Professor Marcel Tanner was Director of the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute from 1997 to 2015 and is now President of the Swiss Academy of Sciences. He holds a PhD in medical biology from the University of Basel and a MPH from the University of London. Lived and worked in Africa and Asia and  ha s published extensively in many fields of health research (>650 original papers) and has received global recognition for his expertise in the field of infectious diseases research and control. He was co-investigator and coordinator of the first African malaria vaccine trial in 1992 and participated as co-principal investigator in several major intervention trials on malaria and schistosomiasis. He developed a Swiss field laboratory to what is now the Ifakara Health Institute in Tanzania from 1981-1985 and when back in Europe as programme director 1987-1997.

Education

PhD, Ghent University, Belgium, 1993
MPH, Free University Brussels, Belgium, 1985
OB/GYN, Board Certification, Ministry of Public Health, Belgium, 1983
DTM&H, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, 1979
MD, State University Ghent, Belgium, 1978

 

Training

Management Development Programme, UZ Gent,(2009)
Certificate of Tropical Medicine, ITM, Antwerp, Belgium, 1979
Certificate of Medicine cum Laude, Ghent University, Belgium, 1978
Classics, O-L-Vr Ten Doorn, Eeklo, Belgium, 1970
 

Current areas of teaching

Global health
Women's health and rights 
Reproductive, maternal, newborn and adolescent health 
Implementation science and research
 

Research interests

Prof Temmerman has a strong academic and scientific background with over 500 publications and books in the area of women’s health, with a Hirsch index of 75. She has supervised many PhD students in Europe, Africa, Latin-America and China and received several awards and honours for her research and advocacy work
 

Experience

Full Professor, Chair Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology and Director Women’s Health, Faculty of Heath Sciences, Aga Khan University in East Africa,2015 to date
Full Professor OB/GYN, Ghent University, Belgium, 1995-current;(leave of absence since 2012)
Head of Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Ghent University Hospital, Belgium,(2008-2012)
Director, International Centre for Reproductive Health, Ghent University, Belgium,1994-2012
Senator, Belgian Parliament (2007-2012)
Member of UN/WHO Independent Expert Review Group on Information and Accountability for Women’s and Children’s Health (2010-2012)
 

Professional associations

Member of KOGS (Kenya Obstetrical and Gynaecological Society) 
Associate member of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
Commissioner in the Guttmacher-Lancet Commission on Sexual and Reproductive Health in the post-2015 world
Senior Fellow in the Institute for Global Health Diplomacy in Geneva
Senior WHO Advisor in Women, Adolescent and Child Health
Member of the EDCTP Scientific Advisory Committee
Commissioner in the Lancet Commission on Adolescent Health and Wellbeing
Member Scientific Advisory Committee, Chair of the HIV working Group of The European & Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP) 
Member of the Expert Group on Contraception, European Parliamentary Forum
Member of the Advisory Board of Women Deliver WD2019
Member of the UNFPA Global Advisory Council
Member of the Guttmacher-Lancet Commission on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights in the post-2015 world
Member of the Lancet Standing Commission on Adolescent Health
Senior Fellow in the Institute for Global Health Diplomacy in Geneva
UNESCO-AKU Chair on Youth Leadership in Science, Health, Gender and Education at the Aga Khan University
Member of the Expert Advisory Group (EAG), G-FINDER reproductive health report, PolicyCures
Member of KOGS (Kenya OBS/GYN Society)
Member of the Scientific Advisory Committee of KARSCOM, Kenya AIDS Research Coordination Mechanism, Ministry of Health, Kenya, and member of the Maisha
Maarifa HIV/SRH Research Hub of the Kenyan National AIDS Control Council (NACC)
Member of KMWA, Kenya Medical Women Association
Member of the Advisory Committee of the First Lady’s Beyond Zero Advocacy Platform, Kenya
Member of the Kenya National Domestication of the Global AA-HA! Guidance Committee on Adolescent Health
Member Research Committee, Health Department, Kilifi County Government
Member of the Steering Committee Medical School, Technical University of Mombasa
Chair of the Regional Maternal-Newborn Steering Committee, AKU-AKHS
Chair of the AKU Ethics Review Board
Board Member International Centre for Reproductive Health (ICRH)- Kenya

 

