Mellissa Withers, PhD, MHS is Associate Professor at the Keck School of Medicine in the Department of Preventive Medicine. She is based at the University of Southern California Institute on Inequalities in Global Health. She also is also Director of the Global Health Program of the Association of Pacific Rim Universities, a non-profit network of 56 universities. She received a PhD from the Department of Community Health Sciences at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health with a minor in cultural anthropology. She also holds a Master’s in International Health from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and a BA in international development from UC Berkeley. Her research interests lie in community participatory research, mental health, gender-based violence, immigrant health, and global sexual and reproductive health. Dr Withers is the editor of two books: Global Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health Across the Lifecourse, and Global Health Leadership: Case Studies from the Asia-Pacific (in press). She has also published more than 40 scientific articles and serves on the editorial boards of six international global health journals. She also writes a blog on human trafficking titled Modern-Day Slavery for Psychology Today.

Monique Jonas is an ethical theorist based at the School of Population Health at the University of Auckland, New Zealand. She has a Doctorate in Medical Ethics from Kings College London. Her current research focuses on the ethics of advising, ethical aspects of parenting and decision making for children and the relationship between the family and the state. Monique is the Chair of the Health Research Council Ethics Committee and has served on the National Ethics Advisory Committee and the National Health Committee in New Zealand.

Dr. Bridget Haire is a senior research fellow at the Kirby Institute, University of NSW and an associate of the Australian Human Rights Institute. She is trained in bioethics, and conducts research in the areas of research ethics, public health, sexual health and infectious diseases. Bridget also convenes UNSW’s research ethics panel on health, medical, community and social research. She has published extensively on HIV prevention, and is a former president of Australia’s peak body for the community response to HIV. She is committed to conducting research in partnership with affected communities. Bridget has also published on the ethical issues in the control of Ebola and COVID-19. Her recent COVID-19 related research includes a study on the impacts of hotel quarantine, an evaluation of the COVIDSafe App and the human rights implications of vaccine mandates and passports.

Sharon Kaur (LLB, MA, PhD) is a Senior Lecturer at the Faculty of Law, Universiti Malaya, where she has designed modules on healthcare law and ethics for undergraduate as well as postgraduate students. She also teaches on the Masters of Health Research Ethics (MOHRE) programme at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya. Her research interests primarily revolved around medical research ethics and issues relating to the rights of marginalised populations. She is currently working on a number of projects related to the COVID-19 pandemic, one of which relates to the challenges of data sharing in a middle-income country. Her postgraduate training was in Medical Law and Medical Ethics and her doctoral thesis addressed the role of research ethics committees in relation to clinical trials involving mentally incapacitated adults.

Nina T. Castillo-Carandang MA, MSc, PhD is a professor of health sociology and global health; and is the Chair of the Department of Clinical Epidemiology, College of Medicine, University of the Philippines Manila (UPM). Professor Castillo-Carandang also has academic qualifications in clinical epidemiology and health social science. She is an active researcher on Kagalingan (wellbeing), and the sociocultural dimensions of health and health care; and is also a member of the UPM Research Ethics Board.

Ricardo A. Peña Silva, MD, PhD is an associate professor at Universidad de los Andes Faculty of Medicine. He is a pharmacologist with a passion for biomedical research and education. Since the age of 16, he has been actively involved in education, from secondary school to postgraduate education in the health sciences, and engaged in biomedical research exploring the effects of aging and inflammation on cerebrovascular and cardiovascular disease.

He has worked in higher education administration, in the accreditation of academic programs, and managed research productivity programs. Three personal observations orient his interests in education and research: 1) All countries have talented people. Managing opportunities to exploit those talents is key to human and economic development. 2) Developing countries have significant functional literacy problems that impact subjects’ performance, regardless of their academic training level. The functional illiteracy in a segment of the population also makes them more susceptible to poor health outcomes. 3) Critical and innovative thinking, fostered by education and research, is key to the growth of communities, institutions, and health systems. The accelerated changes brought about by information technologies and the industrial revolution 4.0 can shrink the productivity gap between developing and developed countries if properly managed and implemented.

