defects and promote health in affected individuals. He also investigates how cerebellar nuclei regulate the cerebellar neural circuits that emerge from homogenous cell populations and which cellular and molecular mechanisms modulate these connectivity patterns during cerebellar development in health and diseases that cause progressive damage to the nervous system.

Jin Zhang

College of Biological, Chemical Sciences and Engineering, Jiaxing University, Jiaxing 314001, China

zhangjin7688@163.com

Metabolism and metabolic diseases Physiology Molecular and cell biology

Dr. Jin Zhang obtained a PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from China Agricultural University in 2005. He visited the University of Colorado Health Medical Center in the United States and the University of Toronto Children's Hospital in Canada. In 2016, Dr. Zhang joined Jiaxing University and held positions such as the leader of the bioengineering discipline, member of the academic committee of the university, and vice president of the university. He has been committed to scientific research on the pathogenesis of metabolic diseases caused by obesity and the creation of related animal models. He used gene editing technology to construct four mouse models and three pig models and identified multiple important genes and noncoding RNAs that affect animal fat metabolism.

JingJing Zhang

State Key Laboratory of Analytical Chemistry for Life Science, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Chemistry and Biomedicine Innovation Center (ChemBIC), Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China

jing15209791@nju.edu.cn

Cancer therapy CRISPR technology Vitro diagnostics

Dr. Jingjing Zhang is a researcher at the State Key Laboratory of Analytical Chemistry for Life Science, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Chemistry and Biomedicine Innovation Center (ChemBIC), Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China. He received a PhD degree in analytical chemistry from Nanjing University in 2010. His thesis project was to explore the use of functionalized carbon nanotubes in cytosensing and apoptosis diagnosis (in Jun-jie Zhu’s laboratory). After two years of postdoctoral research at Nanjing University, he moved to Prof. Yi Lu's group at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign as a postdoctoral research associate and got more interested in the fundamental understanding of aptamers and their applications in medical diagnostics. Dr. Zhang started his independent career in the School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering at Nanjing University in 2019. He has broad research interests in CRISPR-based diagnostics of infectious diseases, aptamer-based biosensors, and new proteolysis-targeting chimeras. Dr. Zhang has published more than 60 SCI papers and authored two United States patents related to chemistry, materials, and biology.

Jiongwei Wang

Department of Surgery, Cardiovascular Research Institute, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore

jiongweiwang@gmail.com

Cardiology Drug delivery Hepatology

Dr. Jiong-Wei Wang is an assistant professor in July 2019 at the National University of Singapore. Besides the Department of Surgery, he holds a joint appointment at the Department of Physiology for teaching. He is a principal investigator at the Cardiovascular Research Institute (CVRI; National University Heart Centre Singapore) and the Nanomedicine Translational Research Program (Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine). His research has been supported by the National Medical Research Council (NMRC), the Ministry of Education (MOE), and NUS/NUHS, among others. He was awarded three times the "Young Investigator Award" by the International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis (ISTH), twice travel awards by the European Society of Cardiology (ESC), the Outstanding Mentor Award in 2019 by the Wong Hock Boon Society-Singapore Medical Association (SMA) Charity Fund (WHBS-SMACF), and the Young Researcher of the Year Award for 2023.

Joaquim Carreras

Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Tokai University School of Medicine, 143 Shimokasuya, Isehara 259-1193, Japan

joaquim.carreras@tokai-u.jp

Hematopathology Histopathology Immune microenvironment Immuno-oncology Molecular pathology

Dr. Joaquim Carreras is a pathologist with a medical degree from the University of Barcelona, Spain. He is a specialist in Pathology at the Hospital Clinic of Barcelona, Spanish Ministry of Health. He obtained his PhD in hematopathology from the Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Barcelona. He has worked as a pathologist in Spain and as a medical research associate at the University of Cambridge (UK) and AIST Tsukuba Central (Biomedical Research Institute). He currently works at Tokai University School of Medicine, Japan.

Joshua A. Jackman

Chemical Engineering and Translational Nanobioscience Research Center, Sungkyunkwan University, South Korea

jjackman@skku.edu

Biophysics Biosensors Interfacial science

Prof. Joshua A. Jackman is an assistant professor in the School of Chemical Engineering and Biomedical Institute for Convergence at Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU) in South Korea. He is also the director of the translational nanobioscience research center at SKKU. 

Khalid Siddiqui

Strategic Center for Diabetes Research, College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Associate professor at College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Researcher at Center for Diabetes Research, College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

khalid01@gmail.com

Metabolism and metabolic diseases Nephrology Physiology

Dr. Khalid Siddiqui is an Associate Professor in the College of Medicine and a researcher at the Strategic Center for Diabetes Research (SCDR), King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. After doing postdoctoral training at the University of Manchester, he joined the King Saud University faculty in 2008. His research focuses on diabetes mellitus, a condition that currently affects more than 450 million of the adult population worldwide and whose incidence is expected to increase further in the coming years. In the Arab world, the situation is more alarming, as more than 30% of people have different types of diabetes. His main goals are to develop new means to understand the high prevalence and incidence of diabetes and the different complications of diabetes, like diabetes kidney disease (DKD) and diabetic nephropathy.

Khawaja Husnain Haider

Department of Basic Sciences, Sulaiman AlRajhi University, Saudi Arabia

kh.haider@sr.edu.sa

Genetics and gene therapy Stem cells

Prof. Khawaja Husnain Haider is currently working as a full professor and chairman of Basic Sciences at Sulaiman Al-Rajhi University (Medical Program), Saudi Arabia. Prof. Haider has published four books, more than 275 research papers, book chapters, and conference abstracts. His current interest, based on his extensive research experience in stem cells and gene therapy, either alone or as a combined approach, is to use stem cells and DNA as drugs in regenerative medicine.

Kota V. Ramana

Department of Biomedical Sciences, Noorda College of Osteopathic Medicine, Provo, UT 84606, USA

karamana@noordacom.org

Carcinogenesis Inflammatory complications Oxidative stress-induced signal transduction mechanisms Pathophysiology of secondary diabetic complications

Dr. Kota Ramana is a professor at the Department of Biomedical Sciences, Noorda College of Osteopathic Medicine, Provo, Utah, USA. He is also an adjunct professor at Roseman University of Health Sciences. He received a Ph.D. in biochemistry from the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, India. The chief objectives of his lab investigations are to examine the involvement of cellular metabolism and oxidative stress signals in inflammation. His lab uses various genetic, biochemical, and cell biological approaches to analyze inflammatory responses regulated by cellular lipid metabolites leading to secondary diabetic complications and cancer. He has published more than 130 peer-reviewed articles and 12 book chapters.

 

Luis Martinez-Sobrido

Texas Biomedical Research Institute, San Antonio, TX 78245, USA

LMartinez@txbiomed.org

Immunology Virology Vaccines Virus-host interactions

Dr. Luis Martinez-Sobrido is a Professor at the Texas Biomedical Research Institute, an Adjunct Professor at the Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics (MIMG) at the University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio (UT-Health SA), and an Adjunct Professor at the Department of Microbiology at the University of Texas San Antonio (USTA). His Ph.D. research focused on the study of viral replication and transcription of respiratory syncytial virus under the guidance of Dr. Jose Antonio Melero at the Instituto de Salud Carlos III in Madrid, Spain. He conducted post-doctoral research on the molecular biology of influenza viruses under the supervision of Dr. Adolfo Garcia-Sastre at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York, USA. Dr. Martinez-Sobrido’s research interest during the last 20 years has been focused on the molecular biology, immunology, and pathogenesis of negative-stranded and positive-stranded RNA and DNA viruses. His current research interest focuses on the molecular biology of RNA viruses. Dr. Martinez-Sobrido has extensive knowledge of plasmid-based reverse genetics techniques to rescue recombinant viruses, pioneered the development of techniques and screening assays to identify and characterize viral-encoded interferon antagonist proteins, and established new molecular biology techniques to study highly pathogenic viruses without the requirement of special biosafety conditions. His expertise also includes antiviral and vaccine development and the establishment of animal models of viral infections.

