Dr. Justin Belsky is an Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine at Yale School of Medicine, serving as the COVID-19 Safety Officer and Co-Director of Resident Research in Emergency Medicine. He holds an MD from Wayne State University School of Medicine (2011) and an MPH from Harvard School of Public Health (2016). His research focuses on sepsis diagnosis and treatment, including biomarkers, clinical trials, and risk stratification tools. He led the Yale site for the VICTAS trial evaluating vitamin C, thiamine, and hydrocortisone in septic shock. Dr. Belsky directs the Yale Emergency Medicine Specimen Biobank, collecting samples from critically ill patients for future research. His awards include the Partners in Excellence Team Award (2016) and an Outstanding Poster Award (2015). He is actively involved in resident research training and clinical guideline adherence studies. Education: MD: Wayne State University School of Medicine (2011) Emergency Medicine Residency: Henry Ford Hospital (2014) Research Fellowship: Massachusetts General Hospital (2016) MPH: Harvard School of Public Health (2016) Research Interests: Early sepsis identification and treatment Biomarker development for critical illness Fluid management strategies in septic shock Micronutrient therapies in sepsis Emergency department quality improvement Recent Work Focus: Fluid resuscitation protocols and guideline adherence Long-term outcomes of sepsis therapies Actin cytoskeleton as a sepsis biomarker Antibiotic timing in sepsis Awards: 2016: Sepsis Care Redesign, Partners in Excellence Team Award 2015: Outstanding Poster Award (Shock Symposium) Grants & Mentorship: Principal investigator for CLOVERS trial (fluid management in sepsis) Co-Director of Yale’s Emergency Medicine Research Training Program Leadership in resident research mentorship and biobank initiatives
Dr. Jeremy I. Schwartz is an Associate Professor at Yale School of Medicine (Department of Medicine) and Yale School of Public Health (Department of Chronic Disease Epidemiology). He specializes in non-communicable diseases (NCDs), global health, and digital health interventions. As Firm Chief of Yale Primary Care Residency Program and Director of the Faculty Network Program at the Yale Institute for Global Health, he leads initiatives to improve healthcare delivery in low-resource settings. He co-founded the Uganda Initiative for Integrated Management of Non-Communicable Diseases (UINCD), collaborating with Ugandan institutions to address fragmented NCD care. His research focuses on hypertension, diabetes, and heart failure management in Uganda, leveraging mobile health (mHealth) tools. He also directs the 'Topics in Global Medicine' course at Yale, training future healthcare leaders in global health challenges. Education: MD from University of Rochester School of Medicine & Dentistry (2006), BS from Cornell University (2000). Honors include the Doran J. Stevens Prize (2006), Gold Humanism Honor Society (2006), and Alpha Omega Alpha (2005). Key roles: Medical Director of the Eastern Caribbean Health Outcomes Research Network (ECHORN), Co-Director of UINCD, and affiliated faculty at the Yale Institute for Global Health and Center for Interdisciplinary Research on AIDS. His work emphasizes interdisciplinary collaboration, with a focus on Africa and the Caribbean. Research emphasizes integrated care models, digital health innovations, and policy advocacy for NCDs. Recent projects include adapting mobile health applications for heart failure patients and evaluating cost barriers to essential medicines in Uganda.
Katy Börner is a Professor affiliated with Indiana University, Bloomington, USA. Her research focuses on data visualization, scientometrics, and the science of science, with contributions to tools like Network Workbench (NWB) and Sci2. She leads interdisciplinary projects such as the Human Reference Atlas and explores visualization literacy in education and public health. Her work spans virtual reality applications, biomedical knowledge networks, and AI-driven scientific discovery. Key research interests include mapping scientific collaboration networks, analyzing scholarly publications, and developing visualization frameworks for big data. She collaborates widely with institutions like NIH and VIVO, advancing open science and interdisciplinary research. Her projects often bridge computational methods with human-centric design, enhancing understanding of complex systems in health, technology, and social sciences. Publications highlight innovations in interactive visualization tools (e.g., opioid crisis research networks), data integration (Human Reference Atlas), and AI applications in biomedical research. She emphasizes translating data into actionable insights through visual analytics, impacting policy, education, and healthcare.