Mary Ana Cordero Díaz is a MD with a Diploma of Humanities and Ethics. She is a Bioethics docent and the Wellbeing and Professionalism Program Coordinator for the medical residents and fellows at the Tecnológico de Monterrey, Mexico. Her activities and research focus on ethics, ethics in research, professionalism, the learning environment and the well-being of medical students, residents and physicians.

Dr. Pramon Viwattanakulvanid, PhD is an assistant professor and executive board at College of Public Health Sciences, Chulalongkorn University. He currently directs community assessment and reproductive health branch for Public Health program for Master’s Degree and Doctoral Program.

His research focuses on reproductive health, health behaviors, patient empowerment, health promotion, patient support group, traditional Chinese exercise (Qigong), health care access and AI in medicine and machine learning. He has published more than 40 scientific articles and serves as executive reviewer for Journal of Health research.

Dr. Pramon holds a doctorate in Social and Administrative Pharmacy (International Program) from Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chulalongkorn University. He also earned his Master of Business Administration from University of Colorado at Denver, USA. He graduated from Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chulalongkorn University with a bachelor’s degree in Pharmacy.

Professor Wah Yun LOW is an Honorary Professor of Psychology at the Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Malaya.  She graduated with a BA (Hons) from the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia and obtained her MSc and PhD (medical psychology) from the University of Surrey, Guildford, England. She has held several management positions, amongst others, Deputy Executive Director of the Asia-Europe Institute (Research & Internationalization) and former head of the Univ Malaya Research Ethics Committee (UMREC). Prof Low is actively engaged in teaching, research, service and consultancy. She has published extensively in the areas of behavioral science, sexual and reproductive health, sexuality education and public health. She is a member of many learned societies. Prof Low is the President Emeritus of the Asia-Pacific Academic Consortium for Public Health (APACPH) and she is the recipient of the APACPH Outstanding Leadership and Service Award and the Merit of Merit award.  She is the President of the Malaysian Association for Scientific Research in Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine and a Fellow of the Academy of Sciences Malaysia.  Currently, she is the Editor-in-Chief of the Asia-Pacific Journal of Public Health, a journal solely owned by APACPH, indexed in both WOS and SCOPUS, and published by Sage Publisher, California.

Edmar San Jose Elcarte, MAN(c), RN, CNN, LPT, FRIN, FSASS, FIOASD is a registered nurse, a certified nephrology nurse, a licensed professional teacher, a trained diabetes educator, a palliative and hospice care advocate, research mentor, and educator. With his more than 10 years of nursing practice, he has gained enormous and valuable experience in the clinical, hospital management, health research, project management, and nursing education. He is an international chapter member of Asia Pacific Hospice and Palliative Care Network (APHN) Singapore, International Association for Hospice and Palliative Care (IAHPC), Sigma Nursing (Psi Beta and Phi Gamma Chapters), and Western Pacific Palliative Care Advocacy Network (WPPCAN).

Dr. Sok King ONG is a Clinical Associate Professor (Honorary) at the JCSPHPC, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, and an Adjunct Associate Professor at the PAPRSB IHS, Universiti Brunei Darussalam.

She received her medical degree from the University of Melbourne in Australia, Master of Medicine from the National University of Singapore, and completed Advanced Specialist Training in Singapore. A physician specializing in public health, she has over 15 years of experience in global health initiatives. She currently serves as a consultant in the Clinical Research Unit of the Brunei Ministry of Health (MOH), having previously served as a member of the Medical & Health Research Ethics Committee. She played a crucial role as a consultant for the World Health Organization’s Western Pacific Regional Action Plan to eliminate cervical cancer. She headed the infectious disease control and noncommunicable disease (NCD) prevention teams at the MOH in Brunei, and continues her impactful work as a Consultant in Public Health. She is actively engaged in global health research initiatives through collaboration with regional and global health research consortiums and alliances. She is a Fellow of the Academy of Medicine, Singapore, and a Fellow of the Faculty of Public Health, United Kingdom.

