Dr Nasr is currently working as an Associate Professor and researcher of Pharmaceutics and Industrial Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Ain Shams University, Egypt. She is teaching several pharmaceutical courses and pursuing research in the field of drug delivery and formulation since 2003. Dr. Maha has been awarded two research travel grants (six months each) funded by the government at the University of Central Lancashire, United Kingdom and the University of Leiden, Netherlands. She is also an awardee of the Daniel Turnberg UK/Middle East travel fellowship for initiation of research collaboration with the University of Bradford, funded by the Wellcome Trust. Dr. Maha is currently leading a large team of researchers (28) in several projects which are either non-remunerated or funded by agencies in Egypt, in collaboration with several Egyptian and foreign universities as well as Egyptian pharmaceutical companies and research institutes.

Dr Idohou has a PhD in the field of biological conservation and domestication of phytogenetic resources especially neglected and underutilized species from the Faculty of Agronomic Sciences of the University of Abomey-Calavi. His research yielded some 20 scientific papers in high standard journals among which Land use Policy, Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine, Genetic Resources Crop Evolution, and Agroforestry systems and took part in more than 20 international conferences across the world. He is also contributor to two books.

He is a recipient of several awards such as African German Network for Excellence in Science Award, the most prestigious Robert S. McNamara Fellowships Program (RSM) and the Global development network (GDN). He also got more than 6 individual research grants and contributed to 5 collaborative grants. He is also affiliated to international organization such as International Union of Forest Research Organization (2017), IUCN (commission on ecosystem management since 2013), World Association of Young Scientists (since 2013), Explorers Club Grant Funding (since 2012) and Global Youth Biodiversity Network (since 2012). He is a lecturer and researcher and currently head of research unit at the Laboratory of Biomathematics and Forest Estimations.

Dr Olanrewaju is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Environmental Management and Toxicology, College of Environmental Resources Management, Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta. He obtained his Bachelor in Environmental Management and Toxicology from the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (2002), MSc in Environmental Sciences from The University of Nottingham, Nottingham, United Kingdom (2006) and Doctor of Technology (D.Tech) in Environmental Health from Cape Peninsula University of Technology, Cape Town, South Africa (2012). He had his postdoctoral training at the Department of environmental health sciences,Faculty of public health, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria with the support of the African Academy of Sciences (AAS), Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU) and Department for International Development (DfID).

Dr Vitalis holds a BSc (Hons) in Physics from the University of Buea, Buea, Cameroon (2004), an MSc (2011) and a PhD (2015) in Materials Science and Engineering from African University of Science and Technology (AUST), Abuja, Nigeria. He has grown in his career in teaching and research in the field of energy materials to the position of Lecturer I at the Faculty of Engineering in Nile University of Nigeria, Abuja, Nigeria. In this faculty, he currently teaches courses and supervises both undergraduate and postgraduate students in the departments of Civil Engineering and Electrical-Electronics Engineering. He was a World Bank-Step B/ African Development Bank (AfDB) and African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF) scholar at AUST from 2010 to 2015.

Dr Saqr was born in Alexandria, Egypt in 1982. He received B.Sc. and Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from Alexandria University and Universiti Teknologi Malaysia in 2004 and 2011, respectively. Dr. Saqr is specialized in computational fluid dynamics (CFD). He has published more than 80 papers in international journals and conferences covering a broad spectrum of the theory and applications of CFD including turbulence modelling, combustion dynamics, renewable energy and most recently intracranial hemodynamics. Dr. Saqr received international recognition for his research from several universities around the world. He has been a visiting researcher, then a visiting research fellow and invited lecturer with UTM, Malaysia, from 2012 to 2014. He regularly receives the Distinguished Publications Award from the Arab Academy for Science, Technology and Maritime Transport every year since 2014.

Dr Kamanda is the Acting Head for the Science Research and Co-ordination Section at the INDEPTH Secretariat. In this capacity, I co-ordinate 5 large projects in 11 countries and 3 projects analyzing population-based household level data from health and demographic surveillance system (HDSS) sites in 13 countries. Prior to joining INDEPTH, Dr. Kamanda was at the University of Southampton in the United Kingdom where in December 2013 she successfully completed a PhD in Social Statistics. Her thesis was on primary and secondary school attendance in West Africa. At Southampton, she completed her BSc in Sociology and Social Policy (2006-2009) and an MSc in Social Statistics (2009-2010). Her main research activities have focused on education and child health/wellbeing in poor and post-conflict contexts.

Further, she is interested in the application of advanced statistical models to quantitative data in both cross-sectional and longitudinal forms. Dr. Kamanda has published on children’s schooling in low- and middle-income countries in: the International Journal of Educational Development, Compare and Global Health.

Dr El-Gendy is an Associate Professor of Bio-Organic Chemistry at Benha University, Egypt. He received his PhD from University of Florida (USA) in 2010. After that he joined the Scripps Research Institute as a Research Associate. His training as a synthetic chemist, both in Egypt and USA, prepared him for a career in drug discovery. The main focus of Dr. El-Gendy’s research group is drug design and organic synthesis.