Maarten Bijlsma

Laboratory for Experimental Oncology and Radiobiology, Center for Experimental and Molecular Medicine, Amsterdam University Medical Centers, University of Amsterdam, Cancer Center Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands

m.f.bijlsma@amsterdamumc.nl

Oncology Molecular and cell biology

After his postdoctoral research at other institutes, including the University of California at Berkeley, Dr. Maarten Bijlsma returned to the Academic Medical Center as a junior group leader. He is currently an assistant professor. His research focuses on pancreatic and esophageal cancer, from the most fundamental mechanisms that underlie aberrant signaling in these diseases to the development of serum-borne markers in patient cohorts to predict treatment response and disease outcome. Furthermore, he was the Biomarker/Imaging Program leader for the Amsterdam UMC Cancer Center during the first three years of its existence.

Makoto Noda

Graduate School of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine in Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan

noda.makoto.72z@st.kyoto-u.ac.jp

Extracellular matrix Molecular oncology Neural development Tumor angiogenesis

Prof. Makoto Noda studied organic chemistry, microbial genetics, and molecular biology at Keio University and Tokyo Institute of Technology, Japan. His Ph.D. study was to clone a primate retroviral (baboon endogenous virus) genome into bacteriophage and to use its fragments to isolate retrovirus-related sequences in the human genome, elements still hypothetical at that time. His postdoctoral study at the National Cancer Institute, USA, led to the first demonstration of functional diversity among oncogenes. His subsequent studies (at Keio University, RIKEN, the Japanese Foundation for Cancer Research, and Kyoto University) include the discovery of a paradoxical activity of RAS to induce neuronal differentiation in PC12 cells, the isolation of Rap1 and RECK as transformation suppressor genes, the isolation of a series of genes whose expression is abundant in mouse neural precursor cells but low in mature brains (termed Nedd genes), the elucidation of physiological functions of some of these genes using cell culture and mouse genetics, and the development of functional assays that are useful for screening potential anti-cancer and metastatic drugs.

Manuel R. Benito de Las Heras

Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology II, Complutense University of Madrid, Madrid, Spain

benito@farm.ucm.es

Abdominal obesity Cancer research Energy metabolism Fat Insulin resistance Insulin signaling Lipids Metabolic diseases Metabolic endocrinology Metabolism

Dr. Manuel R. Benito de Las Heras is the head of the Molecular Biology of Development and Cancer Lab in the School of Pharmacy at the University Complutense of Madrid. His group focuses its research on many areas. Firstly, the group is currently studying the balance between pancreatic beta cell proliferation, autophagy, and apoptosis in defining pancreatic beta cell mass and function. A step further, it is deeply interested in the link between the mechanisms involved in pancreatic beta cell insulin secretion failure and the neurodegeneration observed in a significant percentage of Alzheimer's disease patients. On the other hand, it pursues a new insight into the role played by the BAT thermogenic function in the regulation of the overall energy balance and fat storage. In this regard, the contribution of mitochondrial dynamics and mitophagy to adaptive thermogenesis is currently being investigated in health and disease.

Marc Maresca

Aix-Marseille University-CNRS at the Institute of Molecular Sciences of Marseille, Marseille, France

m.maresca@univ-amu.fr

Antimicrobial Antimicrobial Peptides Intestin Intestinal physiology Mycotoxins Pathogenic micro-organisms Toxins

Dr. Marc Maresca is an assistant professor at the Institute of Molecular Sciences of Marseille (ISM2, UMR-CNRS 7313). Research conducted in this multidisciplinary institute aims to integrate various techniques, including chemistry, biochemistry, cell biology, molecular biology, and microbiology, to elucidate biological mechanisms in both eukaryotic and prokaryotic systems and discover new therapeutic agents. He specializes in food safety and food toxicology, and utilizes in vitro and ex vivo approaches to identify and characterize new therapeutic molecules in terms of their activity, safety, and mechanism of action. He has authored 93 papers in international peer-reviewed journals.

Marcello Iriti

Department of Biomedical, Surgical and Dental Sciences, Università degli Studi di Milano, 20133 Milan, Italy

marcello.iriti@unimi.it

Nutrition Antimicrobial resistance Bioactive phytochemicals Essential oils Ethnopharmacology One health

Prof. Marcello Iriti is a professor of Pharmaceutical Biology at the Department of Biomedical, Surgical, and Dental Sciences at Milan State University. He has been studying nutraceuticals, functional foods, phytotherapeutics, and essential oils relevant to human and animal health, focusing on their preclinical (in vitro/in vivo) and human pharmacological activities. He has been investigating the health-promoting effects of the traditional Mediterranean diet and the ethnopharmacology of herbal remedies in traditional healing systems.

Marcelo Aldaz

Department of Epigenetics and Molecular Carcinogenesis, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA

maaldaz@mdanderson.org

Breast cancer genetics Breast cancer mouse models Hormonal carcinogenesis Tumor suppressor gene (WWOX)

Prof. Dr. Marcelo Aldaz is in the Department of Epigenetics and Molecular Carcinogenesis at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA. Dr. Aldaz has a long-standing interest in human genetics and cancer genomics. Over the years, he has mostly focused on identifying and elucidating the role of key abnormalities that affect the genome of normal and premalignant cells toward cancer development and evolution. His laboratory has published extensively on WWOX’s role in multiple diseases, from cancer and metabolic conditions to CNS pathology. The lab has generated various molecular biology tools and reagents, including valuable genetically engineered mouse models to analyze the effects of targeted Wwox ablation in tissues of relevance and knock-in mutations, not only to understand the role of WWOX in cancer but now in rapidly emerging new fields of various pathologies associated with WWOX. They currently aim to understand how WWOX loss-of-function is mechanistically related to disruption of excitatory and inhibitory neuronal homeostasis in the neocortex and cerebellum.

Marco Fiore

Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology (IBBC), National Research Council (CNR), Unit of Translational Biomolecular Medicine, Department of Sense Organs (DOS), Sapienza University of Rome, Viale del Policlinico 155, 00161 Roma, Italy

marco.fiore@cnr.it

Addiction Neurobiology Oxidative stress Toxicology

Dr. Marco Fiore is a researcher at the Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology of the Italian National Research Council, IBBC-CNR, in Rome, Italy. He studied natural sciences and biological sciences at the Sapienza University of Rome, Italy. He got his Ph.D. in Medical Sciences at the Psychiatric Department of the University of Groningen, The Netherlands. In addition, he also potentiated his professional experience at the Institute of Zoology, Oxford University, UK, and the Department of Physiology and Behavior, University of California at Davis, California, USA, with broad research interests in oxidative stress, neurobiology, toxicology, and addiction.

Marco Zaffanello

Department of Surgery, Dentistry, Paediatrics and Gynaecology, University of Verona - Piazzale Stefani, 1, 37134-I Verona, Italy

marco.zaffanello@univr.it

child health Nephrology pediatric nephrology Obesity physical activity sleep medicine Urinary tract infections

Marco Zaffanello, MD, is an associate professor of Pediatrics in the Department of Surgery, Dentistry, Pediatrics, and Gynecology at the University of Verona, Italy. He graduated with a degree in Biological Sciences in 1989 and a degree in Medicine and Surgery in 1997. He specialized in Pediatrics in 2001. Throughout his scientific career, he has been involved in research on inherited metabolic diseases and pediatric nephrology. His leading research focuses on sleep-disordered breathing and sleep apnea syndrome in children. With broad research interests in pediatric nephrology, obesity, physical activity, child health, urinary tract infections, nephrology, sleep medicine, and sleep apnea, he has published many full articles and reviews in peer-reviewed journals. He has collaborated with various research groups, including Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital (Rome, Italy), University of Catania (Catania, Italy), Mayo Clinic and Foundation in Rochester (Minnesota, USA), UZ Leuven University Hospital (Belgium), University of Leuven and Flanders (Belgium), University of Cagliari (Italy), Kapodistrian University (Athens, Greece), Department of Pathology at KU Leuven (Belgium), University of California (USA), Università dell'Insubria (Italy), National Research Council (Palermo, Italy), and Carlo Poma Hospital (Mantua, Italy). He has also served as a speaker at national and international conferences. He has been a lecturer at the University of Verona for the Nursing Science degree program and the Obstetrics and Pediatric specialization programs.

Marco G. Alves

Principal Investigator at Institute of Biomedicine - iBiMED and Department of Medical Sciences, University of Aveiro, 3810-193, Aveiro, Portugal

maalves@icbas.up.pt

Andrology Metabolism Metabolomics Mitochondria Spermatogenesis

Dr. Marco G. Alves obtained his PhD in Biochemistry, specializing in bioenergetics, from the University of Coimbra (Portugal) in 2011. Leading a dedicated research group in endocrinology, metabolism, and male reproduction, he focuses on various aspects of male reproductive biology, metabolic modulation, obesity, and the physio-pathological factors influencing subfertility or infertility. Dr. Alves is particularly engaged in investigating metabolic cooperation in spermatogenesis, metabolic-related infertility, especially infertility with links to diabetes and obesity, and the underlying mechanisms driving these phenomena. Since 2015, he has been actively supervising numerous PhD students and post-doctoral researchers. His outstanding research contributions have earned him multiple national and international prizes and grants, including prestigious competitive international funds.