Pourang Irani is a Professor and Principal’s Research Chair in Ubiquitous Analytics at the University of British Columbia (Okanagan campus), within the Irving K. Barber Faculty of Science’s Department of Computer Science, Mathematics, Physics and Statistics. Previously, he served at the University of Manitoba for 19 years as a faculty member and Acting Associate Dean of Science. His research focuses on Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), Wearable Computing, and Information Visualization, with an emphasis on designing interactive systems for 'anytime, anywhere' sensemaking using emerging technologies like mixed reality and smart devices. He leads interdisciplinary projects such as the NSERC CREATE grant on Visual and Automated Disease Analytics, training data scientists in health analytics. Education: PhD in Computer Science (University of New Brunswick, 2002), supervised by Dr. Colin Ware. Research Interests: Wearable interfaces (smartwatches, smartrings, and AR/VR) Data visualization for health and pervasive systems Persuasive health technologies and data storytelling Mid-air and hands-free interaction techniques Embodied interaction through social robots Recent Work Trends: Articles emphasize innovations in smartwatch interaction (e.g., bezel-to-bezel gestures), tactile visualizations via skin-dragging, and voice assistant-driven health data queries. Projects like Databiting explore transient personal data exploration, while Data Videos focus on narrative-driven health communication. Grants & Leadership: Principal Investigator of NSERC CREATE Visual and Automated Disease Analytics program. Co-leads UBCO’s Digital Transparency cluster. Active in interdisciplinary teams addressing health informatics and HCI challenges. Labs & Teams: Leads a lab developing prototypes in wearable computing, spatial analytics, and immersive technologies. Collaborates with researchers in medicine, engineering, and data science to translate HCI innovations into practical solutions.
Dr. Mark Gardner is a Research Fellow in Clinical Imaging at the ACRF Image X Institute, part of the University of Sydney's Sydney School of Health Sciences and Faculty of Medicine and Health. His work focuses on advancing radiation therapy and medical imaging technologies, with particular emphasis on improving treatment accuracy and patient comfort. Gardner holds a PhD from Flinders University, completed in collaboration with the Medical Device Research Institute, and has held research roles at the Cystic Fibrosis Airway Research Group (CFARG). His current projects include the Nano-X radiation therapy device and the Remove the Mask initiative , which aims to eliminate immobilization masks in head and neck cancer treatments. Gardner is affiliated with organizations like the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society and the American Association of Physicists in Medicine. Research interests span radiation oncology, translational research in medical imaging, and device innovation. His work integrates advanced imaging techniques (e.g., synchrotron X-rays, cone-beam CT) with machine learning and wearable sensors to address challenges in respiratory therapy and tumor targeting. Notable contributions include developing real-time motion tracking for radiation therapy and improving mucociliary transport measurements. Awards: FameLab 2020 State Finalist, 2018 Medtech e-Challenge Winner, 2017 3MT Runner-Up Grants/Projects: Nano-X radiation therapy development, Remove-the-Mask surface-guided system Collaborations: Industry partnerships, multi-institutional research networks Gardner advises Chen Cheng on real-time head/neck motion monitoring during radiation therapy. His lab contributes to open-source tools and preclinical imaging advancements, bridging engineering and clinical oncology.
Prof. Maureen Taylor is a Visiting Professor at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS), School of Communication, specializing in strategic communication and public relations. She holds a PhD from Purdue University and previously served as Director of the University of Tennessee’s School of Advertising and Public Relations and as the Gayford Family Chair at the University of Oklahoma. Her research focuses on public relations theory, dialogue, disaster resilience, and digital media impact. Taylor chairs the Public Relations Review journal and has authored over 70 articles and multiple books. She is a Pathfinder Award recipient (2010) and an ICA Fellow (2018). Supervision is available for Masters and PhD students in strategic communication. Education: PhD in Communication, Purdue University (1996). Research Interests: Nation building, civil society engagement, crisis communication, and media’s role in divided societies. Recent work includes frameworks for community disaster resilience and digital media’s cultural impact in post-Soviet regions. Funded Projects: Includes WHO-funded studies on health communication evaluation and Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC-funded community preparedness models. Grants focus on measurement of government communications and pandemic response strategies. Current projects explore dialogic engagement architectures in social media. Awards: Pathfinder Award (2010), ICA Fellowship (2018). Grants & Collaborations: Over 10 funded projects since 2018, including evaluations of NSW government advertising and WHO’s Western Pacific Region campaigns.
