Prof Ngila obtained her PhD in 1996 from the University of New South Wales (Australia). She started working as a Tutor in Chemistry Department, Kenyatta University (KU) Kenya from 1989; Appointed as Lecturer in Chemistry Department, University of Botswana (UB) 1998; Senior Lecturer, School of Chemistry, University of KwaZulu Natal (UKZN) 2006; full Professor, Applied Chemistry, University of Johannesburg (UJ) in 2011; Appointed Deputy Director of Morendat Institute of Oil & Ga, Kenya Pipeline Company (Kenya) in April 2017. 

Her research interests include the development of water quality monitoring techniques for inorganic and organic pollutants and nanotechnology for water treatment. Her current research focus is on nanocomposite membranes and electrospun nanofiber adsorbents for removal of pollutants in contaminated drinking water and secondary treated wastewater effluents. She has graduated 22 Honours, 33 MSc and 28 PhD students including training of 18 Postdoctoral Fellows. She has over 410 publications comprising of 191 journal articles, 15 book chapters, 17 conference proceedings, 35 Keynote/invited lectures and 155 conference abstracts. She is rated by South Africa National Research Foundation (NRF -rated).

She has previously served as the Head of Department of Applied Chemistry at University of Johannesburg (UJ), and as Deputy HOD. She also acted Director of the UJ Water Node of the Nanotechnology Innovation Centre (NIC) funded by South Africa Department of Science & Technology (DST) through DST/Mintek; and Coordinator of UJ Node for MSc National Nanotechnology Programme for Teaching and Training Platform (NNPTTP). She had previously served as Coordinator of Analytical Chemistry Divisions at UKZN, UB and KU. 

She is the Winner of Kwame Nkrumah Regional Awards for Women (East Africa) 2016, and Winner of South Africa Distinguished Women in Science (WISA) Award 2016. She is a Member of Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf) from 2016. She has been a Member of various Chemical Societies. She is the Chair of The AAS Committee on Education and Gender.

Professor Alash’le Abimiku, is a co-founder and the Executive Director of the International Research Centre of Excellence (IRCE) at the Institute of Human Virology Nigeria (IHVN), and a Professor at the Institute of Human Virology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore; She has over 2 decades of establishing laboratory infrastructure and science in Nigeria with long-term collaborations with the USA. Prof. Abimiku’s research focuses on the role of HIV subtypes in disease pathogenesis using mother to child model; and effects of co-infections such as TB on HIV pathogenesis as a successful and funded independent researcher. Prof. Abimiku has trained a cadre of Nigerian scientists and is internationally recognized for her leadership in HIV research, and in promoting laboratory diagnostics and medicine in Africa. She played a significant role in the past as a member of the WHO HIV vaccine advisory committee and the African AIDS Vaccine Program. She currently serves as a member of the international scientific advisory group for University of Cape Town, and as Board chair of the African Society of Laboratory Medicine (ASLM).

Eugene Sobngwi is Professor of Endocrinology and Metabolism at the University of Yaoundé 1 and Consultant Endocrinologist at Yaoundé Central Hospital. He is head of the Laboratory of Molecular Medicine and Metabolism at the Biotechnology Centre of the University of Yaoundé 1. Professor Sobngwi is also Medical advisor at the Yaoundé Central Hospital in Cameroon, and Vice-president Global of International Diabetes Federation. 

He formerly worked in Paris, France as lecturer/registrar specialist (Chef de Clinique) at Paris VII Medical School and St-Louis University Hospital, France, and at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, UK as Senior Lecturer in Epidemiology. 

After graduating from the University of Yaoundé 1 in 1996, he specialized in Endocrinology and Diabetes in Paris, and obtained a PhD in metabolism. He also holds an MPhil from the University of Newcastle upon Tyne. He his Fellow of the graduate school of Newcastle University and received his professorship in Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism from the French National Board in April 2013. 

He has serves in many international expert committee such as the American Diabetes Association International Committee for the Diagnosis of Diabetes (2008), the IDF Type 2 guidelines revision committee and several WHO expert committees including the expert committee for diagnosis and classification of diabetes, and the committee on the diagnosis of diabetes in pregnancy.  

His main research areas are epidemiology and pathophysiology of diabetes in Africa, clinical trials, and diabetes in pregnancy.  

He is author of over 200 peer-reviewed publications and 10 book chapters including chapters in the French Textbook of Diabetes and the Oxford Textbook of Endocrinology and Diabetes. 

Prof. Hany A. El-Shemy received his two Ph.D. degrees in Biochemistry and Genetic Engineering from the University of Cairo, Egypt and University of Hiroshima, Japan. He received 2 patents, wrote 13 international books, published more than 90 SCI Journal papers, and 50 conference presentation, and served as the technique committee member as well as chair in many international conferences and the editors including PLoS ONE journal, BMC Genomics, CIMB. He received several awards, including State prize awarded from Academy of Science, Egypt (2004), Young Arab Researcher prize Awarded from Shuman Foundation, Jordan (2005), State Excellence prize from Academy of Science, Egypt (2011), State Recognition Prize, Egypt (2017), Cairo University Prizes 2007, 2010, 2014. He served an expert for African Regional Center of Technology, Dakar, Senegal plus visiting Professor at Pan African University, African Union. He was appointed vice president of the Academy of Science and Technology from 2013 to 2014, Egypt. Since 2014 to Dec 2017 he was working as a Dean of Faculty of Agriculture, Cairo University. 

Mike Meadows is a Physical Geographer who has been at the University of Cape Town since 1983. Originally hailing from Liverpool, UK, Mike obtained his BSc Honors at the University of Sussex and his PhD the Department of Geography at the University of Cambridge.