Martin Hagedorn

Bordeaux University, Bordeaux, France

martin.hagedorn@u-bordeaux.fr

Oncology Biology Molecular and cell biology

Dr. Martin Hagedorn is a biomedical expert in Biology & Biochemistry and Molecular Biology & Genetics. Since September 2014, Dr. Martin Hagedorn has been leading a team of researchers (Caroline CAPDEVIELLE, Farah RAHAL, Justine CHARPENTIER, and Mélissa MENARD) that has devoted its research work to the identification of new therapeutic targets in brainstem tumors and the improvement of its treatment methods, whose work has been recognized by several European scientific teams and experts. In addition, the project led by Farah Rahal, under the leadership of Dr. Martin Hagedorn, aims to improve the treatment of children with brainstem tumors.

Martin Hermann

Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine, Medical University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria

martin.hermann@tirol-kliniken.at

Anesthesiology Biology

Dr. Martin Hermann was working with the Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine at Innsbruck Medical University, Innsbruck, Austria. His research interests focus on anatomy, endocrinology, and anesthesiology.

Matteo Cerri

Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy

matteo.cerri@unibo.it

Neurosciences Physiology Neuroethics

Dr. Matteo Cerri is an associate professor of Physiology (M.D., Ph.D.) at the Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences of the University of Bologna, Italy. His research focuses on hibernation and methods to induce a state resembling hibernation in non-hibernators, including humans. Currently, he is consulting for the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. He is also a member of the National Institute for Nuclear Physics and the Italian Institute of Technology.

Matthias Ocker

Medical Department, Division of Hematology, Oncology and Cancer Immunology, Campus Charité Mitte, Charité University Medicine Berlin, Berlin, Germany

Head of Translational Medicine, Tacalyx GmbH, Berlin, Germany

matthias.ocker@charite.de

Cell physiology Gastroenterology Hemato-oncology

Dr. Matthias Ocker is a faculty member and adjunct professor of experimental medicine at Charité University Medicine in Berlin, Germany. Dr. Ocker brings more than 20 years of academic and industry experience in oncology and GI diseases to Bayer and Boehringer Ingelheim. He held global senior positions in early drug development, with a strong focus on biomarkers, translational medicine, and clinical pharmacology. Dr. Ocker has led several programs into Phase 1 and proof-of-concept and was a member of global portfolio steering committees. He has authored more than 130 scientific publications and book chapters and is a member of several academic societies, like AACR and EASL.

Maurice van den Hoff

Department of Medical Biology, Section Clinical Anatomy & Embryology, Amsterdam Reproduction & Development Research institute, Amsterdam University Medical Centers, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands

m.j.vandenhoff@amsterdamumc.nl

Cardiovascular physiology Embryology and development

Dr. Maurice van den Hoff currently works at the Department of Medical Biology, Amsterdam University Medical Centers. Maurice does research in cell biology, developmental biology, and molecular biology. Current projects are "3D human embryology", "quantitative PCR", and "role of follistatin-like 1 in development and disease".

Michael Hamblin

Laser Research Centre, Faculty of Health Science, University of Johannesburg, Doornfontein, South Africa

hamblin.lab@gmail.com

Dermatology Photochemistry and photobiology Photodynamic therapy

Prof. Michael.R. Hamblin (Ph.D.) was the principal investigator at the Wellman Center for Photomedicine at Massachusetts General Hospital, an associate professor of Dermatology at Harvard Medical School, and a member of the affiliated faculty of the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Science and Technology. His research interests lie in the areas of photodynamic therapy (PDT) for infections, cancer, and heart disease and photobiomodulation for wound healing, arthritis, traumatic brain injury, and hair regrowth. He has published over 600 peer-reviewed articles, over 150 conference proceedings, book chapters, and international abstracts, and holds eight patents. He is an Associate Editor for ten journals, on the editorial board of 25 journals, and serves on NIH Study Sections.

Michael Retsky

Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02115, USA

michael.retsky@gmail.com

Biophysics Breast cancer Cancer Computational biophysics Computational physics Metastasis Tumors

Dr. Michael Retsky made a career change to cancer research thirty years ago. He is on staff at the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health and the Angiogenesis Foundation, both in Boston. He is also on the faculty at University College London. He was on Judah Folkman’s staff at Harvard Medical School for 12 years. He received a Ph.D. in experimental physics from the University of Chicago in 1974. His thesis project was to build a scanning transmission electron microscope that could resolve single atoms of silver, mercury, and uranium and measure their elastic cross-sections (in Albert Crewe’s laboratory). While doing electron optics research at Hewlett-Packard in 1982, a friend’s wife was diagnosed with cancer. This friend organized an informal research group to study cancer and possibly help his wife. He got more interested in cancer research than physics research and gradually made a career change over a period of five years. He read every paper he could find at Penrose Cancer Hospital. With broad research interests in medical and surgical emergencies in computational biophysics, metastasis, tumors, computational physics, biophysics, cancer, breast cancer screening, and colon cancer, he is a founder and on the Board of Directors of the Colon Cancer Alliance. He has published more than 60 papers in physics and cancer.

Mustafa Z. Younis

College of Health Sciences, Jackson State University, 350 W. Woodrow Wilson Dr., Jackson, MS 39213, USA

mustafa.younis@jsums.edu

Global health health economics healthcare finance Public health

Prof. Mustafa Z. Younis is an internationally recognized scholar and a tenured professor at Jackson State University, Mississippi, USA. In addition, Prof. Younis is a Visiting Distinguished Professor at Universiti Putra Malaysia. Prof. Younis served as a member of the Executive Committee of the International Society for Research of Healthcare Financial Management. Prof. Younis has authored and published over 100 articles, 150 abstracts, and presentations in refereed journals, meetings, and universities in Europe, China, and the Middle East. He has presented at national and international conferences. Prof. Younis has consulted with several organisations on healthcare finance and economics.

Nicanor Moldovan

Department of Ophthalmology, Indiana University School of Medicine and Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis, Indianapolis, IN, USA

nimoldov@iupui.edu

Experimental medicine

Dr. Nicanor Moldovan is an associate research professor at IUPUI and the founding director of the 3D Bioprinting Core at Indiana University School of Medicine. After post-doctoral training in cardiovascular medicine at Johns Hopkins University, he performed extensive biomedical engineering research at the Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. Among other NIH and AHA funding, he received an RC2 ARRA stimulus grant on the interaction of circulating vascular progenitor cells with polymeric microfibrils. Dr. Moldovan is the founding director of the 3D Bioprinting Core at IUSM/IUPUI, equipped with the state-of-the-art 'Regenova' bioprinter and the automatic fluorescence microscope 'IncuCyte ZOOM'. To cover the bioprinter's costs, he won a large NIH S10/Shared Instrument Grant award, on which he is the principal investigator. He is also an associate editor of the Journal of Cellular and Molecular Medicine.

Nienke Vrisekoop

Center for Translational Immunology, University Medical Center Utrecht, University of Utrecht, Utrecht, the Netherlands

N.Vrisekoop@umcutrecht.nl

Immunology Molecular and cell biology

Dr. Nienke Vrisekoop is an associate professor at the Center of Translational Immunology at UMCU. Nienke Vrisekoop's core research interest is immune cell dynamics in health and disease. In 2013, she started as an assistant professor at the Department of Respiratory Medicine in the Center of Translational Immunology at the UMCU, where she studies neutrophils, which are the first responders to the immune system. These immune cells can recognize and engulf both microorganisms and foreign matter, such as microplastics that penetrate the body. She now focuses in her laboratory on the mechanisms that neutrophils employ to deal with these threats.