Awards and honours

The IUSTI annual Prestigious Lecture award 2018 from The International Union against Sexually Transmitted Infections (IUSTI). Plenary address at the organisation’s annual conference in Dublin, entitled Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights. Dublin, June 2018
KMWA Award (Kenya Medical Women Association Award), in recognition of outstanding and consistent work on women sexual and reproductive health and gender based violence. Nairobi, November 2018
Fellow of the African Academy of Sciences, Pretoria, December 2018
UNESCO Chair on Youth Leadership in Science, Health, Gender and Education at the Aga Khan University, September 2018
Concurrent Professorship, Fudan University, May 2017
EDCTP Award for Outstanding Female Scientist, November 2016
Marie Popelin Award for Women’s Rights, a 5-yearly award established by the National Women’s Council Belgium, January 2016
Top 100 Women Leaders in Global Health, The Graduate Institute/Global Health Program, Switzerland, 2015
Honorary Professorship, National Institute Family Planning Research China, Beijing, October 2015
FIGO Distinguished Merit Award, Vancouver, September 2015
Gold Medal of the Royal Flemish Academy of Belgium for Sciences and Arts, December 2014
Award for Free-thinking and Humanism by the Humanism Association Belgium, June 2013
Honorary Membership Award of the Club of Rome by H.R.H Prince Philippe of Belgium, June 2013
Association of European Parliamentarians with Africa (AWEPA) - ‘Peace Women Award 2011’, Brussels, 12 December 2011
Honorary Doctorate, Faculty of Community and Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of the Western Cape, Cape Town, 21 September 2011
Honorary Doctorate, Faculty of Medicine, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, 25 May 2011
BMJ Lifetime Achievement Award 2010, London, March 2010
FIGO Award in recognition of Women Obstetricians-Gynaecologists, Cape Town, October 2009

Bob’s left the UK in 1984 to work in The Gambia on the first clinical trials of insecticide treated nets (ITN). In 1989, he moved to Kenya where he established the framework to undertake linked community mortality and hospital admission surveillance at Kilifi, which included one of four large-scale, community-randomized mortality trials of ITN in Africa. This platform of multi-disciplinary research formed the basis of future long-term support to a programme that has grown from a few scientists working in a prefabricated building, to 100’s of Kenyan scientists with independent funding driving a broad range of research in Kenya and beyond.  

Bob’s research has focused on trying to understand the effects of malaria parasite exposure on the clinical epidemiology of malaria, new methods to define the mortality, morbidity and consequential burdens posed by this parasite and the linked geography and history of malaria across the African continent. In 1996, he initiated the Mapping Malaria Risk in Africa (MARA) project with colleagues in South Africa, which served as the model for a global initiative founded by Bob in 2005 in Nairobi, known as the Malaria Atlas Project (MAP). 

Since 2010, he has led a science-to-policy initiative, funded by DFID, UK, to ensure that there is the best possible use of epidemiological data to design malaria control programmes in 22 African countries. In 2015, this work extended to support countries in the Arabian Peninsula as a collaboration with WHO’s EMR office in Cairo: focusing on countries in conflict, entering phases of malaria elimination or aiming to prevent malaria re-introduction.  

Bob is the longest serving Oxford scientist at the Kenyan Programme, he has been funded by the Wellcome Trust, UK, since 1992 under three Senior Fellowships and three Principal Fellowships. His scientific interests continue to be focused on the complex epidemiology of malaria parasite exposure, disease outcomes and intervention impact across Africa, the promotion of the science of malaria risk mapping to optimize a higher impact future of existing malaria interventions in direct collaboration with national governments in the WHO Africa and Eastern Mediterranean regions, and mentoring early and mid-career scientists from the region. 

Professor Kadambot H.M. Siddique AM, CitWA, FTSE, FAIA, FNAAS, FISPP, FAAS

Hackett Professor of Agriculture Chair and Director The UWA Institute of Agriculture

After completion of his PhD at UWA in 1985 Professor Siddique joined the Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia (DAFWA) as a cereal crop physiologist and worked his way up to principal scientist and leader of DAFWA's Pulse Program.  He became the Director of Centre for Legumes in Mediterranean Agriculture (CLIMA) at UWA in 2001 and remained in this position until 2006 when he was appointed to establish and lead The UWA Institute of Agriculture.

Professor Siddique is recognised internationally as a leader in crop science and agriculture.

Over the past 20 years, Prof Klumperman has published around 150 papers in peer-reviewed scientific journals. His current h-index is 40. In addition, he is co-inventor on more than ten patent applications. He has graduated around 60 post-graduate students (MSc and PhD). Initially, his research was strongly focused on kinetic and mechanistic aspects of radical polymerization reactions. He is considered a world leader in this field as evidenced by his A-rating from the National Research Foundation (South Africa). In recent years, his research interests have shifted towards biomedical applications of polymers, ranging from antimicrobial materials, to drug delivery systems and polymer bioconjugates. The work on antimicrobial materials and on polymer bioconjugates is currently receiving significant attention from industry. Prof. Klumperman is Editor of European Polymer Journal and Editor-in-Chief of the Transactions of the Royal Society of South Africa (RSSAf).