Promoted to Professor in 2003, he was been Head of Department from 2001 to 2017. He fulfils a wide variety of administrative roles within the Department, Faculty and in the University as a whole, and is the on-site Director for a semester study abroad programme run in collaboration with three US Colleges (Macalester, Pomona, Swarthmore). He is also Distinguished Professor in the School of Geographical Sciences at East China Normal University.

Mike's external portfolio of responsibilities include being the Secretary-General and Treasurer of the International Geographical Union (from 2010-2018), but he is also Past President of the Society of South African Geographers (of which he is a Fellow) and of the Southern African Quaternary Association (SASQUA). He is an elected Fellow of the Royal Society of South Africa, the Royal Geographical Society, the University of Cape Town and the African Academy of Sciences, and is on the editorial board of several high profile international journals.

Dr. Margaret Okomo-Adhiambo holds a doctorate in Veterinary Medicine (DVM) and Master of Science (MSc) in Animal Genetics, both from the University of Nairobi, as well as a doctorate (PhD) in Cell and Molecular Biology from the University of Nevada-Reno, and a Master of Public Health (MPH) in Applied Epidemiology from Emory University. She is currently a Health Scientist and Bioinformatics Team Leader at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), where her research is focused on developing and implementing bioinformatics solutions for microbial pathogen detection, outbreak investigations, and infectious disease surveillance. Her previous research at the CDC was focused on characterizing influenza antiviral drug resistance among epidemiologically relevant viruses. 

Prior to joining the CDC, Dr. Okomo-Adhiambo was a researcher at the University of Nevada, Reno, where her doctoral and postdoctoral studies focused on applying molecular genetics methodologies to examine infectious disease pathogenesis. Before embarking on her doctoral studies, Dr. Okomo-Adhiambo was an animal genetics researcher at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), performing research on genetic characterization of indigenous African cattle, to aid their conservation and utilization. She was also a Lecturer at the University of Nairobi, Department of Animal Sciences, teaching animal genetics courses, and researching the genetics of disease resistance among indigenous African livestock. 

Dr. Okomo-Adhiambo has over 20 years’ experience conceiving, implementing and directing scientific studies aimed at detection, control and prevention of infectious diseases. She has extensive experience and knowledge of methodologies for managing and analyzing scientific data from complex studies related to a broad range of public health topics. Dr. Okomo-Adhiambo has published over 50 scientific articles, including book chapters and technical reports, and has presented over 40 conference abstracts. 

She actively mentors and advises young men and women aspiring to become future biomedical scientists, and currently serves as mentor and board member of MTAWA, an organization that promotes participation of African women in science and technology. 

Prof Korsten is currently the Co-Director within the Department of Science and Technology, Centre of Excellence Food Security.  She is also responsible for the food safety and regulatory control programmes within the DST Centre of Excellence Food Security.  She is a chief editor of Crop Protection and is chairing the International Society for Plant Pathology Task Force on Global Food Security. Prof Korsten has focused her research mainly on complementary fields of postharvest technology and food safety as related to international trade in fresh produce.  She has been able to establish research teams in food safety, postharvest pathology, biocontrol and mushroom and fruit health. As a team they have been able to develop several innovative technologies to reduce diseases and prevent product contamination. The value of her research programmes can best be illustrated by sustainable industry financial support.  She has been able to attract extensive national and international long term funding such as the Water Research Commission solicited research projects “An investigation into the link between water quality and microbiological safety of fruit and vegetables from the farming to the processing stages of production and marketing” and “Evaluation of the risks associated with the use of rain water harvested from roof-tops for domestic use and homestead food gardens, and groundwater for domestic use and livestock watering” as well as the 7th EU Framework project “Impact of climate change and globalization on safety of fresh produce – governing a supply chain of uncompromised food sovereignty.  Current projects include the third WRC project

Prof Korsten has also developed one of the first biocontrol products in South Africa in 1992 that was patented, registered and commercialized and is still used in the fruit industry.  An alternative mushroom casing material has also been developed by her team using waste products that has since been licensed for commercial production. 

Professor Crain Soudien is the Chief Executive Officer of the Human Sciences Research Council, effective 1 September 2015. He is formerly a Deputy Vice-Chancellor at the University of Cape Town. He is a joint professor in Education and African Studies. He has published over 180 articles, reviews, reports, and book chapters in the areas of social difference, culture, education policy, comparative education, educational change, public history and popular culture.

He was educated at the University of Cape Town, South Africa and holds a PhD from the State University of New York at Buffalo.

He is involved in a number of local, national and international social and cultural organizations and is the Chairperson of the Independent Examinations Board, the former Chairperson of the District Six Museum Foundation, a former President of the World Council of Comparative Education Societies and had been the chair of the Ministerial Committee on Transformation in Higher Education and is currently the chair of the Ministerial Committee to evaluate textbooks for discrimination.  He is a fellow of a number of local and international academies and serves on the boards of a number of cultural, heritage, education and civil society structures.

Iruka Okeke received B. Pharm, MSc and Ph.D. degrees from Obafemi Awolowo University (formerly University of Ife), Nigeria, undertaking a year of her doctoral research at the Center for Vaccine Development, University of Maryland as a Fulbright Fellow.  After postdoctoral training at Uppsala Universitet, Sweden and the University of Maryland Medical School, Okeke held Faculty positions at the University of Bradford, UK (2000-2002) and then at Haverford College, PA, USA, where she was initially appointed Assistant Professor in 2002.  During her tenure at Haverford, she was a Branco Weiss Fellow of the Society in Science (2004-9) and a fellow at the Institute for Advanced Studies, Berlin (2010-11).  She rose to full professorship at Haverford in 2014 before moving to her current position at the University of Ibadan.   