Dr. Alex Phang Kean Chang is a clinical scientist by profession who earns a Ph.D. in Pathology, and dual master’s degrees in Health Research Ethics and Medical Sciences (Pathology), besides holding a bachelor’s degree in Biohealth Science. He is currently a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Pathology, Universiti Malaya as well as serving as the Secretary (Manager) at the University of Malaya Medical Centre-Medical Research Ethics Committee.

His primary research interest includes molecular tests for cancer diagnosis, digital pathology, cancer & cell therapy as well as the discovery of novel biomarkers for diagnosis. In the field of research ethics, Dr. Phang received several ethics-related pieces of training and fellowships from the World Health Organization, Department of Bioethics, NIH United States, and WCG IRB-New York University Langone Health. He has a great interest in researching the ethical issues surrounding emerging technologies and epidemic ethics as well as the quality improvement of IRB’s services to ensure the protection of human subjects in health research. Besides teaching academic subjects in pathology, he is also one of the faculty members for the Master of Health Research Ethics (MOHRE). He is appointed as an affiliate member of the Academy Sciences of Malaysia (YSN-ASM) since the year 2020.

King L Chow, PhD, as a Professor of Life Science, Chemical & Biological Engineering, serves as the Director of Interdisciplinary Programs Office overseeing Environment and Sustainability, Public Policy, Risk Management, Technology Management and various innovation programs at The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. He heads the Dean of Students Office supporting various student-oriented schemes beyond academic issues, including exchange program, career development and experiential learning. While his research focuses on genetics, development, evolution and synthetic biology, he engages in various teaching pedagogy initiatives and curricular development projects, teaches project courses, experiential courses, online courses; spearheads liberal arts and interdisciplinary education at the juncture cutting across science, engineering, social science and humanity at both UG and PG levels. He was the inaugural School of Science Teaching Award winner and was awarded the Michael G. Gale Medal of distinguished teaching at HKUST.

Catherine Zhou, PhD is a Teaching Associate at the Office of the Dean of Engineering, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. Prior to this she worked at the Centre for Learning Enhancement And Research at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. She has a PhD degree in computer science and engineering and currently focuses on research postgraduate student education. Her teaching and research interests include research integrity, emotional resilience and intelligence, and mentorship. She is in charge of the research postgraduate student professional development program within the School of Engineering. Catherine is interested in student-centered teaching and learning strategies, such as e-learning, blended learning, flipped classroom, and experiential learning.

Jonathan R. Guillemot, MA, MSc, PhD is a professor and researcher in gerontology at Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Ecuador. He currently acts as Associate Dean of the School of Medicine, in charge of research and administrative affairs. He is also Director of the Institute for Social Medicine & Global Challenges. Guillemot’s research interests include the sociology of ageing and research pedagogy, using qualitative approaches, with particular focus on semi-structured interviews and Delphi panels. He is especially fond of collaborating with students on their first encounter with research, with one recent paper encapsulating such interest: Medical education from the point of view of medical students: Results from four participatory Delphi panels in Quito. Guillemot graduated from Université de Lille (Sciences Po Lille) in political sociology and from King’s College London in gerontology and completed his PhD in global health, social medicine and gerontology.

Alexandra Belle S. Bernal, MOHRE, RN is a University Research Associate (URA) at the University of the Philippines Manila’s College of Nursing (UPCN). She obtained her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the same university. A recipient of scholarship support from the National Institutes of Health-Fogarty International Center, she earned her Master of Health Research Ethics degree from Universiti Malaya in Malaysia, as part of a collaborative master’s program run by the Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Malaya and the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics.