Recognitions: membership in national and other academies, Prizes, Awards, etc.

• SARChI Research Chair (2006, 2010, 2015)
• A-rating from the NRF (2007, 2012)
• Fellow of the RSSAf (2008)
• Gold Medal of SACI (2013)
• Distinguished Professor at Stellenbosch University (2014)
• Sasol Chemistry Innovator of the Year Award (2015)

Alison Elliott is theme leader for Endemic, Neglected, Emerging and Re-emerging Infectious Diseases and head of the Immunomodulation and Vaccines research programme at the MRC/Uganda Virus Research Institute (UVRI) Unit.  She is also director of the Makerere University – UVRI Centre of Excellence for Infection and Immunity Research and Training, and Professor of Tropical Medicine at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine.  She became interested in parasitology and research in Africa as an undergraduate and this interest was encouraged further by an elective in The Gambia.  After completing medical training she joined the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and, during the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, undertook studies on the interaction between tuberculosis and HIV infection in Zambia.  An infectious diseases fellowship in Denver, Colorado, followed, providing an opportunity to learn about management of drug resistant tuberculosis and about laboratory immunology. 

This enabled her to plan and conduct subsequent clinical-immuno-epidemiological studies.  Since 1997 she has been based in Uganda at the Uganda Virus Research Institute.  Current interests focus on the effects of chronic, immunomodulating infections (such as helminth infections) on immune responses to vaccines and on infectious and allergic disease incidence in children in Uganda; and on research capacity building in Africa.

Using interdisciplinary methods, including virology, immunology and structural biology, Gao has made remarkable contributions to the study of pathogen infection (Host-pathogen interactions) and interspecies transmission (“Host jump”) mechanism, in particular, of the influenza virus and coronavirus. His work revealed the origin and interspecies transmission mechanism of important pathogens including avian influenza virus, MERS-CoV and Ebola virus, his recent contribution to Zika virus research is remarkable, inc. revealing of the Zika-induced testis damage in mice model.

He is a leading figure for the control of infectious diseases in China and a world advocate voice of global public health strategy. His heroic work in leading China Mobile Laboratory Testing Team to fight against Ebola in Sierra Leone in 2014 was highly appreciated worldwide. He has been coordinating the collaborative work between China and the rest of the world and the international organizations (including WHO) for field work on Ebola and other infectious diseases in West Africa. As DG of China CDC, Gao is a key figure for establishing African CDC (ACDC) and China’s contribution in African disease control and prevention.

Federico Rosei has held the Canada Research Chair (Junior) in Nanostructured Organic and Inorganic Materials between 2003 and 2013. He is Professor and Director of Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique, Énergie, Matériaux et Télécommunications, Université du Québec, Varennes (QC) Canada. Since January 2014 he holds the UNESCO Chair in Materials and Technologies for Energy Conversion, Saving and Storage and since May 2016 he also holds the Canada Research Chair (Senior) in Nanostructured Materials. He received MSc and PhD degrees from the University of Rome “La Sapienza” in 1996 and 2001, respectively.

Dr Rosei’s research interests focus on the properties of nanostructured materials, and on how to control their size, shape, composition, stability and positioning when grown on suitable substrates. He has extensive experience in fabricating, processing and characterizing inorganic, organic and biocompatible nanomaterials. His research has been supported by multiple funding sources from the Province of Quebec, the Federal Government of Canada as well as international agencies, for a total in excess of M$ 16. He has worked in partnership with over twenty Canadian R&D companies. He is co-inventor of three patents and has published over 270articles in prestigious international journals (including Science, Nature Photonics, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Advanced Materials, Angewandte Chemie Int. Ed., Journal of the American Chemical Society, Advanced Functional Materials, Advanced Energy Materials, Nanoletters, ACS Nano, Biomaterials, Small, Physical Review Letters, Nanoscale, Chem. Comm., Applied Physics Letters, Physical Review B, etc.), has been invited to speak at over 275 international conferences and has given over 215 seminars and colloquia, over 50 professional development lectures and 35 public lectures in 44 countries on all inhabited continents. His publications have been cited over 9400 times and his H index is 52.