Iruka is a Professor of Pharmaceutical Microbiology at the University of Ibadan, Nigeria.  She is a bacterial geneticist who researchers the molecular epidemiology, pathogenesis and drug resistance of enteric bacteria.  She also engages in Science and Technology Studies research, which is focused on microbiology laboratory practice in Africa. Iruka’s research and teaching are inseparably intertwined and many of her almost 100 research mentees are now pursuing successful careers in the sciences. 

Iruka is author of over 120 scientific papers and chapters as well as the book Divining Without Seeds:  The case for strengthening laboratory medicine in Africa (Cornell).  She is co-author of the text book Genetics:  Genes, Genomes and Evolution (Oxford) and Editor-in-Chief of the African Journal of Laboratory Medicine.   Iruka currently serves on the Wellcome Trust Surveillance and Epidemiology of Drug Resistant Infections Consortium (SEDRIC) and is a drug resistance consultant to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, WHO and other organizations.  She is a member of several scientific societies and a fellow of the Nigerian Academy of Science.   

Prof Zoungrana obtained her Doctorat de 3ème cycle (1982) from the University Paris VI in France and her Doctorat d’Etat ès Sciences (1995) from the University of Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. She joined the Institute of Rural Department at the University of Ouaagadougou and rose through the ranks to become full Professor in 2008. 

Her research interests in Animal Nutrition include a better understanding of forage plant species: ingestibility, digestibility, prediction and factors governing their efficient use and variations. She supervised over 70 students (Engineers, MSc. and PhD) locally and internationally. 

She has been Head of the Animal Production Department, Director of External Relations, Director of the Institute of Rural Development, Director of the Institute of Nature and Life Sciences, Director of Laboratory LERNSE and Responsible for the Doctoral Training Programme. Currently, she is the Chair of the Board of the University of Ouagadougou, and since 2008, she is the Director General of the National Biosafety Agency. 

She has served (at national and international level) as Chair or member of Scientifics Councils and assessment committees of several Research Institutions. She served as Expert for the establishment of universities curricula, Coordinator of Research projects, Expert for drafting the implementing regulations of the Regional biosafety Regulation for WAEMU & ECOWAS countries and Expert for the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). She has also contributed to the growth and success of the African Network for Agriculture, Agroforestry and Natural Resources Education (ANAFE) at the regional and continental levels.  

She is a Fellow of the National Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters of Burkina Faso (2013) and member of the Board. She has 77 publications and 25 fact sheets. (2018). 

Emmanuel Iwuoha (PhD 1986, University of Ibadan, Nigeria) is the South African Research Chair Initiative (SARChI) Chair (Tier 1) for NanoElectrochemistry and Sensor Technology; and a Senior Professor of Chemistry at the University of the Western Cape (UWC). He was admitted as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry, UK in 1999. Prof Iwuoha is an electrochemist and has more than 25 years of experience on biosensors and electroanalysis; and has current research interest on electrochemical and photovoltaic energy materials. He has supervised 52 PhD and 59 MSc graduates. He is an editorial board member of Analytical Chemistry (the American Chemical Society (ACS) Analytical Division’s flagship journal), as well as Bioelectrochemistry (the Bioelectrochemical Society’s flagship journal).  He is the Founder and Director of SensorLab (the UWC Sensor Research Laboratories) since 2002. Within the framework of the Department of Science and Technology’s Nanoscience Pedagogical Strategies, Prof Iwuoha in 2012 led the establishment of the first interuniversity MSc Nanoscience degree programme in South Africa, involving the Nelson Mandela University, the University of the Free State, the University of Johannesburg and UWC. In 2013, Prof Iwuoha in collaboration with the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), founded the All African Nanoscience and Nanotechnology Initiative (AANNI). From 1998 to 2000, he led the interdisciplinary team of scientists that developed the 1990 and 1992 Greenhouse Gas Inventories of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, and produced the country’s Initial National Communication on Climate Change (INCCC), under the United Nation Framework Commission on Climate Change (UNFCCC). His recent awards include the UWC Vice Chancellor's Distinguished Researcher Award for 2015; and the maiden edition of the UWC Research Excellence Award for Best Established Researcher for 2017. 

Wafaa El-Sadr is the founder and director of ICAP at Columbia University, University Professor of Epidemiology and Medicine and Mathilde Krim-amfAR Professor of Global Health at Columbia University.  

Through ICAP, the Center she founded and directs, she was instrumental in support of establishment of large-scale programs in sub Saharan Africa and Asia that integrate research, education, training and practice.  ICAP’s work in more than 30 countries is focused on confronting major public health challenges including HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, maternal and child health, non-communicable diseases among others. ICAP aims to bridge the divide between knowledge and action, taking discoveries to implementation in the real world. In addition, ICAP supports the education, training and mentorship of diverse workforce engaged in health.      

ICAP works closely with ministries of health, international organizations, academic institutions, private sector, community-based organizations and civil society groups in the pursuit of responsive, inclusive, sustainable and innovative approaches to achieving public health impact.  

Prior to her work at ICAP, she spent more than two decades at Harlem Hospital in New York City during the height of the HIV epidemic. She led the establishment of a novel program to respond to the epidemic that was centered on meeting the needs of affected individuals and families.  

Dr. El-Sadr is also a prolific researcher with close to 400 publications. Her research interests are diverse and include research on the prevention and treatment of HIV, tuberculosis, non-communicable diseases, maternal-child health among others.  

She was born in Egypt, received her medical degree from Cairo University, a masters in public health from Columbia’s Mailman School of Public Health and a masters in public administration from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government. She was named as McArthur “genius” fellow in 2008 and is a member of the National Academy of Medicine.  