He designs and synthesize novel small organic molecules as modulators of nuclear hormone receptors for the therapeutic treatment of cancer and fatty liver diseases. Also, he develops small molecules that can act as anti-viral agents against HCV, ZIKV, and other microbes.He has a wide international collaboration with scientists from UK, UAE, and Egypt. Dr. El-Gendy incorporates computational methods such as quantitative structure activity relationships, pharmacophore modeling, and virtual screening in his drug discovery pipeline to accelerate the process of drug discovery and optimization.

Dr Kato is a Lecturer at the School of Biosecurity, Biotechnical and Laboratory Sciences at Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda. Charles attained his PhD from Makerere University in Clinical Immunology and Molecular Genetics with support from the Consortium for Advanced Research Training in Africa (CARTA) and Afrique One Consortium in 2016. He holds a Master of Science degree in Structure Molecular Biology from the University of London and a second Master of Science degree in Molecular Biology & Biotechnology from Makerere University with a Bachelor’s degree in Veterinary Medicine from the same institution.

Charles`s research interests are in biomarkers research regarding disease co-infections and host-parasite interactions in infectious and zoonotic diseases so as to understand disease epidemiology, improve diagnostics and design better therapeutic interventions. Charles believes that sustainable disease control can only be achieved through a multidisciplinary collaborative approach and use of novel advanced technologies. Charles is currently working on the identification of novel biomarkers to improve or replace the current disease staging for Human African Trypanosomiasis (Sleeping sickness).

Dr Nkya is a lecturer in the Department of Biological Sciences at Dar es Salaam University College of Education (DUCE) and a honorary lecturer at the Department of Biochemistry, Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences (MUHAS). Dr Nkya has a background in Microbiology and Chemistry (BSc) and Molecular Biology (MSc). As part of her MSc training she conducted research in malaria focusing on molecular resistant markers of drug resistance in P. falciparum. In 2008, Dr Nkya spent six months at Kemri Wellcome Trust, Kilifi, Mombasa, Kenya as an intern studying the role of cytoadherence of infected red blood cells in severe malaria. Since joining MUHAS as a research scientist she has participated in a number of Sickle cell disease (SCD) projects and since 2009 has led SCD genetic research.

The primary focus of her PhD (Human genetics) was the genetic determinants of fetal haemoglobin: as part of this she established a genetic database of more than 1700 individuals with SCD with well described SCD phenotypes and undertook the first Genome Wide Association Study (GWAS) analysis of an African population in collaboration with Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute.

I am an early- transitioning to a middle-career researcher with interest in participating in research projects aimed at promoting health and medical science technologies in Tanzania. My ambition to pursue a career in biomedical science were driven by the fact that Africa bears the brunt of most devastating diseases, yet, most of health research activities that are carried out in Africa are led by researchers from developed world. I therefore began my career path in 2009 as junior researcher at a National Institute for Medical Research-Mbeya Medical Research Center (NIMR-MMRC) in Tanzania, by working with human cohorts and clinical trials to study how different pathogens modulate our immune system.

Since then, my research base has mostly been in Tanzania under the umbrella of NIMR-MMRC. Nonetheless, I have also had opportunities to collaborate with international researchers from Europe, US and Australia during my doctoral and post-doctoral tenures. I currently lead the immunology laboratory at NIMR-MMRC and transitioning to a role of an independent researcher with intentions of establishing a career in Tanzania, and establish an international reputation as an expert in the area of immunology, particularly on immune dysfunction during infectious diseases of global importance such as HIV and Tuberculosis. Importantly, I aspire to be in a position to generate innovative ideas that particularly address Africa’s health research agenda with potential of bringing a positive impact to the wellbeing of Africans.

Dr Ssemakalu is a senior lecturer, and researcher in the department of biotechnology, at the Vaal University of Technology in South Africa where, he is also a co-founder and Head of the Cell Biology Research Unit. He received his Master’s degree, in 2011 from the University of South Africa and his Doctorate degree, in 2015 from the Vaal University of Technology. For the past few years, his research has majorly focused on understanding the effect of solar irradiated microorganisms on the immunochemistry of antigen presenting cells. To date, he has been able to show that solar irradiated microorganisms are capable of inducing dendritic cell maturation as well as macrophage activation. His research has yielded numerous significant findings that highlight the potential immunological benefits stemming from SODIS water consumption. His findings have inspired him to develop a microbial inactivation photonic device he hopes to patent.

Dr. Ssemakalu is a principle investigator in the cell biology research unit where he and his team of postgraduate students and researchers aim at deciphering the immunomodulatory influences resulting from the consumption of SODIS water, phytochemical induced bio-tissue regeneration and anti-cancer phytocompounds. He has published widely in peer reviewed scientific journals and is also presented his work at various conferences worldwide. He is also a contributing author to the thought leader blog at the Mail and Guardian. Dr. Ssemakalu is a recipient of the prestigious Mandela Rhodes Scholarship. He is registered with the South African Council for Natural Scientific Professions and a member of the South African Immunology Society and the African Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine International Society. As an early career scientist Dr. Ssemakalu is committed to using the fundamentals of education, research and development as linchpins to impact communities in Southern Africa, Africa and the rest of the world from the onset.