He is Fellow of numerous prestigious national and international societies and academies, including: the Royal Society of Canada, the European Academy of Science, the African Academy of Sciences, the World Academy of Art and Science, the World Academy of Ceramics, the American Physical Society, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Optical Society of America, SPIE, the Canadian Academy of Engineering, ASM International, the Royal Society of Chemistry (UK), the Institute of Physics, the Institution of Engineering and Technology, the Institute of Materials, Metallurgy and Mining, the Engineering Institute of Canada, the Australian Institute of Physics, Honorary Fellow of the Chinese Chemical Society, Foreign Member of the Mexican Academy of Engineering, Senior Member of IEEE, Member of the Global Young Academy and Member of the Sigma Xi Society.

He has received several awards and honours, including the FQRNT Strategic Professorship (2002–2007), the Tan Chin Tuan visiting Fellowship (NTU 2008), the Senior Gledden Visiting Fellowship (UWA 2009), Professor at Large at UWA (2010–2012), a Marie Curie Post-Doctoral Fellowship from the European Union (2001), a junior Canada Research Chair (2003–2013), a senior Canada Research Chair (2016–2023) a Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel Award from the Alexander von Humboldt foundation (2011), the Rutherford Memorial Medal in Chemistry (Royal Society of Canada 2011), the Herzberg Medal (Canadian Association of Physics 2013), the Brian Ives lectureship award (ASM international / Canada Council 2013), the Award for Excellence in Materials Chemistry (Canadian Society for Chemistry 2014), the NSERC EWR Steacie Memorial Fellowship (2014), the José Vasconcelos Award for Education (World Cultural Council 2014), the IEEE NTC Distinguished Lectureship 2015–2016, the Lash Miller Award (Canada Section, Electrochemical Society 2015), the Chang Jiang Scholar Award (Government of China), the Khwarizmi International Award from the Iran Research Organization for Science and Technology (IROST), the Recognition for Excellence in Leadership from the American Vacuum Society (2015), the Selby Fellowship from the Australian Academy of Sciences (2016), the John C. Polanyi Award (Canadian Society for Chemistry 2016), the Outstanding Engineer Award (IEEE Canada 2017), the President’s Visiting Fellowship for Distinguished Scientists (Chinese Academy of Sciences 2017) and the Sigma Xi Distinguished Lectureship (2018–2020).

Don Cowan was educated (BSc, MSc, PhD) at the University of Waikato (New Zealand), before moving to a Lectureship at University College London (UK) in 1985. In 2001 he was appointed to the Chair of Microbiology and as Head of the Department of Biotechnology at the University of the Western Cape (RSA), where he established the Institute for Microbial Ecology and Metagenomics. In 2012 he moved to the University of Pretoria as the Director of both the Genomics Research Institute and the Centre for Microbial Ecology and Genomics.

Don’s research is in microbial ecology and microbial genomics, where he and his team use modern ‘omics’ methods to understand the diversity and function of microorganisms in different environments. He works with many other research laboratories in South Africa and across the world. Don has published over 340 research papers, review articles and book chapters.  He has an h-index of 42 (Scopus). 

In the course of his career, Don has trained and graduated 38 PhD students and 47 MSc students.  He currently supervises or co-supervises 3 research fellows, 10 postdoctoral researchers, 10 PhDs and 7 MScs.

Don is also Adjunct Professor at the University of Waikato (NZ), was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society of South Africa in 2007, as a Member of the Academy of Sciences of South Africa in 2008, and as an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand in 2009. He was awarded the University of the Western Cape Vice-Rector’s Award for Research Excellence in 2008 and the South African Society for Microbiology Medal for Research

Excellence in 2009.  He was awarded an NRF A-rating in 2013 and received the National Science and Technology Forum Capacity Development award in 2014.  In April 2015 he received the University of Pretoria’s highest research award, the Chancellor’s Medal. He was elected as a Fellow of African Academy of Sciences in March 2017.

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Prof Balasubramanian’s earlier work on the photochemistry of the eye lens revealed the mechanisms of formation of various tryptophan-photoproducts accumulating in the human lens with time, and the roles that each of them plays in situ on the structural features of the constituent lens proteins and the properties of the ageing lens. Recently, he has been looking at the functional role of the Greek key motifs in the βγ-crystallins in central nuclear transparency of the human lens and in congenital cataracts. 

In collaboration with cell biologists and corneal clinicians at the LVPEI, he has been coordinating adult stem cell biological studies in the eye, and translating them into therapy. He has published over 180 peer-reviewed research papers, contributed to two books in biotechnology, and has published 6 books in popular science. As a science popularize, he regularly writes a biweekly column: ’Speaking of Science” in a national newspaper of India, and also appears on TV.