Oscar Campuzano

Cardiovascular Genetics Center, University of Girona-IDIBGI, 17190 Girona, Spain

oscar.campuzano@udg.edu

Cardiomyopathies Genetics Inherited arrhythmias Molecular autopsy Sudden cardiac death

Dr. Oscar Campuzano graduated in Biology (Biosciences) from the University of Barcelona (Spain) in 2002. He obtained his PhD from the Autonomous University of Barcelona (Spain) in 2008. Later, he joined as a postdoctoral fellow at the Cardiovascular Genetics Center of the University of Montreal (Canada). In 2010, he returned to Spain, where he obtained a senior researcher position at the Center for Cardiovascular Genetics and a professorship at the Faculty of Medicine (University of Girona). Dr. Campuzano has published more than 150 peer-reviewed articles and several book chapters. He has also been the principal investigator for more than ten projects. Currently, Dr. Campuzano is dedicated to basic and clinical research on pathologies associated with sudden cardiac death, allowing the results of basic research to be transferred to clinical practice.

Panagiotis J. Vlachostergios

Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology and Medical Oncology, Weill Medical College of Cornell University, New York, NY, USA

pjv9003@med.cornell.edu

Apoptosis Cancer biology Cell culture Cell signaling Public health

Dr. Panagiotis J. Vlachostergios is an assistant professor in the Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology and Medical Oncology, Weill Medical College of Cornell University, New York, NY, USA. He received his Ph.D. in Cancer Biology in 2013. He completed his Internal Medicine Residency at the New York University School of Medicine, Langone Hospital. He also completed his Hematology and Medical Oncology Clinical Fellowship at Weill Cornell Medical College, New York Presbyterian Hospital. He has further completed post-doctoral training in Genomic Cancer Risk Assessment (City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center); Genetics and Genomics (Stanford University); Genetics, Cancer Genomics and Precision Oncology (Harvard Medical School); Immunology and Immuno-Oncology (Harvard Medical School); and Clinical Research (Weill Cornell Clinical and Translational Science Center). With broad research interests in medical and surgical emergencies in cell culture, cell signaling, cancer biology, apoptosis, public health, article writing, PCR, immunohistochemistry, flow cytometry, and gene expression, he has published more than 100 international peer-reviewed articles and authored several book chapters and abstracts. His research has been highly cited. He is a recipient of prestigious awards from the American Society of Clinical Oncology, the European Society of Medical Oncology, the Society for Translational Oncology, the American Federation for Medical Research, the Bladder Cancer Advocacy Network, and others. He serves as an investigator on CDMRP-funded and industry-sponsored clinical studies. 

Paul R. Cooper

Faculty of Dentistry, Sir John Walsh Research Institute, University of Otago, P.O. Box 56, Dunedin 9054, New Zealand

p.cooper@otago.ac.nz

Dental phototherapy Dental tissue engineering Host-pathogen Interactions in dental disease Pulp biology

Prof. Paul R. Cooper currently conducts research in dental tissue regeneration, the inflammatory and immune aspects of oral and dental disease, and the biomaterials area, with a focus on pulp biology. In 2010, he received the Young Investigator Award from the International Association for Dental Research (IADR). He has served as Chair of the Mineralized Tissue Group (MINTIG) and a councilor for the British Society for Oral and Dental Research (BSODR). He has been the President of the Pulp Biology and Regeneration Group (PBRG) of IADR and is the incoming President of IADR-ANZ. Prof. Cooper has been the Deputy Head of the School of Dentistry at the University of Birmingham, UK, and is currently (July 2022) the Dean of the Faculty of Dentistry, University of Otago, NZ. He serves on the editorial board of several dental journals.

 

Peichen Pan

College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, Zhejiang, China

panpeichen@zju.edu.cn

Cancer biology Glioma Molecular docking Molecular dynamics Molecular modeling Virtual screening

Dr. Peichen Pan has been, since 2021, a Distinguished Research Professor at the Innovation Institute for Artificial Intelligence in Medicine at Zhejiang University's College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, located in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China. He obtained his Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Medicinal Chemistry from Zhejiang University's College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, China, between 2014 and 2019. Previously, he held the position of Research Fellow at the Department of Cancer Biology at Harvard Medical School and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in the United States from 2019 to 2021.
Dr. Pan's primary interests involve the development and application of state-of-the-art computational and theoretical techniques. His research focuses on investigating the structures, functions, and dynamics of important drug targets. He also employs computational approaches and chemical and biological experiments to design potential new drugs. He has published over 50 articles in peer-reviewed journals, including Nature Communications, Science Advances, ACS Central Science, Chemical Science, the Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, Research, Drug Discovery Today, Antiviral Research, and the Journal of Chemical Information and Modeling.

Peter Makovický

Department of Histology and Embryology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ostrava, Czech Republic

pmakovicky@email.cz

Pathology Histology Veterinary histology

Dr. Peter Makovický graduated from the Slovak University of Economics in Nitra. From 2005 to 2008, he worked at the Institute of Pathology FN in Nitra. Since 2008, he has been a professional assistant at the Department of Veterinary Disciplines at the Czech University of Agriculture in Prague.

Pingping Zhu

School of life sciences, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China

zhup@zzu.edu.cn

Colorectal cancer CRISPR/Cas9 screening Image based screening Liver cancer Stem cells Wnt/β-Catenin Signaling

Prof. Dr. Pingping Zhu has been engaged in research on the regulatory mechanism of stem cells, including adult stem cells (ASCs), in physiological conditions at Zhengzhou University. Since his Ph.D., Zhu Pingping has been engaged in research on the regulatory mechanism of stem cells, including adult stem cells (ASCs) in physiological conditions (such as intestinal stem cells, ISCs) and cancer stem cells (CSCs) in pathological conditions (such as intestinal CSCs and liver CSCs). The regulatory mechanisms include epigenetic regulation (such as non-coding RNAs, chromatin remodeling complexes, and DNA modifications), transcriptional regulation, and microenvironmental regulation.

Piter Bosma

Department of Gastroenterology & Hepatology and Tytgat Institute for Liver and Intestinal Research, Amsterdam Gastroenterology & Metabolism, Amsterdam University Medical Centers, Amsterdam, the Netherlands

p.j.bosma@amsterdamumc.nl

Genetics and gene therapy Hepatology

Dr. Piter Bosma is an Associate Professor at AGEM, Amsterdam Gastroenterology Endocrinology Metabolism. His main focus is to develop adeno-associated liver-directed gene therapy to treat inherited unconjugated hyperbilirubinemia. The research is funded by the Dutch Najjar Foundation and by ZonMw. In collaboration with the group of Prof. Dr. Labrunne and the AFM, they plan to start a phase 1 trial by the end of 2016 or at the start of 2017. Successful application of AAV to these patients will also enable them to use this strategy to treat other inherited liver diseases, such as PFIC.

Rainer Böger

Institute of Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany

boeger@uke.de

Cardiovascular diseases Chronic lung diseases Diabetes Inflammation

Prof. Dr. Rainer Böger has specialized in clinical pharmacology, pharmacology, and toxicology. He is the director of the Institute of Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf. His major research interest is focused on translational research to better understand mechanisms of chronic human diseases, with efforts to develop novel approaches for prevention and therapy; these comprise studies in cardiovascular disease, diabetes, chronic lung diseases, and inflammation. His activities span molecular and biochemical studies, genetically modified animal models, and human proof-of-concept studies. Developing biomarkers to better discriminate between high- and low-risk individuals is a core activity of his team.

Rakesh Srivastava

Louisiana State University Health‐New Orleans, School of Medicine, Stanley S. Scott Cancer Center, New Orleans Louisiana, USA

rsrivastava.lab@gmail.com

Immunology Autophagy Biomarker development Cancer therapy Diabetes Drug discovery and development Liver cancer Nano-technology Pancreatic cancer Stem cells

Dr. Rakesh Srivastava is a leader in the fields of oncology, diabetes, nutrition, obesity, regenerative medicine, neurology, and infectious diseases. He received his education in Canada and was trained at the US National Institutes of Health. He is a fellow of the US National Academy of Sciences, the British Royal Society of Medicine, and the Royal Society for Public Health. He has published hundreds of scientific papers and presented his research findings at numerous national and international conferences. He has edited five books and written numerous book chapters.

Ralph Joseph DiClemente

Departments of Social and Behavioral Sciences and Epidemiology at the New York University School of Global Public Health, New York, USA

rjd438@nyu.edu

Immunology Psychology Community interventions Development of HIV and STD prevention programs Diabetes Implementation science Infectious disease Influenza

Dr. Ralph Joseph DiClemente is a professor in the Departments of Social and Behavioral Sciences and Epidemiology at the New York University School of Global Public Health. Dr. DiClemente was a member of the NIH Office of AIDS Research Advisory Council, the CDC Board of Scientific Counselors, and the NIMH National Advisory Council. Dr. DiClemente’s research has been focused on developing interventions to reduce the risk of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder among vulnerable pregnant women, developing interventions to enhance vaccine uptake among high-risk adolescents and women, and developing implementation science interventions to improve the uptake, adoption, and sustainability of prevention programs in the community. He has published extensively, authoring over 650 peer-reviewed publications and writing or editing 20 books on HIV prevention, community-based research, research methods, adolescent health, and global health promotion.