Professor Charles Rotimi, a genetic epidemiologist, is the Chief of the Metabolic, Cardiovascular and Inflammatory Disease Genomics Branch and the Director of the Center for Research on Genomics and Global Health at the US National Institutes of Health. Rotimi has directed innovative research to understanding the genomic, social and cultural determinants of metabolic diseases in African ancestry populations. He is a leader in exploring the implications of the increased genetic diversity in African ancestry populations for disease gene mapping. Rotimi is especially proud of his efforts at globalizing genomics. His engagement of African communities for the HapMap and 1000 Genomes projects has had a transformative impact. Rotimi was the founding president of the now thriving African Society of Human Genetics, and spearheaded formation of the H3Africa Initiative with over 170 million US dollars funding from NIH and Wellcome Trust. Rotimi was recognized as an “African Innovator” by Quart Africa and elected to the USA National Academy of Medicine and African Academy of Sciences. He is an internationally recognized scholar with research accomplishments profiled in New-England-Journal of Medicine, Science, Nature, Lancet, Newsweek, NY Times and BBC.

Kelly obtained his PhD in Synthetic Organic Chemistry from the University of Cambridge in the UK (1989-1992). This was followed by postdoctoral stints at the University of Liverpool in the UK (1992-94) and at the Scripps Research Institute in the USA (1994-96). He was a Sandler Sabbatical Fellow at the University of California San Francisco (2002), a US Fulbright Senior Research Scholar at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine (2008) and a Visiting Professor at Pfizer in the UK (2008).

He joined the University of Cape Town (UCT) in South Africa as a lecturer in October 1996 and rose through the ranks to become full Professor in 2007. He is also a Full Member of the UCT Institute of Infectious Disease & Molecular Medicine (IDM), a Tier 1 South Africa Research Chair in Drug Discovery, founding Director of the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC) Drug Discovery and Development Research Unit at UCT and the Founder and Director of the UCT Drug Discovery and Development Centre,H3D (http://www.h3d.uct.ac.za/). His research interests are in integrated drug discovery.

He has served as member of the Medicines for Malaria Venture Expert Scientific Advisory Committee and a member of the following Boards: UK Government Department of Health Global Antimicrobial Resistance Innovation Fund (GAMRIF), Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute (Swiss TPH) External Review, South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA). He was named as one of Fortune Magazine’s 50 World’s Greatest Leaders for 2018 (http://fortune.com/longform/worlds-greatest-leaders-2018/)

Dr. Isaac Luginaah is a professor of geography at the University of Western Ontario, and was a Canada Research Chair in Health Geography (2007-2018). He obtained his PhD from McMaster University, Canada in 2001. His work in North America and Africa has made field-defining theoretical and methodological contributions, addressing impacts of environmental hazards and vulnerabilities in population health. His research in North America (Canada and USA) focuses on the health effects of environmental exposure, and Aboriginal health. In Sub-Saharan Africa where Luginaah's work spans several countries, his research focuses on Health Inequalities, HIV/AIDS and food security among vulnerable populations. 

Dr. Luginaah exhibits high standards of excellence and disciplinary engagement that makes him an internationally renowned, prize winning researcher and teacher. In 2003, he received a Research Excellence Award from the University of Windsor, Ontario. In 2008, he was recognized by the Canadian Association of Geographers with the Julian M. Szeicz Award for Early Career Achievement. In 2009 he was honoured as a Faculty Scholar for his research contributions and teaching excellence by The University of Western Ontario. In 2011 he was honoured as a Paul Harris Fellow by Rotary International in recognition of his “service above self” in his community and globally. In 2014, he was honoured by the American Association of Geographers – Africa Specialty Group for his Leadership to the premier journal - African Geographical Review. In 2014, Dr. Luginaah was inducted into the College of the Royal Society of Canada. Also, in 2017 he was honoured by the American Association of Geographers with the Kwadwo Konadu-Agyemang Distinguish Scholar Award for his contributions to African Geographic Scholarship. Dr. Luginaah has trained 11 PhDs and 26 MA/MSc students. 

Professor Lynn Morris is the Interim Executive Director of the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) and Principal Medical Scientist in the HIV Virology Section, Centre for HIV & STI’s, NICD. She holds a joint appointment as Research Professor at the University of the Witwatersrand and is an Honorary Senior Scientist (Humoral Immunity) at the Centre for the AIDS Programme of Research in South Africa (CAPRISA). She completed her undergraduate studies at Wits University and obtained a DPhil from the University of Oxford in 1988.  

Lynn is a South African National Research Foundation (NRF) A-rated researcher (international leader) who has for the past 25 years been studying the immunovirology of South African HIV-1 subtype C infection, making significant contributions to understanding how the antibody response to HIV develops. HIV vaccine development is a major focus of her research and her laboratory is responsible for performing neutralizing antibody assays on human clinical trials conducted in South Africa. Her contributions have been recognised through several National and International Awards which includes the University of the Witwatersrand’s Vice Chancellor Research Award (2014), the South African Medical Research Council’s Gold Merit Award (2015), a Harry Oppenheimer Memorial Trust Fellowship Award (2017) and the World Academy of Sciences Prize in Medical Sciences (2018).  

She has supervised 30 PhD and MSc students, has published over 240 papers holding a current author H-Index of 56 and features on the Clarivate (previously Thomson Reuters) ISI list of the highest cited researchers in the world. 

Prof. JN (Kobus) Eloff is the founder of the interdisciplinary Phytomedicine Programme, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Pretoria concentrating on using plants selected by focused screening and ethnoveterinary knowledge, to treat infections/infestations by microorganisms and parasites on production animals. Was Executive Director National Botanic Gardens and Research Director National Botanical Institute.  Professor Universities of Free State, Cape Town and Pretoria. Supervised 48 MSc and 49 PhD students that have completed their studies.   

Editor SA Journal of Botany, SA Journal for Science and Technology, International Journal for Phytomedicine, BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine.  Invited to review manuscripts for 309 different scientific journals.  Did not accept invitation to join Editorial Board of 74 different scientific journals 

More than 220 (> 91 invited/plenary/keynote) international presentations > 308 peer evaluated scientific publications > 10800 citations, h factor 50 with 179 publications cited at least 10 times.  