He has won all the major science awards of India, the TWAS Prize for basic medical sciences, the Khwarizmi Award for Medical Sciences of Iran, and the UNESCO Kalinga Prize for popularization of Science. He is an elected Fellow of all Indian Science Academies (FNA, FASc, FNASc), of TWAS, of the German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina, the African Academy of Sciences and the Mauritian Acad. Sci & Tech. Mauritius. He has been President of the Indian Academy of Sciences (2007-2009) and Secretary General of TWAS (2003-2009).

Fish is a Professor in the Department of Immunology & Associate Chair, International Initiatives & Collaborations, at the University of Toronto. She is a Senior Scientist in the Toronto General Research Institute, University Health Network and Adjunct Scientist in the Women's College Research Institute, Toronto.

Fish is the Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Women’s Health & Immunobiology, a McLaughlin Scholar and was elected as a Fellow to the American Academy of Microbiologists. Professor Fish is the recipient of the 2015 Canadian Society of Immunology Cinader Award for outstanding research contributions and the depth and breadth of contributions to the community through training, leadership, collaboration and international activities. In 2010 Professor Fish was awarded the prestigious Vivian & Seymour Milstein Award, recognizing her exceptional contributions to interferon and cytokine research that have led to advancements in human health. In 2012 Professor Fish received the Canadian Society for Immunology Investigator Award.

She received her undergraduate B.Sc. degree in Biological Chemistry from the University of Manchester, England, and her Master of Philosophy in Virology from King’s College, University of London, England. She received her Ph.D. in Cell Biology from the Institute of Medical Science at the University of Toronto, Canada.  

Professor Fish is on the editorial boards for the Journal of Interferon and Cytokine Research, Viruses, and Arthritis & Rheumatology. Her work has been published in >150 scientific journals and she is internationally recognized for her scholarly research. A focus of her research is the investigation of host-pathogen interactions at the cellular and molecular level, specifically in the context of viruses and interferons. During the 2003 outbreak of SARS, she initiated studies to investigate the therapeutic potential of interferon in SARS patients. Encouraging results have directed her group’s efforts toward examining interferon activity against a number of emerging infectious diseases, such as avian H5N1 and pandemic H1N1 influenza viruses. Recently, her studies have focused on investigating the therapeutic effectiveness of interferon treatment for Ebola virus disease, with a clinical trial in Guinea. Another focus of her work relates to understanding the immune mechanisms that drive autoimmunity, related to rheumatoid arthritis and multiple sclerosis. Most recently, Dr. Fish has initiated research studies in breast cancer, within the context of understanding how alterations to metabolism influence the growth and metastasis of breast tumors. 

Prof Marsh established with colleagues a biomedical research programme in Kenya which over 25 years grew from a small project to an internationally recognised centre with 800 staff working in many African countries. His personal research group has made major contributions to our understanding of how humans become immune to malaria. He has a particular interest in building research leadership in African science and since 2014 has worked with colleagues in The African Academy of Sciences to establish a new pan African platform,  the Alliance for Accelerating  Excellence in Science in Africa (AESA). Prof Marsh contributes to a number of international advisory committees and is chair of the WHO Malaria Policy  Advisory Committee (MPAC).

Prof Zhang’s primary research interest is HIV pathogenesis, focusing on virologic and immunologic interaction during the course of disease and treatment with highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), and development of HIV/AIDS vaccine. He is the recipient of National Outstanding Young Scientist Award, privileged Changjiang Professorship. In addition, Dr Zhang has been the member of national expert and advisory board to the Chinese government and several other international organizations on HIV/AIDS-related issues. Dr Zhang is eager to expand collaborations and work with passionate, dedicated groups or individuals who believe that through combined efforts, we can make a broader and more profound impact on the control of major infectious diseases throughout the world.

Prof Joachim von Braun is considered internationally a leading agricultural and development economist. von Braun initiated research on food security, for which he became particularly recognized, in Egypt, and in various African countries, incl. Ethiopia, and West- and East Africa in the 1980s and 1990s. 

As Director General of the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) he successfully expanded the research agenda and decentralized the Institute, which more than doubled during his tenure 2002‐2009. He organized and chaired the IFPRI conference on “Food and Nutrition Security for all in Africa” in Kampala with about 500 participants.

The International research community of agricultural economists (IAAE) elected von Braun as President, and facilitated the tri-annual IAAE conference of about 1,000 Members in Durban, South Africa 2003. von Braun serves on the Expert Working Group on Food Security, and Agriculture of the High Level Panel of European Union and African Union.