Richard Sayre

New Mexico Consortium, Los Alamos, NM 87544, USA

richardtsayre@gmail.com

Drug delivery systems including extracellular vesicles Malnutrition Oral vaccines RNA and protein therapeutics Vector borne diseases

Dr. Richard Sayre completed his Ph.D. at the University of Iowa and subsequently did postdoctoral research at Harvard University in molecular biology. He has been the co-founder and chief scientific officer for several startup companies with business operations ranging from the production of oral vaccines to the development of RNA therapeutics to manage viral diseases. Dr. Sayre is currently the co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer of Mercury Bio, which has developed a yeast extracellular vesicle-based system for the targeted delivery of therapeutic nucleic acids, proteins, or small molecular-weight drugs to humans. He is also affiliated with the New Mexico Consortium. Dr. Sayre has received several honors, including being a Distinguished Professor in the College of Biological Sciences at Ohio State University, an honorary member of Phi Beta Kappa, and a Fulbright Scholar at the Instituto de Química, Universidade de São Paulo, Brazil. He has been selected by Nature as one of the “Five Crop Researchers Who Could Change the World.”.

Robert Peter Gale

Hematology Research Centre, Department of Immunology and Inflammation, Imperial College London, London, UK

robertpetergale@gmail.com

Leukemia and other bone marrow disorders

Dr. Robert Peter Gale is currently a visiting professor at the Department of Immunology and Inflammation, Centre of Haematology, Imperial College of Science, Technology, and Medicine, an honorary professor of Hematology at the Institute of Hematology at Peking Union Medical, and a visiting professor at the Department of Hematologic Oncology, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, China. Prof. Gale is also an expert on the medical response to nuclear and radiation accidents. He is also an honorary member of the Russian and Chinese Academies of Medical Science as well as a fellow of the Royal College of Physicians in London.

Roberto Gramignoli

Dept. of Laboratory Medicine, Division of Pathology, Karolinska Institutet, Sweden

roberto.gramignoli@ki.se

Regenerative medicine Liver regeneration

Dr. Roberto Gramignoli is at the Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden. His primary interest has always been to optimise cell-based therapies to treat fulminant liver failure or congenital defects. Hepatocyte transplantation has been gaining recognition as a bridge, or an alternative, to liver transplantation. His group optimised methods to isolate human hepatocytes, cryopreserve, and evaluate hepatic functions before transplant. Due to the paucity of human hepatocytes, they also investigated alternative sources: they evaluated fetal liver cells and hepatocytes from newborn and pediatric patients. They proved the efficacy of inborn error hepatocytes as an alternative cell source for clinical use and identified in placental amnion epithelial cells an efficient alternative allogenic source of cells to transplant without immunosuppression.

Salvatore Passarella

School of Medicine University "Aldo Moro", Piazza Giulio Cesare, 70121 Bari, Italy

spassarella3@gmail.com

Energy metabolism Light-biological systems interactions Mitochondrial transport Programmed cell death

Prof. Salvatore Passarella was a chemistry graduate in 1970, an assistant from 1971 to 1983, and later an associate professor in Cell Biochemistry from 1983 to 1990 at the University of Bari. From 1990 to 2015, he was a full professor of Biochemistry at the University of Molise, where he also served as the Dean of the Agriculture Faculty from 1993 to 1996 and pro-rector between 1995 and 2013. Prof. Passarella taught enzymology, cell biochemistry, and biochemistry at the Universities of Bari in Foggia, Basilicata, and Molise and published six books on these subjects. He has published over 160 papers. His research interests are in animal, plant, and yeast mitochondria under physio-pathological conditions, in particular in mitochondrial transport in the energy metabolism of a variety of metabolites, including D-L lactate, fumarate, oxaloacetate, glutamine, ornithine, proline, and hydroxyproline, etc. He is also interested in the discovery of new mitochondrial enzymes, including the D- and L-lactate dehydrogenases, L-lactate oxidases, and pyruvate kinases; the transport of proteins in isolated mitochondria; the transport of vitamins and vitamin derivatives in isolated mitochondria; the role of animal, plant, and yeast mitochondria in apoptosis; and the effect of laser light on mitochondria bioenergetics and biological system biochemistry.

Sathish Thirunavukkarasu

Department of Family and Preventive Medicine at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, USA

speaktosat@gmail.com

Implementation science Lifestyle interventions Prediabetes Prevention Primary care Type 2 diabetes

Dr. Sathish Thirunavukkarasu is an assistant professor in the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, USA. Dr. Thirunavukkarasu completed his medical degree, a diploma in Family Medicine, and a Master's degree in Public Health in India. He also earned a PhD in Epidemiology from the University of Melbourne in Australia. Following his PhD, he pursued two years of post-doctoral training at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore and another three years at McMaster University in Canada. His primary research interests center around "precision prevention of type 2 diabetes" through lifestyle and pharmacological interventions. He has published over 114 scientific papers, some of which have appeared in high-impact factor journals such as Nature Reviews Endocrinology, The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology, The Lancet Global Health, Annual Review of Public Health, Diabetes Care, and PLoS Medicine, often as the lead author.

Sebastian A. J. Zaat

Department of Microbiology, Amsterdam University Medical Centers, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands

s.a.zaat@amsterdamumc.nl

Microbiology

Dr. Sebastian A. J. Zaat's research line, "Biomaterial-associated infection and novel antimicrobial strategies,” is focused on the pathogenesis, prevention, and treatment of biomaterial-associated infections, both in soft tissue (catheters, surgical meshes) and bone (implants, fixation devices). Since 2010, he has been a principal investigator and has extensive experience in the field of biomaterials and infection research, including research on antimicrobial peptides as alternatives to antibiotics. He was involved in or coordinated the BMM NANTICO “Non-adherent Antimicrobial Coatings” project, BMM IBIZA “Imaging of Biomaterial-associated Infection using Zebrafish Analysis," the EU FP7 BALI “Biofilm Alliance” project developing novel synthetic antimicrobial and antibiofilm peptides, the EU COST Consortium IPROMEDAI “Improved Protection of Medical Devices Against Infection,” and the Dutch National Consortia Craniosafe, SuperActive, and PHOTO-TREAT.

Shih-Min Hsia

School of Nutrition and Health Sciences, College of Nutrition, Taipei Medical University, Taipei 110301, Taiwan

bryanhsia@tmu.edu.tw

Breast cancer Dysmenorrhea Endometrial cancer Endometriosis Leiomyoma Ovary cancer PCOS

Shih-Min Hsia is a professor in the Department of Health Nutrition, Institute of Metabolism and Obesity Science, and Department of Food Safety at Taipei Medical University in Taiwan. He has been awarded outstanding achievements such as outstanding teachers and distinguished professors. Professor Hsia's research interests are very broad. Most of the research focuses on exploring the alleviation effects of active ingredients in food or Chinese herbal medicine after intervention in target diseases, ranging from female diseases such as uterine fibroids, endometriosis, and polycystic ovary syndrome and menstrual pain, etc. as early research directions of the laboratory. In recent years, Professor Hsia has also conducted in-depth research on the mechanisms of obesity-related diseases or female cancers, including breast cancer, endometrial cancer, and ovarian cancer. Professor Hsia is currently leading a project aimed at understanding the effectiveness of functional foods in alleviating sarcopenia caused by anti-cancer drugs. It is expected to bring great benefits to the development of food as an auxiliary anti-cancer drug in the future.