Managed project leading to African Herbal Pharmacopoeia.  

Several patents registered and products licensed to Industrial Companies based on group’s research. 

B-category (internationally acclaimed researcher) evaluation by NRF.  

Leadership role several national and international professional societies. Elected member of Italian  Academy of Sciences Bologna Institute established in 1690 with Nobel prize winners like Marie Curie and Albert Einstein as former members. Elected mmber of African Academy of Sciences. 

Awarded International Horticultural Society Bronze medal, SA Association of Botanists Silver and Gold medal and honorary Life Membership, SA Akademie vir Wetenskap en Kuns Havenga medal, Gold medal and MT Steyn Prize, National Science and Technology Forum Eskom Prize for capacity development and Academy for Science of South Africa (ASSAf) Gold medal.  Profile included in book of ASSAf entitled “Legends of South African Science” with 52 other scientists from natural and social sciences 

Alinah Kelo Segobye has just completed a term as visiting scholar at the Rotary Peace Centre, University of Bradford. She is an honorary professor at the Thabo Mbeki African Leadership Institute (TMALI), UNISA and former Deputy Executive Director at the Human Sciences Research Council of South Africa. Segobye's research includes Africa's development, the archaeology of southern Africa, indigenous knowledge systems, heritage studies and HIV/AIDS. She has served as an advisor, facilitator and expert for a number of international organizations. She has authored and co-authored a number of essays and book chapters on themes including Africa’s development outlooks and the future of the past in Africa.

Professor Carolyn Williamson is the Head of Division. Carolyn received her PhD in 1988 from the Department of Microbiology, University of Cape Town, where she worked on insect viruses as biological control agents of agricultural pests. Since then Carolyn has worked on viral diseases at the National Institute for Communicable Diseases, Johannesburg and then for the South African Institute for Medical Research, Cape Town. In 2000, she was appointed Associate Professor in the Department of Medical Microbiology, University of Cape Town and in 2009 was promoted to Professor in the Division of Medical Virology, University of Cape Town.

Dr. Oluyede Ajayi obtained PhD from the University of Hannover in Germany, MSc from University of Ibadan, B.Agric from University of Ife in Nigeria.  

He is a senior-level, multi-lingual professional offering about 20 years post-doctoral experience spanning research, grant management and contract negotiation, and private sector engagement.  

He works at the ACP-EU Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA) based in the Netherlands from where he leads agricultural development and climate change projects for Africa, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) regions. He previously worked as Research Leader/Senior Scientist in three CGIAR Centres (IITA, Africa Rice and ICRAF) and has over one hundred and ninety (190) publications. He won the “Diamond Author Award” in 2007 & 2008 respectively. His publications have attracted interviews with international media including BBC World (Science) and Farm Radio International.  

He has supervised several PhD students and Masters theses, and has mentored several National Agricultural Research Systems (NARS) staff and consultants across ACP. Early in his career, he worked in to strengthen capacity and facilitate access of rural communities to finance in Nigeria.  

Dr Ajayi is a Designated Contact Point (DCP) for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNCCC); Member of the Scientific Advisory Committee of “Climate Research for Development” (CR4D) of United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) & World Meteorological Organization (WMO); Fellow of the University of Leiden Netherlands; Member of the Advisory Board of Brazil-Africa Institute. 

He has lived and carried out research and development activities in several countries in Southern Africa, Eastern Africa, West Africa, Europe and, has managed research/development portfolios in several countries within ACP. He is committed ensuring that research contributes to policy and development planning. 

He is highly proficient in Yoruba, English and French languages, and speaks fair German and Dutch.  

Professor Naidoo completed his PhD at the University of Michigan (USA) in 1994 after which he spent two years as a Postdoctoral Fellow at Cornell University (USA). He joined the faculty at the University of Cape Town (UCT) as lecturer in Chemistry in 1996 and was inaugurated as Professor of Physical Chemistry in 2011.  

In recognition of his expertise in computational science as it is practiced in chemistry, chemical physics and biochemistry Kevin Naidoo was awarded one of the first of 21 South African research Chairs (SARChI) in 2007 for a period of five years in Scientific Computing, twice renewed for 2012-2016 and 2017-2021.  He played a pivotal role in the establishment of South Africa’s only Centre for High Performance Computing, of which he served as the acting research director 2006-2007.  As founding director of the Scientific Computing Research Unit at UCT he established the only South African postgraduate programmes awarding M.Sc.’s and PhD’s in Computational Science.  

His depth and breadth of expertise is internationally sought after as seen from his editorial board membership of the Journal of Computational Chemistry (Wiley, 2004 -), Carbohydrate Research (Elsevier, 2015-) and the Journal of Molecular Modeling (Springer, 2018-). He is regularly invited to review research proposals for major international science and funding agencies such as the ACS’ Petroleum Research Fund, the Czech Academy of Sciences, Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research and the Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics. 

Professor Naidoo’s principal scientific interests are the development and application of computational tools for the life sciences with a special focus on cancer diagnostics and therapeutics. As a testament to his breadth and depth of expertise he is most probably the only theoretical chemist to lead a clinical investigation to establish a genetic biomarker for Breast Cancer as discovered by Big Data Analytics. 

Sam Kariuki completed his MSc in 1991 and joined the Centre for Microbiology (CMR), Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) as an Assistant Research Officer. He obtained his PhD in Tropical Medicine from the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine in 1997 and rose through the ranks to become a Chief Research Officer and  then Director of CMR in 2011 and served in this position until April, 2018.  