Recognitions: membership in national and other academies, prizes, awards, etc
Honorary Doctoral Degree of University of Stuttgart Hohenheim [2005]
Justus von Liebig Prize for World Nutrition [2011]
The Bertebos Prize by the Royal Swedish Academy of Agriculture and Forestry [Stockholm, 2009]
“Lifetime Fellow” of the International Association of Agricultural Economists (IAAE) [elected 2009];
“Lifetime Fellow” of African Association of Agricultural Economists (AAAE) [elected 2010]
Fellow of the American Association for the Advancements of Science (AAAS) [elected 2006]
Member of German National Academy of Science and Engineering (acatech) [elected 2011]
Member of Pontifical Academy of Science, the Vatican [elected 2012

Peter Neuenschwander is emeritus scientist of IITA and assists with biological control and nature conservation projects in the IITA-Benin station. For almost 10 years before his retirement in 2003 he was Director of the Plant Health Management Division of IITA in Cotonou. He is an entomologist who specializes in biological control and integrated pest management (IPM). He lead and still assists in projects on classical biological control against cassava mealybug, mango mealybug, water hyacinth, and others in 25 African countries. These projects led to permanent solutions of these pest problems. Through these projects he supervised numerous PhD students of African and European universities in collaboration with NARES, international institutions (FAO, CABI, Inter-African Phytosanitary Council), and donor agencies. He is a founding member of BioNET INTERNATIONAL, has a Recognition Award from the African Association of Insect Scientists, and is honorary member of the International Organization for Biological Control; he is well integrated and recognized by his peers. Neuenschwander obtained his PhD in zoology from the University of Bern, Switzerland in 1972. He then proceeded to do a post-doc at the University of California, Berkeley, US. For six years he worked as an FAO employee in an IPM project in Chania, Crete, Greece. In 1982 he led a small biological control project by FAO at the Centre pour le Développement de l’Horticulture in Cambérène, Dakar, Senegal. In 1983 he joined IITA in Ibadan, Nigeria, and moved to Benin in 1988, when the Biological Control Center for Africa was opened. He now lives in Drabo Gbo, a small village 30 km northeast of Cotonou, where he rehabilitates 14 hectares of forest, some of it old rain forest patches, and looks after a troupe of wild-living red-bellied monkeys, an endemic species and flagship for nature conservation in Benin. He is active in the International Union for Conservation of Nature (Benin) and, in 2011, edited the book ‘Nature Conservation in West Africa: Red List for Benin. Since his retirement he lives part of the year in Belp, Switzerland with his family.

Prof Gerhard Bringmann, Professor at the University of Würzburg in Germany, is a leading scientist in the field of natural products chemistry. He has addressed highly challenging, multi-disciplinary topics of natural products chemistry in a comprehensive, interdisciplinary way, with analytical, synthetic, computational, and medicinal facets – from the plant (or sponge or other biological source) and its cultivation to the discovery of novel-type compounds right from the peak in the chromatogram by hyphenated methods, the isolation and structural elucidation even in the case of challenging stereochemical features, the investigation of their biosynthesis, including the discovery of novel biosynthetic pathways, the exploration of their bioactivities (with an emphasis on tropical infectious diseases), and their optimisation by structural modification, and, together with scientists from other disciplines, the elucidation of their modes of action. 

The high degree of interdisciplinarity within his group is facilitated by his broad horizon in chemistry and biology, and further enhanced by numerous interdisciplinary collaborations, i.a. inefficient networks, one of them the SFB 630 network ("Recognition, Preparation and Functional Analysis of Agents against Infectious Diseases"), which he initiated and coordinates, with scientists from four faculties (Chemistry and Pharmacy, Biology, Medicine, and Physics) and from the Division of Tropical Medicine of the Missionary Clinic in Würzburg.
Bringmann is by far the leading scientist in the field of naphthylisoquinoline alkaloids from tropical lianas. He has discovered new biosynthetic pathways (the first acetogenic isoquinoline alkaloids, convergence in polyketide biosynthesis), has explored highly promising classes of compounds, in particular with axial chirality, to which he has delivered great contributions analytically, synthetically, and pharmacologically.

He managed to further enhance the impact of natural products chemistry at many levels by initiating and founding organizations, events, and networks, bringing people together and giving young scientists a chance to further develop, particularly in Africa. He has published ca. 670 papers from plant natural product chemistry.

Prof. Zeyaur R. Khan, is a distinguished agricultural scientist and a professional entomologist working for the last 20 years as a Principal Scientist and Leader of Habitat Management Programme with the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE) in Kenya.

Prof. Khan has dedicated his 32 year career as an international agricultural scientist to advancing the science and practice of agriculture by studying and applying chemical ecology, behavior, plant-plant and insect-plant interactions to improve farm productivity to combat poverty and food insecurity in Africa.