She previously served as the Senior Telehealth Nurse at the National Telehealth Center, National Institutes of Health, University of the Philippines Manila, along with being an Emergency Operating Room Nurse at the Philippine General Hospital-University of the Philippines. Her research interests revolve around nursing informatics, perioperative nursing, patient safety strategies, and ethical health and health-related research.

She currently serves on several university bodies, including the UPM Health and Safety Committee, the Research Screening and Review Section of the Institutional Biosafety and Biosecurity Committee, UP Manila, as well as a clinical educator in the operating theatre for UPCN undergraduate students. With her career development, she aspires to eventually become a member of her institution’s faculty.

Mariam Davtyan is an Assistant Professor of Research Pediatrics at the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California (USC) and has been studying HIV/AIDS for more than 15 years. Since 2005, she has conducted pediatric and adult HIV/AIDS research studies at the LAC+USC Maternal, Child & Adolescent/Adult Center (MCA Center) for Infectious Diseases and Virology, focusing on the effects of antiretroviral medications (ARVs) on children and pregnant women. She is the founder and liaison of the MCA Center’s English-speaking Community Advisory Board (CAB), a forum consisting of women of color living with HIV who provide critical feedback on clinical services and community needs. Dr. Davtyan’s work with the CAB inspired her to study HIV-associated stigma, a significant stressor with many devastating social, physical and psychological consequences. Since 2012, her research has also focused on HIV-associated stigma and discrimination in healthcare settings and within provider-patient interactions, as well as the impact of internalized HIV stigma on social and health outcomes.

She has received multiple grants from the University of California Global Health Institute, the University of California Irvine’s Newkirk Center for Science and Society, the Clinical Translational Science Institute at USC, and the Health Resources and Services Administration to support her research agenda. Her most recent work includes examining the impact of photo-stories on internalized HIV stigma and engagement in care in chronically non-adherent patients, appraising the association between internalized HIV stigma and ARV adherence and viral suppression in women of color, assessing resilience factors such as mindfulness, personal mastery and social support in long-term HIV survivors, and evaluating the impact of COVID-19 on the day-to-day lives of older adults living with HIV in the Coachella Valley.

Dr. Davtyan’s research has been exhibited at many professional conferences, including the United States Conference on HIV/AIDS, the International Conference on Stigma at Howard University, the American Public Health Association Expo, and the International AIDS Conference.

Alexander Atrio L. Lopez just passed his MA Philosophy thesis defense in the University of the Philippines Diliman where he also graduated with a BA Philosophy degree as summa cum laude and valedictory speaker. His first degree is BS Basic Medical Sciences from UP Manila, and he is about to enter the Ateneo de Manila School of Law. He is published in bioethics, philosophy and video games, and philosophy for children. He was a philosophy instructor in UP Diliman, a microeconomics Coursera teaching assistant, and a freelance writer.

Jairus Diesta Espiritu is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Liberal Arts of Mapúa University in Intramuros, Manila. He holds a bachelor and a master degree in Philosophy from the University of the Philippines-Diliman. While teaching, he concurrently worked as technical staff to the Mayor of San Mateo, Rizal, Philippines as speech writer and technical reviewer, assisting in the administrative and technical aspects of governance at the municipal level. He trained teachers from the Department of Education Public Schools Division of Nueva Ecija and has edited a senior high school textbook on philosophy.

He has published articles on Filipino Philosophy, Analytic Existentialism, Philosophy of Religion, and Philosophy of Education. He is one of the three recipients of the 2023 Don Isabelo delos Reyes Essay Prize in Filipino Philosophy of the Philosophical Association of the Philippines.

Dr. Michael Antonio F. Mendoza is a dentist by profession.  His research interests in public health and health policy have made him involved in consultancy work with different government agencies and developmental partners in the Philippines.  As an Associate Professor from the Department of Community Dentistry of the College of Dentistry at the University of the Philippines Manila, he handles dental public health and research courses, and mentors dentistry students on their research projects.