Prof. Friederike Ebner holds the Chair of Infection Pathogenesis at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) since 2023, within the TUM School of Life Sciences. Her research focuses on the immunobiology of parasite infections, particularly studying gastrointestinal helminths like Ascaris suum and their interactions with host immune systems to design novel intervention strategies. She also develops biomedical models for studying infectious diseases. Educational Background: Friederike Ebner earned a biotechnology degree from TU Berlin and Dongseo University (South Korea). She completed her PhD in biology at Humboldt University Berlin (2014), followed by postdoctoral research in immunology at Freie Universität Berlin, where she became an assistant professor before moving to TUM. Research Interests: Her work spans helminth-host immune dynamics, vaccine development, microbiome interactions in parasitic infections, and translational models for human diseases. Key topics include Th2/Th1 immune balance, helminth-derived immunomodulators, and xenotransplantation safety. Notable Contributions: Her recent studies address diagnostic methods for ascariasis, microbiome roles in helminth survival, and immunotherapeutic applications of parasite products. Current efforts emphasize bridging fundamental immunology with clinical and veterinary applications. Professional Activities: Prof. Ebner teaches immunology and parasite biology at TUM while maintaining active collaborations in global health and infectious disease research. She advocates for interdisciplinary approaches to address knowledge gaps in parasitology and vaccinology.
Patrick T. Dowling, M.D., M.P.H., is the Kaiser Permanente Endowed Professor of Community Medicine and Chair of the UCLA Department of Family Medicine. He holds dual degrees from the Medical College of Ohio (1974) and the University of Michigan School of Public Health. Dr. Dowling's career spans over four decades in family medicine, residency training, and health policy advocacy, with a focus on underserved populations. He has directed residency programs at Cook County Hospital, Brown University, and Harbor-UCLA Medical Center before leading UCLA's Family Medicine department since 1998. His research emphasizes health policy, chronic disease management, cross-cultural medicine, and integrating substance abuse treatment into primary care. He co-founded UCLA's IMG pathway program to train bilingual (English-Spanish) international medical graduates for underserved areas. Dr. Dowling has advised the National Health Service Corps and LA County Public Health Commission, and currently serves on Drew University's Board of Trustees. Publications highlight systemic barriers to healthcare access, physician practice location determinants, opioid epidemic responses, and community-based participatory research. His work bridges medical education innovation with socioeconomic health equity, reflecting lifelong commitment to universal healthcare access inspired by his early work with Cesar Chavez's United Farm Workers Clinics.
Christopher Buckley is the Kennedy Professor of Translational Rheumatology and Director of Clinical Research at the Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology, University of Oxford. He holds concurrent roles as Director of NIHR Infrastructure for Birmingham Health Partners. His research focuses on fibroblast biology in rheumatoid arthritis (RA), stromal cell interactions, and translational medicine approaches to stratified therapy. He leads the Arthritis Therapy Acceleration Programme (A-TAP), advancing precision medicine strategies for immune-mediated inflammatory diseases. Educations: BSc Biochemistry, University of Oxford (1985) MBBS Medicine, Royal Free Hospital, London (1990) DPhil in Molecular Medicine (Wellcome Trust Fellowship) under Prof. John Bell (Oxford) Research Interests: Pathogenic fibroblast subpopulations in RA and systemic sclerosis Tissue-resident memory T cells in chronic inflammation Spatial transcriptomics of synovial and tendon tissues Pro-resolving fibroblast networks during inflammation resolution Development of biomarkers for disease flare/remission Awards & Leadership: MRC Senior Clinical Fellowship (2001) Arthritis Research UK Professorship (2002) Director, Birmingham NIHR Clinical Research Facility (2012-2017) Key Projects: Leading A-TAP's stratified pathology approach for drug development Investigating Wnt signaling in stromal inflammation Developing cellular atlases of joints using spatial transcriptomics
Lena Wahlberg is an Associate Professor and Senior Lecturer at the Department of Law, Lund University, serving as Assistant Head of Department. Her roles include interdisciplinary research and teaching in medical law, evidence law, and jurisprudence. She leads the Law, Evidence and Cognition (LEVIC) research group and participates in the Science and Proven Experience (VBE) program funded by the Swedish Foundation for Humanities and Social Sciences. Her research focuses on legal causation, expert evidence evaluation, and the intersection of law with natural sciences/medicine. Notable projects include analyzing expert testimony reliability, legal implications of scientific evidence gaps, and defining 'science and proven experience' in healthcare decision-making. Recent publications (2024-2025) emphasize healthcare policy, data governance, and legislative reform in abortion laws and research ethics. She collaborates internationally with institutions like Harvard Medical School and Carnegie Mellon University. Teaching responsibilities include coordinating the doctoral course Theoretical Foundations for Doctoral Studies in Law . Supervised doctoral students include Amanda Bills (Public International Law) and Yana Litins’ka (Medical Law). Research funding includes projects from the Swedish Research Council and Riksbankens Jubilieumsfond. Key affiliations: Member of the VBE research consortium (2015-2020+), LEVIC group, and contributor to national policy consultations on health data and medical ethics.