He is responsible for the discovery wide scale-scale implementation of the Push-Pull technology (www.push-pull.net), and its subsequent adaptation to climate change for enhancing food security and environmental sustainability for small-holder cereal-livestock African farmers.

Prof. Khan’s work is a wonderful example demonstrating that creativity and innovation in science can provide practical solutions for the real problems of thousands of small-holder poor farmers and promote their food security and sustainable livelihoods. More than 500,000 people in about 57,000 households are now food secure thrthe ough adoption of push-pull Technology. Prof. Khan’s goal is to end hunger and poverty for 10 million people by extending the Push-Pull technology to 1 million households in sub-Saharan Africa by 2020.

Prof. Khan obtained his Ph.D. from the Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi in 1980. Before joining icipe, he worked with International Rice Research Institute (1983-1991), University of Wisconsin, Madison (1985-1986) and Kansas State University, Manhattan (1991-1993). Since 2009, Prof. Khan also holds a position of Visiting Professor of entomology at Cornell University. Prof. Khan is a Fellow of the Entomological Society of America and the Fellow of the Royal Entomological Society, London. In 2012 icipe has awarded Prof. Khan its highest honour by designating him as the first Thomas Risley Odhiambo Distinguished Research Fellow in recognition of his outstanding achievements in agricultural sciences.

In 2011, the Third World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) named Prof. Khan as a co-winner of 2012 TWAS Prize in Agriculture for his discovery and wide scale implementation of the push-pull technology. In 2010, Prof. Khan was named  Distinguished Scientist by the Entomological Society of America. In the same, year he won the Nan-Yao Su Award for Innovation and Creativity in Entomology.

In 2010, Prof. Khan was elected as a council member of the International Congress of Entomology. In 2009 Prof. Khan was awarded the International IPM excellence award. In 2008, Prof. Khan was invited to present a plenary talk entitled “Push-Pull - a chemical ecology-based IPM strategy for small-holder farmers in Africa” during the XXIII International Congress of Entomology held in Durban, South Africa. In 2012 he was an invited speaker at UK’s Royal Society Scientific Discussion meeting on Food Security and was also a 2012 Sawicki Lecture Honoured Speaker, at Rothamsted Research, UK

Prof Borgemeister was educated in Germany where he obtained a Diploma of Engineering in Agriculture at the Georg-August-University Gottingen in 1985 and a PhD in Horticulture in 1991 at the Leibniz University of Hannover (LUH).

He is the former Director General of icipe in Kenya. His previous positions include: Assistant in the institutes of Plant Protection in the LUH, Postdoc, Associate Scientist, Senior Scientist at IITA Benin, Associate Professor and full Professor in 2003 at LUH. Since 2013 he is a full Professor at the University of Bonn (UoB) in Germany, and since 2014 the Managing Director of UoB’s Centre for Development Research (ZEF).

He was Visiting Professor at Justus-Liebig-University Giessen, Germany, Editor in Chief of the International Journal of Tropical Insect Science, and Editorial Board Member of the Bulletin of Entomological Research, and reviewer for various science journals.

His research interests contain: Entomology, biological control, vector control and IPM in temperature and tropical environments, biodiversity, and international co-operation. He has published >130 papers in peer-reviewed journals, author of 10 chapters for scientific books and co-author of a book.

He is a fellow of the Royal Entomological Society of the UK, the Entomological Society of America and a member of various scientific organizations. Prof Borgemeister has active collaborations in Africa, Asia, North and South America and Europe.

Prof Thulstrup obtained his M.Sc. in 1967 and PhD in 1970, as well as a later Dr. of Science title from Aarhus University. He has been Associate Professor at Aarhus University (1972-81) and was Chairman of the Chemistry Department.

Later he was Professor at Danish Pedagogical University (1981-89) and Roskilde University (1993). Between 1989 and 1993 he was Senior S&T Specialist in the World Bank and headed the Bank’s S&T workgroup.

His research interests focus on polarisation spectroscopy of ordered samples; as well as science policy and economic development. He has developed a method for aligning molecular samples and performing optical spectroscopy with polarized light on them.

He has been Visiting Professor at numerous universities in Europe and the US. He has been a member of the EU Task Force on research evaluation and has headed many evaluations of research capacity building projects, primarily in developing countries, most recently in Tanzania. He has provided science policy advice to several developing countries. In the 1990s he was President of the Danish National Commission for UNESCO.

He is a member of TWAS, Norwegian Academy of Sciences, Mongolian Academy of Sciences and of The African Academy of Sciences. He has about 250 publications, including some widely used monographs on spectroscopy.