His research interests are in the epidemiology and molecular characterisation of enteric bacterial pathogens and antimicrobial resistance, including for invasive non-typhoidal salmonellosis (NTS) and typhoid fever, Vibrio cholerae and Escherichia coli. He has authored/co-authored over 140 papers in peer-reviewed journals and 3 text books on Antimicrobial Resistance and Food Safety. As chair of the Global Antimicrobial Resistance Partnership (GARP)-Kenya (2009-present), he led the initiative to develop the National Action Plan for reduction and control of Antimicrobial Resistance (Published in January 2011 and updated in May, 2017), and I was a member of the National Antimicrobial Stewardship Advisory Committee that advised Ministries of Health and Agriculture on policy on prudent use of Antimicrobials in human and veterinary medicine. 

Sam is the Deputy Director, Research and Development, KEMRI.  He is also a Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute International Fellow and a visiting Professor of Tropical Microbiology, Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, UK. He is also a visiting Professor in Tropical Microbiology, Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, and a member of the American Sciety for Microbiology. He serves as World Health Organization consultant in areas of food safety, antimicrobial resistance and infectious disease surveillance for the region, and a member of the Advisory Group for Integrated Surveillance of Antimicrobial Resistance (AGISAR) (http://www.who.int/foodborne_disease/resistance/agisar_members/en/). 

Dr Nabila Bouatia-Naji obtained her PhD on Human genetics in 2006 from the University of Lille, France. After a postdoctoral fellowship at the Medical Research Council, Cambridge University, UK, she was recruited as an INSERM research associate in 2009. Since 2011, she works at the Paris Cardiovascular research center (PARCC), an INSERM and Université Sorbonne Paris Cité affiliated research center. She is the director of an ERC Starting Grant supported team (2017-2022) and an INSERM labelled (Team3) at the PARCC-INSERM (Since 2018).  

Her research is dedicated to study the genetic etiology of cardiometabolic diseases and has widely contributed to the identification of numerous genetics risk factors through genome-wide association studies and functional genomics. After a solid publication track on the genetics of diabetes related traits, she focused her research on the study of fibromuscular dysplasia that causes hypertension and predisposes to stroke and spontaneous coronary artery dissection, an emerging form of acute myocardial infarction predominantly afflicting women. She uses cutting edge genomic technology and multidisciplinary approaches in wet and dry lab experimentation to address the genetic predisposition to these women specific arterial diseases.  

Dr Bouatia-Naji is a well-recognized scientist who is committed to promote women to embrace scientific research careers, especially at the leadership level. She obtained prestigious and highly competitive funding and awards (Young investigator Chair, French Research Agency 2013-2017, European Research Council Starting Grant 2017-2022, Young investigator award International Conference of Human Genetics, Kyoto 2016). She has published over 56 original articles and reviews, including in high impact journals (e.g Science, Nature genetics, JACC), raised >2.3 Million€ through highly competitive funding schemes.  

Adrienne Lesley Edkins is Associate Professor in Biochemistry and NRF/DST SARChI Chair in Molecular and Cellular Biology of the Eukaryotic Stress Response (since 2015) in the Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology at Rhodes University. She also holds a Newton Advanced Fellowship (2018-2021) from the Newton Fund of the Royal Academy of Medical Sciences, and is Director of the Biomedical Biotechnology Research Unit (BioBRU) at Rhodes University. She obtained her PhD from the University of Glasgow on the Wellcome Trust PhD programme in Molecular Functions in Disease (2008) under the supervision of Prof Bill Cushley.  

An NRF-rated scientist (Y1, 2014-2019), Adrienne’s research centres on molecular, cell biological and biochemical approaches to understanding fundamental mechanisms of the stress response in normal and disease conditions, with an emphasis on cancer and stem cell biology. She has trained 5 postdoctoral fellows and 39 MSc/PhD students, and produced over 43 peer-reviewed journal articles, 2 science engagement articles, 8 book chapters and 3 edited books in this field (2018). She is an editorial board member for the Cancer Panel of the journal Scientific Reports (2018-2020).  

Adrienne has been recognised for her research with the VC Distinguished Research Medal from Rhodes University (2015) and the South African Women in Science (SAWiSA) Award for Distinguished Young Scientist in the Natural/Engineering Sciences from the South African DST (2018).  

Adrienne is also a member of the Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf), the Royal Society of South Africa and the South Africa Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (SASBMB). She served on the Council of SASBMB from 2014-2018.  

Mamokgethi Phakeng began her term of office as Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cape Town on 1 July 2018, where she had been serving as Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Research and Internationalisation since January 2017. Previous to this appointment she served as Vice Principal for Research and Innovation at the University of South Africa (Unisa) for five years, after serving three years as Executive Dean of the College of Science, Engineering and Technology at the same university. She holds a PhD in Mathematics Education from the University of the Witwatersrand and is a highly regarded B1 NRF-rated scientist with over 60 research papers and five edited volumes published. She has won numerous awards for her research and community work, including the Order of the Baobab (Silver) conferred on her by the President of South Africa in April 2016. In August 2014 CEO magazine named her the most influential woman academic in Africa and in August 2016 she was awarded the prestigious Businesswoman of the Year Award in the education category. In 2016 she was appointed by the then Deputy President of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa, to chair the Human Resource Development Council standing committee on Mathematics and Science Education. Kgethi is founder of the Adopt-a-learner Foundation (www.adopt-a-learner.com), a non-profit organisation that started in 2004 and provides financial and educational support to students from township and rural areas to acquire higher education qualifications.  

Professor Mulder graduated with a Bachelor degree, cum laude, in Chemistry and Microbiology, and a first class Honours degree in Microbiology, followed by a PhD in Medical Microbiology.  She then moved into the field of Bioinformatics and was employed at the European Bioinformatics Institute (EBI) in Cambridge for 8.5 years, as a Team Leader responsible for development of InterPro and the Gene Ontology Annotation Projects.  