Indri Hapsari Susilowati graduated from the Faculty of Public Health, Universitas Indonesia (UI), majoring in Occupational Health and Safety in 1999 (Bachelor degree) and 2008 (Master degree). She earned her Ph.D. in Human Science Design from Kyushu University Japan in 2012. Her interest research in ergonomics, human factors, aging, and safe transportation. She is currently the Head of Occupational Health and Safety Department, Faculty of Public Health, Universitas Indonesia, since 2016. She is also teaching Law and Ethics in Health courses in Health Cluster Science, Universitas Indonesia. In this course, students are taught to understand health problems with bioethical principles, both clinical/personal and community / public health. This course is attended by students from the UI Faculty of Public Health, Medicine, Dentistry, Nursing, and Pharmacy. She has achieved numerous awards at international conferences and has many publications in international and national journals. She also is writing a book about Indonesian Fall Risk Assessment Tools (I-FRAT) and Health Promotion in the Workplace.

Dr Jeffrey Lee graduated with a degree of Doctor of Medicine from the National University of Malaysia in 2011. He obtained his Master of Health Research Ethics from the University of Malaya in 2022. Currently he is working in the Clinical Research Centre of Sibu Hospital, Sarawak, Malaysia. His primary research interest is in paediatric medicine and neonatology, besides having a keen interest in paediatric clinical ethics.

Leander Penaso Marquez is an Assistant Professor at the University of the Philippines Diliman where he earned his master’s degrees in Philosophy and in Education. He also obtained his Master of Health Research Ethics degree from Universiti Malaya, Malaysia. He has extensive experience as trainer, author, and editor. Leander serves as co-chair of the Working Group on Bioethics of the Association of Pacific Rim Universities Global Health Program (APRU-GHP) as well as Junior Ambassador to the Philippines for the Universal Scientific Education and Research Network (USERN). He is also the Founding President of the Philosophical Inquiry in Schools Initiative Philippines Inc. (ISIP Pinas) and board member of the Philosophy and Values Education Society, Inc. (PAVESOC, Inc.). His research interests include Ethics, Epistemology, Bioethics, Philosophy for Children, Philosophy of Education, Values Education, Education Policy, and Philosophy and Popular Culture.

Dr. Varaalakshmy Gokilavanan is a Medical Officer currently attached to the Clinical Research Center of Hospital Kuala Lumpur. She has been serving as a government doctor for the past 8 years and the past 2 of these years have been spent in the research field. She graduated with her medical degree from University Sriwijaya in Indonesia and just added a Masters in Health Research Ethics (with Honors) from University Malaya in my portfolio. Her interest in ethics stems from her belief that any and all living beings should be treated in an ethical and compassionate manner, especially when treating them as patients or participants in a research setting.

Dr Mary Ann Abacan is an Associate Professor at the University of the Philippines– College of Medicine serving as faculty both under the Department of Pediatrics and the Social Medicine Unit.  She is a clinical geneticist specializing in inborn errors of metabolism and is a consultant at the Institute of Human Genetics-National Institutes of Health.  Dr Abacan earned her Masters degree in Bioethics through the joint program of the University of the Philippines College of Medicine and the College of Social Science and Philosophy.

Currently Vice Chairman of the Philippine Orthopedic Center Research Board, Dr. Rolsanna R. Ramos combines her clinical insights and academic acumen to drive advancements in orthopedic care and research.

Dr. Ramos earned her Doctorate Degree in Nursing from the University of the Philippines Manila. She holds a Master of Arts degree with a focus on Nursing Administration and Management. Her academic journey also includes a Bachelor of Science degree in Food Technology from the University of the Philippines Diliman, and a Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing.

Taninee Sahakitrungruang, MD, is a Professor at the Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand.