Prof Adams obtained his M.Sc. in chemical oceanography at the University of Washington (1966) in the USA and PhD in oceanography at Dalhousie University Canada (1973).

He is Professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences serving at Moi University in Kenya and at the Center for Earth and Environmental Science at State University of New York – USA.

He has ongoing research in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.  He has research programs involving studies of East African Rift valley lakes. His research interests include: Climate change, green house gases, oceanography, limnology, gas geochemistry, petroleum exploration, water resource and pollution, atmospheric chemistry. His awards include: The Chancellor’s award of Scholarship and creative activities (State University of New York).

He has over 90 peer-reviewed publications, abstracts and technical reports to his credit.

Cato T. Laurencin, M.D., PhD is an elected member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences and an elected member of the National Academy of Engineering in the United States.

Dr Laurencin is the Albert and Wilda Van Dusen Distinguished Endowed Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery, and Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, and Professor of Materials Engineering at the University of Connecticut. In addition, Dr Laurencin is a University Professor at the University of Connecticut (the 7th in the institution’s history).

An internationally prominent orthopaedic surgeon, engineer, and administrator, Dr Laurencin is the Founder and Director of both the Institute for Regenerative Engineering and the Sackler Center for Biomedical, Biological, Physical and Engineering Sciences at the University of Connecticut Health Center.

Dr Laurencin earned his undergraduate degree in chemical engineering from Princeton University and his medical degree magna cum laude from Harvard Medical School. During medical school, he also earned his Ph.D. in biochemical engineering/biotechnology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Dr Laurencin has been named to America’s Top Doctors and America’s Top Surgeons and is a Fellow of the American Surgical Association, a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, and a Fellow of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. He is the recipient of the Nicolas Andry Award from the Association of Bone and Joint Surgeons.

In research, Dr Laurencin is an International Fellow in Biomaterials Science and Engineering and a Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering, and a Fellow of the Biomedical Engineering Society. His work on engineering tissues was honored by Scientific American Magazine as one of the 50 greatest achievements in science in 2007.

Dr Laurencin was named the 2009 winner of the Pierre Galletti Award, medical and biological engineering’s highest honor and was named one of the 100 Engineers of the Modern Era by the American Institute of Chemical Engineers at its Centennial celebration. In 2012, his work was highlighted by National Geographic Magazine in its “100 Discoveries That Have Changed Our World” edition.

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Prof Sreenivasan was educated in India (PhD in 1985), Australia (post-doctoral at University of Sydney 1975 – 1977), and USA (post-doctoral at Johns Hopkins University).

He has a 22 year-teaching and research experience at Yale University (1978-1992 at the Department of Engineering and Applied Science) where he became Professor (1985).

His research interests include fluid mechanics and turbulence, complex fluids, nonlinear and nonequilibrium phenomena and cryogenic helium. He has been Director of the International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP)of Italy and Director of the Institute for Physical Science and Technology at the University of Maryland. He has served as a member of the Centre for Computational  Ecology at Yale University and member of School of Mathematics Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton; Chairman of Mechanical Engineering Department and Chairman of the Council of Engineering at Yale University.

He has also served as Editorial Board member of the American Scientist and of the Proceeding of the Indian Academy of Science series C (sadhana), member of the Advisory Board of Springer Book Series on Interdisciplinary Applied Mathematics, Editor of the Journal of Theoretical and Computational Fluid Dynamics.

He is a member of TWAS, American Academy of Arts and Science, Indian Academy of Science and several other professional societies. He has national, regional and international awards and recognitions and; has 200 publications (2005)

Rao is Linus Pauling research professor and Hon. president, Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research. After obtaining his PhD at Purdue U. and completing postdoctoral work at UC Berkeley, he returned to India in 1959 and has since worked in various capacities at the Ind. Inst. of Science and other institutions. His honours include: 77 honorary causa doctorates; Hughes and Royal Medals of the Royal Society, London; Einstein Gold Medal, UNESCO; India Science Prize; Dan David Prize; Ernesto Illy Trieste Science Prize; dist. research professor, U. of Cambridge; laureate, Khwarizmi Intl. Award, Iran; Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Star, by Emperor of Japan, Order of Friendship of Russia, Chevalier De La Legion D'Honneur of France. He was conferred the highest award for materials research, the von Hippel award by the Materials Society in 2017. He is a member of 27 science academies including the Royal Society, US National Academy of Sciences, and Pontifical, Australian, Canadian, Russian, Brazilian, French and Japan academies. He is the recipient of the highest civilian honour of India, Bharat Ratna (Jewel of India).

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