Simone Battaglia

Department of Psychology, Center for Studies and Research in Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Bologna, Bologna, 40127, Italy

simone.battaglia@unibo.it

Clinical Neuropsychology Clinical Neuroscience Cognition disorders Cognitive neuropsychology Cognitive Neuroscience Executive Function Memory Neuropsychological assessment

Simone Battaglia, PhD, is currently an Assistant Professor in Cognitive Neuroscience at the Centre for Studies and Research in Cognitive Neuroscience, Department of Psychology, University of Bologna (Italy), and a Research Fellow at the Department of Psychology, University of Turin (Italy). His research experience focuses on investigating the intricate functional interplay of different brain areas involved in emotional learning, action control, brain plasticity, decision-making, and a variety of cognitive tasks. To this end, his research activities primarily revolve around the utilization of non-invasive brain stimulation techniques such as transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), in addition to employing various neuroscientific techniques to record physiological measures, including EEG, SCR, HRV, and EMG. He has conducted extensive research involving both healthy individuals, examining intra/inter-individual differences, and patients with acquired brain injuries. The overarching aim of his research is to develop innovative therapeutic protocols, with a particular focus on utilizing the cortico-cortical paired associative stimulation (ccPAS) method to facilitate neuroplasticity and enhance functional recovery.

Srinivasa Subramaniam

Department of Neuroscience, The Werthiem UF Scripps Biomedical Research, Jupiter, Florida, USA

ssubrama@scripps.edu

Neurosciences Aging Alzheimer’s disease Huntington disease Neurodegenerative diseases NeuroMolecular medicine Parkinson's disease Schizophrenia

Dr.Srinivasa Subramaniam is an associate professor (Tenure Track.). He obtained his Ph.D. in 2004 from the University of Heidelberg, Germany, where he worked on the molecular signaling that triggers neuronal death. At Johns Hopkins University, he addressed the mechanisms for tissue-specific dysfunctions for his postdoctoral research, focusing on Huntington’s and Parkinson’s disease. Both experiences continue to inform his work at the Scripps Research Institute. His areas of research include signaling mechanisms mediating striatal damage in HD, signaling mechanisms mediating abnormal movements in PD, and novel modulators of AD pathogenesis.

Sylvestre Bonnet

Leiden Institute of Chemistry, Universiteit Leiden, Einsteinweg 55, 2333 CC Leiden, The Netherlands

bonnet@chem.leidenuniv.nl

Photochemistry and photobiology

Dr. Sylvestre Bonnet is a full professor of Bioinorganic Chemistry at Leiden University. Between 2009 and 2014, he completed a tenure track position in Inorganic Chemistry at Leiden University, where he was tenured in 2015 and became a full professor in 2020. He obtained several prestigious grants, including a Starting Grant from the European Research Council (2013), a Transition Grant from the European Innovation Council (2023), and three young investigator grants (VENI 2008, VIDI 2012, and VICI 2019) from the Dutch Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO). Dr. Bonnet studies the (photo)chemistry of metal-based molecules in biological and biomimetic environments. By combining bioinorganic chemistry and photochemistry, his group makes new light-activatable prodrugs for use as targeted anticancer agents with minimal side effects. Another part of the group studies how to assemble metal-based photosensitizers and catalysts to trap the sun's energy into a solar fuel.

Terry Lichtor

Department of Neurological Surgery, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL, USA

Terry_Lichtor@rush.edu

Brain physiology Brain tumors Glioma Medical neurosciences Neurobiology Spine surgery Thyroid

Dr. Terry Lichtor is a clinical professor in the Department of Neurological Surgery at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, IL, USA. He completed the internship in General Surgery at the Mayo Graduate School of Medicine in Rochester, Minnesota, in 1981–1982, and the residency in Neurological Surgery, at the University of Chicago, Chicago, in 1981–1987. He has also completed two Illinois Research Fellowships, including a research fellow in the Committee on Neurobiology at the University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, in 1987–1989 and a research associate in the Department of Cell, Molecular, and Structural Biology at Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois, in 1989–1990. Dr. Lichtor has attained two licensures in the States of Illinois in 1982, Arkansas in 2008, Wisconsin in 2009, and South Dakota in 2011. He was on the National Board of Medical Examiners in 1982 and the American Board of Neurological Surgery in 1991. He has been a professor in many universities, including a research assistant professor at the Department of Cell, Molecular and Structural Biology at the Northwestern University Medical School, Chicago, Illinois in 1990-1991, an assistant professor at the Department of Surgery at the Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts in 1991-1992, an assistant professor at the Department of Neurological Surgery at the Rush University, Chicago, Illinois, in 1996-2003, a clinical associate professor at the Department of Neurological Surgery at the Loyola University Chicago, Chicago, Illinois from 1996, an associate professor at the Department of Neurological Surgery at the Rush University, Chicago, Illinois, from 2003, and a clinical professor at the Department of Surgery, New York Institute of Technology and Arkansas State University, from 2014. He was appointed as an attending neurosurgeon in many hospitals, including Little Company of Mary Hospital, Evergreen Park, Illinois, in 1987–1991, Beth Israel Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, in 1991–1992, John H. Stroger Hospital of Cook County, Chicago, Illinois, in 1992–2007, and Edward Hines Hospital in 1996–2004. With broad research interests in medical and surgical emergencies in medical neurosciences, neurobiology and brain physiology, brain tumors, spine surgery, thyroid, and glioma, he is a member of the neurosurgery department at Rush University Medical Center.

Tiancai Liu

Professor, School of Laboratory Medicine and Biotechnology, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China

Member of Guangdong Immunology Society, China

liutc@smu.edu.cn

Diagnostics Antibody Laboratory medicine

Dr. Tiancai Liu is the Deputy Director of the Antibody Engineering Institute of Southern Medical University, a postdoctoral fellow of the National University of Singapore, and an imported talent of Southern Medical University. Dr. Liu is skilled in new in vitro diagnostic technology research and kit development. His research interests are in biology and laboratory medicine, focusing on genetic disease metabolism of small molecules, proteins, and nucleic acid mass spectrometry research. His main academic achievements are supported by the National High Tech Research and Development (863) Programme, the National Natural Science Foundation (Youth and General Program), the Doctoral Foundation of Higher Education Institutions, the Guangdong Provincial Higher Education Talent Introduction Project, and the Guangdong Provincial Natural Science Foundation. He has also participated in national major science and technology projects, sub-projects of national major science and technology projects, and National Natural Science Foundation projects. He has applied for three national invention patents, and one was granted.

Ton Lisman

Surgical Research Laboratory and Section of Hepatobiliary Surgery and Liver Transplantation Department of Surgery, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands

j.a.lisman@umcg.nl

Hepatology Thrombosis and hemostasis

Dr. Ton Lisman is a full professor of Experimental Surgery at the Surgical Research Laboratory in the Department of Surgery at the University Medical Center Groningen, The Netherlands. He is one of the few experts worldwide on clinical and fundamental research on bleeding and thrombosis in patients with liver diseases. In the past decade, through a combination of careful analysis of the clinical phenotype of these patients and in-depth laboratory analyses, his group has been able to redefine the clinical consequences of hemostatic changes associated with liver diseases. In particular, they demonstrated that patients with chronic and acute liver diseases are in a hemostatic rebalance due to a concomitant decline in pro- and antihemostatic forces. These novel insights have had profound consequences for clinical management and worldwide changes in the approach to treatment and prevention of bleeding in patients with liver diseases.

Vikrant Rai

Department of Translational Research, College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific, Western University of Health Sciences, Pomona, CA, USA

vrai@westernu.edu

Immunology Oncology Molecular and cell biology

Dr. Vikrant Rai is an assistant professor in the Department of Translational Research at the Western University of Health Sciences, Pomona, CA. His research interests include investigating inflammatory molecular pathologies underlying various chronic inflammatory diseases and delineating immunomodulation and immunotherapeutic strategies. Prof. Rai has published more than 50 peer-reviewed articles and 11 book chapters. He has also edited two books. 

Vittorio Gentile

Department of Precision Medicine, University of Campania Luigi Vanvitelli, Via Costantinopoli 16, 80138 Naples, Italy

vittorio.gentile@unicampania.it

Biochemistry and molecular biology of transglutaminases Neurodegeneration Neuroinflammation

Dr. Vittorio Gentile is in the Department of Precision Medicine at the University of Campania Luigi Vanvitelli, Via Costantinopoli 16, 80138 Naples, Italy. Dr. Gentile is a recognized expert in the transglutaminase research area and has a strong background in the molecular biology and biochemical aspects of transglutaminase (TG) enzyme expression, activity, and function. His work has been focused on the tTG (TG2) characterization of normal and pathological cellular events (cell growth and differentiation, adhesion, apoptosis, neurodegeneration, and neuroinflammation) through biochemical and molecular biology studies. He received many awards and honors during his career. Dr. Gentile is an eminent member of several professional societies. He is also an editorial board member and reviewer of many peer-reviewed journals.