Dr Ssemakalu is a senior lecturer, and researcher in the department of biotechnology, at the Vaal University of Technology in South Africa where, he is also a co-founder and Head of the Cell Biology Research Unit. He received his Master’s degree, in 2011 from the University of South Africa and his Doctorate degree, in 2015 from the Vaal University of Technology.

For the past few years, his research has majorly focused on understanding the effect of solar irradiated microorganisms on the immunochemistry of antigen presenting cells. To date, he has been able to show that solar irradiated microorganisms are capable of inducing dendritic cell maturation as well as macrophage activation. His research has yielded numerous significant findings that highlight the potential immunological benefits stemming from SODIS water consumption. His findings have inspired him to develop a microbial inactivation photonic device he hopes to patent. Dr. Ssemakalu is a principle investigator in the cell biology research unit where he and his team of postgraduate students and researchers aim at deciphering the immunomodulatory influences resulting from the consumption of SODIS water, phytochemical induced bio-tissue regeneration and anti-cancer phytocompounds.

He has published widely in peer reviewed scientific journals and is also presented his work at various conferences worldwide. He is also a contributing author to the thought leader blog at the Mail and Guardian. Dr. Ssemakalu is a recipient of the prestigious Mandela Rhodes Scholarship. He is registered with the South African Council for Natural Scientific Professions and a member of the South African Immunology Society and the African Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine International Society. As an early career scientist Dr. Ssemakalu is committed to using the fundamentals of education, research and development as linchpins to impact communities in Southern Africa, Africa and the rest of the world from the onset.

Dr Ssemakalu is a senior lecturer, and researcher in the department of biotechnology, at the Vaal University of Technology in South Africa where, he is also a co-founder and Head of the Cell Biology Research Unit.

He received his Master’s degree, in 2011 from the University of South Africa and his Doctorate degree, in 2015 from the Vaal University of Technology. For the past few years, his research has majorly focused on understanding the effect of solar irradiated microorganisms on the immunochemistry of antigen presenting cells. To date, he has been able to show that solar irradiated microorganisms are capable of inducing dendritic cell maturation as well as macrophage activation. His research has yielded numerous significant findings that highlight the potential immunological benefits stemming from SODIS water consumption. His findings have inspired him to develop a microbial inactivation photonic device he hopes to patent.

Dr. Ssemakalu is a principle investigator in the cell biology research unit where he and his team of postgraduate students and researchers aim at deciphering the immunomodulatory influences resulting from the consumption of SODIS water, phytochemical induced bio-tissue regeneration and anti-cancer phytocompounds. He has published widely in peer reviewed scientific journals and is also presented his work at various conferences worldwide. He is also a contributing author to the thought leader blog at the Mail and Guardian. Dr. Ssemakalu is a recipient of the prestigious Mandela Rhodes Scholarship.

He is registered with the South African Council for Natural Scientific Professions and a member of the South African Immunology Society and the African Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine International Society. As an early career scientist Dr. Ssemakalu is committed to using the fundamentals of education, research and development as linchpins to impact communities in Southern Africa, Africa and the rest of the world from the onset.

Dr Kazeem is a Lecturer in the Department of Biochemistry, Lagos State University, Ojo, Lagos. He holds a BTech (Hons) degree in Applied Biochemistry from the Federal University of Technology, Akure, Nigeria. He also obtained MSc and PhD in Biochemistry both from the University of Ilorin, Ilorin, Nigeria. He is a recipient of the World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) postgraduate research fellowship tenable at the International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences (ICCBS), University of Karachi, Karachi, Pakistan in 2009. He also won the National Research Foundation (NRF) Freestanding postdoctoral fellowship tenable at the Department of Plant Sciences, University of the Free State, South Africa in 2014. The main thrust of his research is antidiabetic drug discovery, with the aim of searching for safe, effective and affordable antidiabetic agents from natural sources. This is achieved through in-vitro and in-vivo evaluation of antidiabetic potentials of medicinal plants, foods, and isolated compounds, as well as determination of their possible mechanisms of actions.

This has culminated in the publication of more than forty (40) articles and book chapters in reputable peer-reviewed journals. Due to his wealth of experience in research, he is serving as a reviewer for more than fifteen (15) journals among which is the Journal of Food Biochemistry, Pharmaceutical Biology, as well as Human and Experimental Toxicology. Dr. Kazeem is a member of many learned societies including the Nigerian Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (NSBMB), Nigerian Society for Experimental Biology (NISEB), South African Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (SASBMB) and South African Society for Basic and Clinical Pharmacology (SASBCP). In honour of his contribution to the society, he was inducted into the prestigious Nigerian Young Academy (NYA) in 2017 and presently serves as her Publicity Secretary.