She did her training in Pediatrics and in Pediatric Endocrinology at Chulalongkorn University, and did an additional two years of fellowship (2008-2010) at the University of California, San Francisco. She has been Assistant Dean for Graduate Affairs since 2019 and is a member of the steering committee to develop global health/one health curriculum for the newly established School of Global Health at the Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University. Her key research interests include pediatric diabetes and NCDs, molecular defects of adrenal steroidogenesis, disorders of sex differentiation, and gender diversity healthcare. She has a number of publications in highly-ranked journals including several implementation research and intervention to improve quality of life for pediatric patients in middle-income countries.

Masters and PhD in Science, in the disciplinary field of Bioethics, from the National Autonomous University of Mexico, PhD in Logic and Philosophy of Science from the University of Salamanca. Member of the Center for Studies of Philosophy of Science, Logic and Epistemology (CeFiLoE) of the University of Valparaíso, in the area of New Approaches in Bioethics and Philosophy of Medicine. Currently a postdoctoral researcher at the Legal Research Institute of the National Autonomous University of Mexico. Research interests are intergenerational justice and heritable human genome editing, and assisted reproductive technologies.

Bumi Herman, a physician by background, earned a PhD in Public Health at Chulalongkorn University. Dr. Herman’s interests include the public health aspects of Tuberculosis, Non-Communicable Diseases, Health Systems (policy analysis, primary care services, and improving health service quality through implementing the International Patient Safety Goals), and developing machine learning models for clinical prediction, including Rifampicin-Resistant Tuberculosis, Endometrial Cancer, and the prospective prediction of Hypertension and Diabetes. Dr. Herman has been working with numerous early-stage public health researchers in the ASEAN region and is currently serving as a faculty member at the School of Global Health, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Thailand.

Ans Irfan, MD, EdD, DrPH, ScD MPH, MRPL, is an associate professor of population and public health sciences in the Division of Environmental Health in the Department of Population and Public Health Sciences, University of Southern California.

Dr Irfan’s research questions things that are normalized within neoliberalized academy by applying the decolonial lens to rethink existing global environmental research, teaching, and practice paradigms; especially within the climate justice context.

Dr. Oh Lixian is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Paediatrics at the Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Malaya. She holds a strong foundation in molecular biology, and her research interests primarily revolve around health research, particularly in childhood disorders and cancer biology. Her experience in clinical translational studies, clinical trials, public data mining, and genomic research equips her with a deep understanding of the ethical considerations essential to healthcare research. Dr. Lixian actively contributes to the education and training of healthcare professionals and is a faculty member in the Masters of Health Research Ethics (MOHRE) program.

Susiana Nugraha earned a Bachelor of Public Health, A. Yani School of Health Sciences, Bandung. She also graduated from The Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences Nagasaki University, Japan. She is currently a PhD Candidate at Faculty of Public Health, Universitas Indonesia. She works as a lecturer and researcher in Public Health Department, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Respati Indonesia. She is also Vice Director of Center for Family and Aging Studies (CeFAS) University of Respati Indonesia. She is the founder of OASE KUTAI TIMUR, East Borneo, a non-government organization for nutritional issues in under-five children.

Karla Casas Rosas, BS, graduated from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) in 2021 with a B.S in Neuroscience and is about to complete her Master’s degree in Biochemical Sciences from the same institution with a thesis on preclinical research on treatments for Autism Spectrum Disorder. She accredited the Global Health Ethics course in 2020. In 2022, she finished the IBRO-PEDECIBA Postgraduate Course “Science Diplomacy Applied to Neuroscience for the Global South”, after which she became a member of the Ibero-American Network for Science Diplomacy. Her interest in neuro-ethics and neuro-rights has deeply influenced her academic and professional journey.

Ana Sofía Rodríguez Ylizaliturri, DDS is a global health and dentistry intern at the School of Medicine and Health Sciences TecSalud. Her interest in Global Health is focused primarily on prevention, community interventions, education, and promotion of girls’ and women’s right. She has been engaged with different community programs, such as, dental brigades, developing clinical practice protocols, and working on entrepreneurship and sexual health projects in marginalized communities. Other areas of interest involve projects development, research, and climate change