Walter Stewart

Medcurio Inc., Oakland CA, USA

wfs502000@yahoo.com

Chronic episodic diseases Epidemiology Machine learning Neuroepidemiology

Prof. Dr. Walter Stewart is the CEO of Medcurio Inc., Oakland, CA, United States, and an adjunct professor of Epidemiology at the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health. He has authored more than 400 scientific manuscripts, pioneered the understanding of EHR data uses for real-world evidence, and created successful academic research programs, start-ups, and healthcare R&D units. With more than 15 years of experience working in a variety of health systems, he has a deep understanding of what matters most to patients, providers, care teams, and operators in the delivery of healthcare. Prof. Walter Stewart conducts interdisciplinary research in psychiatry and clinical psychology, particularly focusing on migraine studies with connections to related disciplines like Aura. His work also integrates demography and gerontology into these studies.

 

William A. Banks

Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center, Veterans Affairs Puget Sound Health Care Center and Division of Gerontology and Geriatric Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98108, USA

wabanks1@uw.edu

Blood-brain barrier Neurodegeneration Neuroimmunology Pathophysiology and treatment of type 2 diabetes Traumatic brain injury

Dr. William A. Banks attended medical school at the University of Missouri, Columbia, and is currently the Associate Chief of Staff for Research and Development at the Puget Sound VA. His work has focused on brain-body communication as mediated by the blood-brain barrier's handling of peptides, regulatory proteins, and other informational molecules. Dr. Banks has applied this approach to studies of obesity/body weight regulation, Alzheimer’s disease/neurodegenerative diseases, neuroimmunology/neuroinflammation, CNS manifestations of diabetes mellitus, drug delivery to the CNS, and AIDS. Prof. Banks has also published on animal-assisted therapy in nursing homes, robotics in geriatric medicine, sleep physiology, and traumatic brain injury. He was also the first author of the paper in which primary adrenal hyperplasia was described for the first time. He has received numerous awards, honors, and lectureships, including the Middleton Award, the Normal Cousins Award, and the Viktor Mutt Lectureship. He is the past president of the Psychoneuroimmunology Research Society. He has served on or is currently on over 20 editorial boards, including Endocrinology, the Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, Brain, Behavior, and Immunity, Peptides, the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, Experimental Biology and Medicine, and the Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow and Metabolism. He has also delivered over 200 invited lectures at the national and international level and has approximately 600 non-abstract publications.

William M. Mitchell

Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, USA

bill.mitchell@vanderbilt.edu

Chronic fatigue syndrome Immune mediated mechanisms Intracellular pathogens Liquid biopsy Long covid Myalgic encephalomyelitis Neoplasia Next generation sequencing

Dr. William M. Mitchell is a professor of Pathology, Microbiology, and Immunology at Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA. Dr. William M. Mitchell’s current active areas of investigation include the following: 1) Innate immunity is initiated by the activation of Toll-Like Receptor 3 (TLR3). The TLRs are microbial pattern recognition proteins that initiate innate immune responses to microbial invasion. 2) Next-generation sequencing (NGS) applications. We have used a variety of NGS platforms to develop new diagnostic massively parallel sequencing methods for the real-time evaluation of the efficacy of cancer therapy using plasma or serum analysis of DNA from apoptotic neoplastic cells. 3) Pathogenesis of human intracellular pathogens. Our current focus is on the pathogenesis of latency in two microorganisms: a) Chlamydia pneumoniae is a recently recognized member of the genus Chlamydia. b) The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is the etiological agent of the Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS). Current studies are focused on HIV latency.

Wonkyu "Daniel" Ju

Hamilton Glaucoma Center and Shiley Eye Institute, The Viterbi Family Department of Ophthalmology, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA

wju@health.ucsd.edu

Alzheimer’s disease Glaucoma Glial cells Mitochondrial dysfunction Mitochondrial protection Neuroinflammation Oxidative stress Retinal ganglion cell

Wonkyu Ju, Ph.D., is a Professor of the Viterbi Family Department of Ophthalmology specializing in Glaucoma at the University of California, San Diego, USA. Dr. Ju received his M.S. and Ph.D. in the Department of Anatomy at the Medical College of Catholic University in Korea and then completed a post-doctoral position in the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, USA, studying the cellular and molecular mechanisms of cell death and protection in retinal ischemia and glaucoma. Dr. Ju’s current research focuses on the fundamental issues of mitochondrial network and function in neurodegeneration, neuroinflammation, and neuroprotection in glaucoma and Alzheimer’s disease. He has an extensive publication record, with over 60 scientific papers and book chapters, and has received support from the National Institute of Health (NIH) in Maryland, USA. He has also contributed as a reviewer for numerous scientific journals and has held a standing member position at the NIH, USA.

Xinhua Shu

Department of Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Department of Vision Science, Glasgow Caledonian University, Glasgow G4 0BA, Scotland, UK

xinhua.shu@gcu.ac.uk

Cholesterol homeostasis Disease mechanisms Inflammation Neurodegenerative disorders Oxidative stress Therapy

Dr. Xinhua Shu graduated from Xiangya School of Medicine with a Ph.D. in Pathobiology (1999) and was then awarded a Wellcome Trust Travelling Fellowship to work at the University of Glasgow (1999–2001), where he worked on human fungal diseases. From July 2001, he moved to the MRC Human Genetics Unit in Edinburgh to work as an Investigator Scientist (2001–2005) and then Senior Investigator Scientist (tenured), focusing on the disease mechanisms of retinal disorders. In February 2010, he joined the Department of Biological and Biomedical Sciences at Glasgow Caledonian University to continue his studies on the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative disorders. Dr. Shu has published over 90 peer-reviewed papers. He has also been a reviewer for a lot of scientific journals.

Xiong Ma

Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Shanghai JiaoTong University, Shanghai Institute of Digestive Disease, 145 Middle Shandong Road, Shanghai, 200001, China

maxiongmd@hotmail.com

Autoimmune liver diseases Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease

Xiong Ma, MD, PhD, earned his undergraduate degree from Zhenjiang Medical College in 1991 and received his doctorate from Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine in 2001. He is a member of the Shanghai Society of Hepatology and the vice-chief member of the Chinese Society of Hepatology Young Member Board. He serves as director of the Shanghai Autoimmune Liver Disease Group. He became a member of the International Autoimmune Hepatitis Group in 2011. Dr. Ma’s research interests are mainly focused on autoimmune liver diseases and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. He received four grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China and the National Distinguished Young Scholarship in 2013.

Yan Gong

Zhongnan Hospital, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China

yan.gong@whu.edu.cn

Lipid metabolism Tumor angiogenesis Tumor immunity

Dr. Yan Gong is engaged in basic research on angiogenesis, lipid metabolism, and tumor immunity at Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University. He graduated from the University of Maine and got postdoctoral training at Boston Children’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School. He participated in the establishment of the Human Genetics Resource Preservation Center of Hubei Province and the Tumor Precision Diagnosis and Treatment Technology and Translational Medicine, Hubei Engineering Research Center. Dr. Gong published more than 100 scientific papers in journals, including but not limited to Angiogenesis, Metabolism, and Cancer Letters. He has been supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the National Key Research and Development Program of China, and the Key Research and Development Program of Hubei Province.

Yi-Wen Liu

Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Biopharmaceuticals, National Chiayi University, Chiayi, Taiwan

ywlss@mail.ncyu.edu.tw

Anti-inflammation study Anticancer research Cancer biomarkers Gene regulation

Prof. Yi-Wen Liu is a researcher in the field of basic medicine, with expertise in both basic and translational research. Her work focuses on the pharmacology of cancer and inflammation, traditional medicine, and gene regulation. In her research program, she focuses on the molecular mechanisms of cancer progression, cancer biomarkers, and new drug studies in cancer and inflammation. In addition to basic research and translational studies, she is interested in pharmacological education and scientific communication. She consistently supports the scientific program in the departments of National Chiayi University in Taiwan. Many undergraduates, graduates, and physicians have worked and received training in their programmes. They perform comprehensive biomedicine career and research functions, including the study of urinary cancer, colorectal cancer, cancer immunotherapy, the design of new anti-cancer drugs, molecular diagnostics of cancer, and social services.