She currently heads the Computational Biology Division in the Department of Integrative Biomedical Sciences at the University of Cape Town (UCT) (http://www.cbio.uct.ac.za) and is a full member of the Institute for Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine. Her research is in the area of bioinformatics of infectious diseases, including pathogen and host genomics and biological networks, African population genetics, human variation and disease, and microbiome studies. Her group also provides bioinformatics support and training to UCT researchers and beyond. She has over 140 publications, and in 2016 was elected to the University of Cape Town College of Fellows.  

Internationally, Prof Mulder is involved in capacity development in Africa, as leader of H3ABioNet, a Pan-African Bioinformatics network for H3Africa. H3ABioNet is a network of 28 institutions in 16 African countries, which aims to build bioinformatics capacity for genomics research on the continent and develop the infrastructure for managing large-scale genomics data. She is a member of more than 6 different advisory boards for international projects and training initiatives and is on the Board of Directors for the International Society for Computational Biology. She plays a leading role in Bioinformatics education in South Africa, the rest of Africa and globally.  

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Dr. Alouini was born in Tunis, Tunisia. He received the Diplome d'Ingenieur from the École Nationale Supérieure des Télécommunications (TELECOM Paris Tech) and the Diplome d'Etudes Approfondies (D.E.A.) in Electronics with Highest Honors from the Université Pierre & Marie Curie in Paris, France, both in 1993. He received the M.S.E.E. degree from the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech), Atlanta, USA, in 1995, and a PhD in Electrical Engineering from California Institute of Technology (Caltech), Pasadena, USA, in 1998. He also received the Habilitation degree from the Université Pierre & Marie Curie, Paris, France, in 2003.  

Dr. Alouini served as a faculty member in the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA, then in the Texas A&M University at Qatar, Education City, Doha, Qatar before joining King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, Makkah Province, Saudi Arabia as a Professor of Electrical Engineering in 2009. His current research interests include design and performance analysis of diversity combining techniques, MIMO techniques, multi-hop/cooperative communications systems, optical wireless communication systems, cognitive radio systems, and multi-resolution, hierarchical and adaptive modulation schemes.  

Dr. Alouini has published several papers on the above subjects and he is co-author of the textbook Digital Communication over Fading Channels published by Wiley Interscience. He has also won several awards in his career. For instance, he recently received the 2016 Recognition Award of the IEEE Communication Society Wireless Technical Committee, the 2016 Abdul Hameed Shoman Award for Arab Researchers in Engineering Sciences, and the Inaugural Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Science & Technology Achievement Award in Engineering Sciences in 2017.  

Other recognitions include his election as Fellow of the (i) Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), (ii) Academy of Engineering &  Technology of the Developing World (AETDEW), (iii) European Academy of Sciences and Arts (EASA) (Class VI: Technical & Environmental Sciences), and (iv) African Academy of Sciences (AAS). He is also IEEE Distinguished Lecturer for the IEEE Communication Society and IEEE Vehicular Technology Society, member for several times in the annual Thomson ISI Web of Knowledge list of Highly Cited Researchers as well as the Shanghai Ranking/Elsevier list of Most Cited Researchers, and a co-recipient of best paper awards in eleven IEEE conferences (including ICC, GLOBECOM, VTC, PIMRC, ISWCS, and DySPAN). 

Kyobutungi is the Executive Director at the African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC).  She was formerly the Director of Research and has served APHRC in several leadership roles over the past decade, having joined as a Post-doctoral Fellow in May, 2006.

Catherine is an Alumnus of the University of Heidelberg having completed her doctoral studies in Epidemiology in the then Department of Tropical Hygiene and Public Health, under the auspices of the Graduertienkolleg 793 in April 2006. She also obtained a Master of Science degree in Community Health and Health Management in 2002 from the same department. Prior to her graduate studies, Catherine studied Medicine at Makerere University, Kampala after which she worked as a medical officer at Rushere hospital, a rural health facility in Western Uganda for three years. Before and during her graduate studies, she was an Assistant Lecturer and later a Lecturer in the Department of Community Health at the Mbarara University of Science and Technology.

Catherine has served on numerous boards, panels, and expert groups, including the INDEPTH Network Board of Directors and the Advisory Council of the Carnegie African Diaspora Program at the Institute of International Education. She was the inaugural Chairperson of the Kenya Epidemiological Association. Her research interests include migrant health, community participation in health, and the epidemiology of non-communicable diseases.

Catherine is driven by the belief that Africa has the potential to solve its own problems and she tries to make her own contribution, however small.

Prof Yinsuo Jia obtained his PhD in 2006 from University of the Witwatersrand (South Africa); and joined the Institute of Genetics and Physiology, Hebei Academy of Agriculture and Forestry sciences (China) and rose through the ranks to become full Professor in 2005. 

His research interests include plant resistance physiology involving the development of water-saving technique and drought-resistant physiology of wheat; crop breeding focusing on the hybrid maize breeding using QPM germplasm and domestic maize resource for high yield, quality and disease-resistance; gathering, utilization and products development of plant germplasm resources including the bioenergy development from plant wastes. 

He was Director of Crop Cultivation Lab and the International Cooperation Research Center in Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Director of Institute of Genetic Physiology, Hebei Academy of Agricultural and Forestry Sciences, the General Manager of Hebei Jiazuo Agriculture and Technology Co., Ltd., Shijiazhuang, China. At present, he has been the Chief executive of Hebei Richard Agriculture Science and Technology Co., Ltd. 

He has served as a bridge and link between Chinese and African cooperation (translators), widely sought funding from the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology, and conducted research on agricultural and scientific cooperation between China and Africa. He is committee member of Crop Cultivation of the People’s Republic of China and several other professional societies. He has 123 publications and other scientific research fruits up to present. 