Dorothy L. Espelage is the William C. Friday Distinguished Professor of Education at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, affiliated with the School of Education's Applied Developmental Science and Special Education (ADSSE) department. She holds joint appointments in Human Development and Family Science (HDFS) and School Psychology, and leads the Diverse and Resilient Educators Advised through Mentorship (DREAM) initiative. Her research focuses on translating empirical findings into prevention programs targeting bullying, teen dating violence, and school safety. Dr. Espelage advises U.S. Congress on anti-bullying legislation and has secured over $15 million in external funding. Education: Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology (1997), Indiana University M.S. in Clinical Psychology (1993), Radford University B.S. in Psychology (1991), Virginia Commonwealth University Research Interests: Prevention science, social-emotional learning interventions, bullying and cyberbullying prevention, school-based suicide prevention, and addressing violence against educators. Her work emphasizes policy development and community engagement, with a focus on marginalized youth such as LGBTQ+ adolescents and students with disabilities. Key Contributions: Developed evidence-based programs like Sources of Strength and DIAL (Disability Anti-Bullying Training). Authored influential books including Bullying in North American Schools and Handbook of Bullying in Schools . Her recent studies explore racial disparities in bullying-suicidality links and violence against school staff. Awards & Recognition: Lifetime Achievement Award (APA Division 17, 2023) 2023 BRNET-WABF Career Award Invited speaker at White House Bullying Summit (2011) Advising & Grants: Mentor for early-career researchers through the DREAM program. Current grants focus on school climate improvement, anti-bullying teacher training, and mental health equity initiatives. Collaborates with CDC, NIH, and NIJ on dissemination efforts. Labs & Teams: Leads transdisciplinary teams at UNC and previously at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (Gutgsell Professorship) and University of Florida. Engaged in global anti-bullying advocacy through organizations like the World Anti-Bullying Forum.
Ruxandra Paul is a faculty member in the Department of Political Science at Amherst College, where they teach courses ranging from introductory to advanced levels including POSC 470: International Migrations and Politics and POSC 436: European Democracy. Their academic work bridges political science, migration studies, and European Union politics, with a particular focus on how mobility transforms national politics and international relations. Education: PhD (Government), Harvard University A.M. (Government), Harvard University B.A., summa cum laude, PBK (Political Science - International Relations; French), Williams College Paul's research examines how migrations transform national politics and international relations, with particular attention to European citizenship enabling free movement across borders. Their work explores political developments in a world where people's experiential space transcends national territories, especially focusing on Central and Eastern Europe. Current research projects include "Citizens of the Market: Free Movement and Political Change in Central and Eastern Europe" (under contract at Oxford University Press) and studies on pandemic politics, cyberpolitics, and aging/ageism. Paul's publications demonstrate consistent scholarly output in migration politics, with a concentration on European contexts. Their work spans theoretical contributions on transnational citizenship and practical analyses of migration crises, showing an evolving focus from foundational migration studies toward contemporary challenges including pandemic politics and digital governance. Scientific Awards and Affiliations: Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies, Harvard University - Visiting Scholar and Local Affiliate Harvard Academy for International and Area Studies Chateaubriand Fellowship of the French Government Weatherhead Center for International Affairs research grant Krupp Foundation research grant Certificate of Excellence in Teaching, Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning Paul has received multiple competitive research grants and teaching awards, demonstrating excellence in both research and pedagogy. Their teaching portfolio includes innovative courses like POSC 109: Pandemic Politics: Democracy versus Disease and POSC 239: Acceptable Prejudice: Age, Aging, Ageism, reflecting their commitment to connecting academic research with contemporary issues. Outside of formal academic work, Paul teaches fitness classes (Barre and Barre Cardio) at the Amherst Gym and maintains diverse interests including music, dance, art, and long-distance running.
Dr. Marcel Dettling is a Group Lead in Data Analysis and Statistics at the ZHAW School of Engineering , focusing on predictive analytics, applied statistics, and complex data analysis. He also serves as a Lecturer at ETH Zurich , teaching advanced statistical methods. Education : PhD in Mathematics (2000-2004), ETH Zurich Postdoc in Applied Statistics (2004-2006), Johns Hopkins University His research spans predictive analytics (regression, classification, time series), data mining, and applications in health economics, transportation safety, social sciences , and business analytics . Recent work includes pharmaceutical cost group analysis for Swiss healthcare and predictive maintenance for marine vessels. Selected publications highlight his expertise in flight trajectory modeling , deep learning error mitigation , and statistical frameworks for rehabilitation finance . His projects address diverse fields like crowdworking in nursing, energy optimization for shipping, and customer behavior prediction.