Yong-Xiao Wang

Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, Albany Medical College, 47 New Scotland Avenue, Albany, NY, 12208, USA

wangy@mail.amc.edu

Asthma Basic and translational research Cardiac hypertrophy Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease Diabetes Pulmonary hypertension

Dr. Yong-Xiao Wang has been a full professor in the Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology at Albany Medical College since 2006. Dr. Wang obtained his MD at Wannan Medical University in 1983, his Ph.D. at Fourth Military Medical University in 1990, and his postdoctoral training at the Technology University of Munich from 1993 to 1955, as well as at the University of Pennsylvania from 1995 to 1996. He served as an assistant professor at the University of Pennsylvania from 1997 to 2000 and as an associate professor at Albany Medical College from 2001 to 2006.

Dr. Wang has been primarily working on basic, translational, and drug discovery research concerning cardiac arrhythmia, cardiac hypertrophy, pulmonary hypertension, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and diabetes for over 30 years. In particular, he has had extensive research experience in the studies of the molecular geneses, regulatory mechanisms, signaling pathways, physiological functions, and critical roles of ion channels, cell calcium, reactive oxygen species, and neurotransmitter receptors in the aforementioned devastating diseases using multiple and complementary molecular, biochemical, physiological, pharmacological, and genetic approaches at the molecular, organelle, cellular, tissue, and organism levels in animals and human samples. 

Yufeng Zhou

School of Biomedical Engineering, Chongqing Meddical University, Chongqing, China

yufeng.zhou@cqmu.edu.cn

Shock wave lithotripsy Sonothrombolysis Ultrasound-mediated drug delivery

Dr. Yufeng Zhou got his B.S. (1996) and M.S. (1999) degrees from the National Key Lab of Modern Acoustics, Institute of Acoustics, Nanjing University, China. He obtained his Ph.D. degree from the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science at Duke University and majored in Bioacoustics in 2003.
Dr. Zhou worked at Duke University between 2003 and 2006, at ImaRx Therapeutics Inc. in 2006, at the University of Washington from 2006 to 2010, and at Nanyang Technological University from 2010 to 2020. Since 2021, he has joined Chongqing Medical University as a professor at the College of Biomedical Engineering, State Key Laboratory of Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology, National Engineering Research Center of Ultrasound Medicine. His recent research interests are biomedical ultrasound in therapy and diagnosis, nondestructive evaluation and testing, and acoustics.

Yujing Li

Departments of Human Genetics, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA

yli29@emory.edu

Genomics Neurology Epigenetics Human genetics Molecular biology

Dr. Yujing Li works in the Department of Human Genetics at Emory University in Atlanta, GA, USA. He received a Ph.D. degree from the Institute of Genetics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China (currently the Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, CAS). His research interests include human genetics, epigenetics, genomics, neurology, and molecular biology. He has authored more than 30 research articles and several book chapters. He is a member of the American Society of Human Genetics. 

Yuxia Luan

Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology (Ministry of Education), School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, Jinan, China

yuxialuan@sdu.edu.cn

Drug delivery Immunotherapy Hydrogel Nanomedicine Photodynamic therapy Prodrugs

Prof. Yuxia Luan studied at Shandong University for her PhD. Her postdoctoral study was performed at the University of Montpellier II and the Technical University of Munich. She has authored more than 80 high-impact papers published in journals, including but not limited to the Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, Biomaterials, International Journal of Nanomedicine, Acta Biomaterialia, and Journal of Controlled Release.

Zheng Zhang

Department of Gastroenterology, Beijing Friendship Hospital, Capital Medical University, National Clinical Research Center for Digestive Disease, Beijing Digestive Disease Center, Beijing Key Laboratory for Precancerous Lesion of Digestive Disease, Beijing, China

zhangzheng1975@aliyun.com

Hepatology

Dr. Zheng Zhang works at the Department of Gastroenterology at the Beijing Friendship Hospital, Capital Medical University. His clinical expertise is in the diagnosis and treatment of gastroenterology diseases such as reflux esophagitis, esophageal ulcer, chronic gastritis, gastric ulcer, duodenal ulcer, esophagofundus varices, gastrointestinal early cancer, and colon infection.

Zhongwei Gu

Functional and Molecular Imaging Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Research Unit of Psychoradiology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Chengdu, China

zwgu@scu.edu.cn

Drug delivery Pharmacology and toxicology Nanomedicine

Dr. Zhongwei Gu is from the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Chengdu, China. His study of biochemistry is mostly dedicated to connecting different topics, such as in vitro and genes. His immunology study frequently draws connections to other fields, such as the immune system, antigens, antibodies, and adjuvants. Dr. Gu is involved in research in relevant fields, such as drug and bioavailability, in the domain of pharmacology. Dr. Gu undertakes interdisciplinary studies in the fields of drugs and pharmacology through his work. Dr. Zheng Zhang works at the Department of Gastroenterology at the Beijing Friendship Hospital, Capital Medical University. His clinical expertise is in the diagnosis and treatment of gastroenterology diseases such as reflux esophagitis, esophageal ulcer, chronic gastritis, gastric ulcer, duodenal ulcer, esophagofundus varices, gastrointestinal early cancer, and colon infection.

Byron Baron

Centre for Molecular Medicine and Biobanking, Faculty of Medicine and Surgery, University of Malta, Msida, Malta

byron.baron@um.edu.mt

Proteomics Molecular and cell biology

Prof. Byron Baron is a biochemist specialising in proteomics with a keen interest in methylation. He is an associate professor with the Centre of Molecular Medicine and Biobanking at the University of Malta. His research interests span a broad range of topics, with the main ones being colorectal cancer, chemoresistance, mesenchymal stem cell applications, neuronal differentiation, methyltransferase interactions, mass spectrometry, proteomic method development, agrichemical bioaccumulation, and sustainable agriculture. His research activities focus on answering basic science questions that are of clinical or environmental relevance, doing research with both in-vitro models and patient or donor material to generate 2D and 3D organoid cell cultures to which many protein analysis techniques are applied.

Ileana Terruzzi

Department of Biomedical Sciences for Health, University of Milan, Milan, Italy

Ileana.Terruzzi@unimi.it

Metabolism and metabolic diseases Physiology Molecular and cell biology

Dr. Ileana Terruzzi is an associate professor at the Department of Biomedical Sciences for Health at the University of Milan, Milan, Italy, and the Division of Metabolic and Cardiovascular Sciences, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy. Her research interests focus on metabolism, nutrigenomics, and cellular differentiation units.

Junfeng Wang

Division of Pharmacoepidemiology and Clinical Pharmacology, Utrecht Institute for Pharmaceutical Sciences, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands

j.wang-4@umcutrecht.nl

Biostatistics, bioinformatics, epidemiology

Dr. Junfeng Wang is a researcher in the Division of Pharmacoepidemiology and Clinical Pharmacology at the Utrecht Institute for Pharmaceutical Sciences, Utrecht University. He has completed the project "Next Generation Health Technology Assessment to support patient-centered, societally oriented, real-time decision-making on access to and reimbursement for health technologies throughout Europe (HTx)". His research interests focus on methods and statistics, biostatistics, clinical epidemiology, survival analysis, statistical meta-analysis, and health economics.

Tiangang Li

Department of Pharmacology, Toxicology & Therapeutics, Kansas University Medical Center, University of Kansas, Kansas City, KA, USA

tli@kumc.edu

Hepatology Metabolism and metabolic diseases

Dr. Tiangang Li is a professor of Physiology and a Harold Hamm Chair for Adult Diabetes Research Member at the Harold Hamm Diabetes Center. A major focus of his lab is to investigate how modulating enterohepatic bile acid signaling impacts the complex metabolic network via distinct mechanisms of action. Through these studies, they hope to better understand the pathophysiological function of bile acids and help establish the molecular basis for developing effective bile acid-based therapies. They address these questions by employing experimental mouse models through viral vector-mediated liver-specific gene delivery, tissue-specific genetic knockout, pharmacological treatment approaches, and a combination of physiological and molecular cell biology techniques and unbiased transcriptomics and metabolomics approaches.

Walfre Franco

Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Massachusetts, Lowell, MA, USA

Walfre_Franco@uml.edu

Biomedical engineering Biophysics Engineering

Dr. Walfre Franco is an assistant professor of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Massachusetts, Lowell. Before joining UMass Lowell, Dr. Franco was an assistant professor in the Department of Dermatology at Harvard Medical School (HMS) and an assistant in Biomedical Engineering at the Wellman Center for Photomedicine at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH). Prof. Franco has led the translation of medical devices from concept to commercialization in academic and industrial settings. Prof. Franco's research initiatives span the design, development, and fabrication of devices, sensors, and computational tools for solving health-related problems.