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Jean-Bosco Ouedraogo is a parasitologist and medical researcher with over twenty years experience in the field of malaria drug resistance and epidemiological, clinical and vaccine research. He is President of the Association for Science of Health of Burkina Faso and teaches at the University of Ouagadougou and Bobo-Dioulasso University. He has also served as Regional Director of the Regional Institute of Health Sciences (ICES) in Bobo-Dioulasso since 1997. Professor Ouédraogo was nominated by his peers as the first Executive Secretary of the West African Research Network for Health (ROARES) in November 2010. Prof Ouédraogo serves as a member of several scientific societies, has directed over ten international malariology courses organised by the WHO Regional Office for Africa, and has published over 100 publications in leading journals.

Prof Connell obtained his PhD in 1989 from the University of the Witwatersrand.  

He is currently professor of physics at the University of Johannesburg within the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment in the Department of Mechanical Engineering Science.  He has research interests in Particle Physics, Nuclear Physics, Nuclear Energy, Materials Science, Quantum Physics, High Performance Computing and Applied (innovation) Physics. His rating by the SA Research Funding Agency (NRF) cites him as having “considerable international recognition”. He is a past president of the South African Institute of Physics. He is the founding member of the South African participation in High Energy Physics at the ATLAS Experiment at CERN, where with his group he participates in a Beyond Standard Model search as well as engineering and technical activities. He has published over 150 papers in International Journals and is also an ATLAS author. He has worked for many years at the European Synchrotron Research Facility (ESRF). He is interested in technology for competitive industry and in innovation and has a project on the intelligent sensor based sorting of diamond in kimberlite, which is now being commercialized. A current major activity in the service of the discipline is the development of the South African user base for Light Sources, (these are premier international multi-disciplinary research tools) and the implementation of the roadmap towards the African Light Source.  

Dr. Janice Limson is affiliated to Biotechnology, Rhodes University, where Dr. Janice Limson is currently working as Director & Professor. Dr. Janice Limson has authored and co-authored several national and international publications and also working as a reviewer for reputed professional journals. Dr. Janice Limson is having an active association with different societies and academies around the world. Dr. Janice Limson made his mark in the scientific community with the contributions and widely recognition from honourable subject experts around the world. Dr. Janice Limson has received several awards for the contributions to the scientific community. Dr. Janice Limson major research interest involves Biosensors, Biofuel cells and Nanobiotechnology.

Professor Okonofua obtained the fellowships of the West African College of Surgeons in 1984 and the Nigerian Postgraduate Medical College in Obstetrics and Gynecology in 1985. He obtained PhD in public health from the Karolinka University in Sweden in 2005. He is a Fellow of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, a Takemi Fellow in International Health at Harvard University, and a Fellow of the Nigerian Academy of Science.  He joined the services of the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife (Nigeria) in 1986, and rose through the ranks to become full professor in 1992. 

His research interests include reproductive health, especially maternal, child and adolescent reproductive health. His research focuses on identifying the causal pathways for reproductive health mishaps, and pinpointing innovative solutions through interventional and translational research.   

He has been the head of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Obafemi Awolowo University and the University of Benin (Nigeria), Dean of the Faculty of Medicine in the two Universities, and Provost of the College of Medical Sciences at the University of Benin. He is currently the pioneer Vice-Chancellor of the  University of Medical Sciences in Ondo City, Nigeria.  He has been the Adviser on health to President Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria, the Executive Director of the International Federation of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and Program Officer at the Ford Foundation. He is the Editor in Chief of the African Journal of Reproductive Health, founder of the Women’s Health and Action Research Centre, the Centre Leader of the World Bank African Centre of Excellence in Reproductive Health Innovation at the University of Benin (Nigeria), and a member of the editorial board of the British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology. He has 277 publications (2018). 

Prof. Elmazar obtained his B Pharm in 1970 and M Pharm (Pharmacology) in 1973 from Cairo University, and his PhD (Pharmacology) in 1978 from Guy’s Hospital Medical School, London University.

Elmazar was a Professor and Chairman of Pharmacology Department, Mansoura University (1989), vice Dean (2001) & Dean (2003) of Faculty of Pharmacy, Helwan University, Founding Dean of Faculty of Pharmacy, Ahram Canadian University (2005, & 2007 to 2012), Founding Director of the Centre for Community & Consulting Services at BUE (2006).

Prof. Elmazar is a member of several national & international scientific societies, he is also:

- U.S. Citizen Ambassador Program (Birth Defects), Washington.

- An Alexander von Humboldt Fellow

- Fellow of The Egyptian Academy of Sciences, FEAS (2010)

- Fellow of The African Academy of Sciences, FAAS (2018)

- Member of Medical & Nutritional Council, Academy of Scientific Research & Technology - Ministry of Scientific Research June 2010 – Dec. 2015.

- Member of Drug Research Council, Academy of Scientific Research & Technology - Ministry of Scientific Research Jan. 2016 – to date. - Advisor to the Industrial Modernization Center (IMC) – Ministry of Industry and Foreign Trade 2006- to date.

- Member of Drug Technical committee from 2011 to 2014, Pharmacology from 2008 to 2015, Bioequivalence, and Non-Reference Drugs Committees, Central Administration for Pharmaceutical Affairs, Ministry of Health & Population, Oct 2011 – to date.

- A Leading Scientist of the 57 member states of the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC).

Editor and reviewer of several national & international scientific journals. Prof. Elmazar also has six international Patents.

Major research interests are in reproductive toxicology especially teratology (anticonvalsants, retinoids, foods like potatoes as well as on the mechanism of teratogenicity of caffeine).

Publications: 178 (As per Scopus, 81 International Publications, h-index 21, total citation 1302, cumulative IF 218).

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Mohey_Elmazar