Swati Aggarwal is a Professor in Artificial Intelligence at the Faculty of Logistics, Molde University College (HiMolde). Her research focuses on AI applications in healthcare, ethics, cognitive development, and neural networks. She holds a PhD in Neutrosophic Neural Networks, a Master's in Information Technology, and a Bachelor's in Computer Science and Engineering. Previously, she was a Marie Curie Postdoc Fellow at NTNU, working on AI models for cognitive assessment in infants (AIM_COACH project). Research Interests - AI in Health/Medicine - Ethics in AI and Societal Impact - EEG/BCI for Cognitive Assessment - Machine Learning and Deep Learning Publications Her recent work spans AI ethics, BCI applications, adversarial attacks, and healthcare diagnostics. Notable contributions include EEG-based infant perceptual monitoring (2025) and malaria detection via EfficientNet (2023). She also explores cross-lingual adversarial robustness and blockchain in hospitality systems. Labs/Teams - ABC-AI: Applied, Basic, and Conscientious AI Group - Virtual Technologies and Learning Research Group
Dr. Susana Castro-Kemp is an Associate Professor in Psychology and Human Development at University College London's Institute of Education (IOE), where she serves as Director of the Centre for Inclusive Education (CIE) since September 2023. Previously, she was a Reader in Education at the University of Roehampton for eight years. Her work focuses on inclusive education policy and practice globally, with particular expertise in special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), early childhood intervention, and mental health in schools. The IOE has been ranked number one in the world for Education for several consecutive years, providing an ideal environment for her impactful research. Dr. Castro-Kemp holds a PhD in Psychology jointly awarded in 2012 by the University of Porto (Portugal) and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (USA). Her doctoral research was fully funded by the Foundation for Science and Technology/European Commission and the Global Education and Development Studies scholarships. She is a Chartered Psychologist with the British Psychological Society, a Senior Fellow of Advance HE, and a Recognised Research Supervisor by the UK Council for Graduate Education. Dr. Castro-Kemp's research centers on policy regulating education, health, and welfare services for children, particularly those with support needs. She examines inclusive education practices from users' perspectives, policy models leading to effective inclusive pedagogy, and country-level policy impacts on outcomes for children with special educational needs. Her work moves away from diagnostic labels toward engagement and civic participation as educational outcomes. She also investigates inclusion and early intervention in low- and middle-income countries, mental health in schools, and quality of early childhood education. Her recent publications reveal several key trends in inclusive education research. There's growing emphasis on understanding educational experiences through the voices of children and families rather than diagnostic labels. Much of her work examines the implementation gap between inclusive education policy and classroom practice. She has conducted significant research on how children with special educational needs experienced the pandemic, revealing both challenges and unexpected "silver linings" for some groups. Her corpus analysis of Ofsted reports shows narrow focus in early childhood education inspections, while her work on SEND policy increasingly takes an international comparative approach. Dr. Castro-Kemp has received recognition for her impactful work, including: Best Digital Humanities Project for Community Engagement Prize (2023) from the National Institute of Humanities and Social Sciences of South Africa for her project "Optimising collaborations and reducing inequalities of Early Childhood Intervention in post-Covid-19 South Africa" Dr. Castro-Kemp has secured approximately £1.3 million in research funding from various sources including ESRC, British Academy/Leverhulme Trust, European Commission, and private sponsors. Her current major project is 'ScopeSEND' (2024-2026), funded by the Nuffield Foundation (£250,000), examining international SEND policies. She has led numerous projects including "Transdisciplinary provision for children with disabilities in the Global South" (£3,500), "Optimising collaborations in South Africa" (£47,200), and "Froebel meets Ofsted" (£19,185). As a supervisor, she mentors MA/MSc and PhD students in education policy, early childhood, and inclusive education, having been nominated for student choice awards for excellent feedback and outstanding research supervision. As Director of the UCL Centre for Inclusive Education since 2023, Dr. Castro-Kemp leads a team focused on advancing knowledge exchange and research in inclusion and special needs. The Centre works with schools, educators, parents, and early years settings to translate research into practice. Her international collaborations include work with the World Health Organization as a technical advisor on the use of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) system in educational contexts. She also serves on the SEN Policy Research Forum and has provided oral evidence to the House of Commons Education Select Committee.
