CHAN Lai Fung

Chairman A*STAR and Permanent Secretary National Research and Development

Ms Chan Lai Fung is the Chairman of A*STAR. She was appointed to her current position on 1 April 2019 and assumes the responsibility for charting A*STAR’s strategic direction and priorities under the national Research, Innovation and Enterprise (RIE) plan. Ms Chan is also currently Permanent Secretary (National Research & Development). Prior to that, Ms Chan was Permanent Secretary (Education) from 2012 to 2019. She was appointed Permanent Secretary (Finance) (Performance) from 2009 to 2012; and Permanent Secretary (Law) from 2006 to 2010. She has also served in various portfolios in the former Ministry of Communications and Information, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Finance, Public Service Division of the Prime Minister’s Office, Ministry of the Environment and Ministry of Trade and Industry. Ms Chan is a board member of PSA International Pte Ltd. Ms Chan joined the Singapore Administrative Service in 1986 after graduating from Monash University in Australia with a Bachelor of Economics (First Class Honours) on a Colombo Plan Scholarship.

Hye Yeon Ahn

President of WISET

Hye Yeon Ahn currently serves as President of WISET. President Ahn has been in the IT industry for over 30 years and is a veteran of the cyber security. Prior to being inaugurated as WISET's President, she served as VP at ‘SecureSoft’ and VP at ‘Fasoo.com’. She is also a committee member at the Cyber Security Management Institute, and is a professor of the Cyber Security major at Ewha Womans University.

Janice L. Bailey

Scientific Director FRQNT

As an active scientist for over 25 years, my research explored the impact of the environment, such as toxicant exposure, temperature and nutrition, on fertility, reproductive development and the ability to produce healthy offspring across multiple generations. I am particularly interested on paternally-mediated origins of development, which has been ignored relative to maternal influences. I have worked on a wide range of species, including bees, fish, agriculturally-important animals, laboratory models and human studies. I was a founding member of the Reproduction, Development and Intergenerational Health Research Centre, composed of researchers from the Faculties of Medicine and Food & Agricultural Sciences at Laval University. I was also Co-Director of the Quebec Reproduction Research Network, which included teams from six research-intensive universities in the province of Québec, including McGill, Montreal, Laval, Sherbrooke and Trois-Rivières. I have served as Chair or member multiple grant review panels in Canada and the USA, and on the editorial boards of several journals. I have been involved in the organisation of numerous international congresses in Canada, the USA, Australia, Denmark and South Africa, and am currently Co-Chair of the 2021 World Congress of the International Society of Developmental Origins of Health and Disease. I have also been elected to executive governance roles in various national and international scholarly societies, including as President of the Society for the Study of Reproduction. My current role as the FRQNT’s Scientific Director is to develop and promote research activities to solve challenges and stimulate socio-economic development in a manner that will benefit Québec and other nations. In doing so, we prioritise interdisciplinary international collaboration, research partnerships, and diversity in our approaches.

Misha Baudisch-McCabe

Manager, Gender Equality, Inclusion, and Diversity portfolio African Institute for Mathematical Sciences

Misha Baudisch-McCabe is a development professional with education and work experience in Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and North America. In her current role at the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences, Misha is the Manager, Gender Equality, Inclusion, and Diversity portfolio. She works with teams to promote gender equality across the organization and address the gender gap in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM). She has a strong passion for addressing both gender and education challenges, especially in marginalized and conflict-affected communities. Misha holds a Bachelors of Arts Honours in Global Development and Gender Studies, along with a Post-Graduate Certificate in International Development Project Management.

Rita Bissoonauth

Heads of African Union International Centre for Girls and Women’s Education in Africa (AU/CIEFFA)

Dr Rita Bissoonauth holds a Masters degree in Biochemistry from the University of Lyon, France and a Ph.D. Education from the University of Quebec in Montreal, Canada. She presently heads the African Union International Centre for Girls and Women’s Education in Africa (AU/CIEFFA) based in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. Before moving to Ouagadougou, she was a Senior Policy Officer in Education for five years at African Union Commission in Addis Ababa. She also worked as a Senior Lecturer at the Mauritius Institute of Education, Mauritius and the University of Quebec in Montreal, Canada teaching Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Science Education.

Brenda Boonabaana

Lecturer, Makerere University, Uganda

Brenda Boonabaana has over 10 years of experience working as a Lecturer and researcher at Makerere University. She holds a PhD in Gender and Tourism from the University of Otago (New Zealand) and a Masters of Arts in Land use and Regional Development of Makerere University. She is also an Associate Coordinator and Trainer for the Gender Responsive Researchers Equipped for Agricultural Transformation (GREAT) project, a 5 year Makerere/Cornell Universitiy project training agricultural scientists in sub-Saharan Africa to be gender responsive in their research activities. Brenda is a Fellow of the African Women in Agricultural Research and Development (AWARD) and the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) under the GAAP2 project that has rolled out tools for measuring women’s empowerment in agriculture (WEAI/A-WEAI/Pro-WEAI). She is an alumnus of the Beahrs Environmental Leadership Programme, University of California, Berkeley, having attended a short training course in 2016. Brenda cares about good environmental quality, women and girls’ empowerment, food secure and poverty free communities. She enjoys traveling, and likes multi-cultural interaction.

Damayanti Buchori (Dami)

Head of Biological Control Laboratory, Department of Plant Protection, Faculty of Agriculture, IPB Bogor and Head of Center for Transdisciplinary and Sustainability Sciences (CTSS)

Damayanti Buchori (Dami) holds a position as Head of Biological Control Laboratory, Department of Plant Protection, Faculty of Agriculture, IPB Bogor and Head of Center for Transdisciplinary and Sustainability Sciences (CTSS). She received her Bachelor of Agriculture form Department of Plant Protection in 1984 and Master of Science in Entomology from Department of Entomology, University of Illinois in 1989. She received her PhD in Evolutionary Ecology from Indiana University, Bloomington, IN. As an insect ecologist and evolutionary ecologist by training her research has spanned from theoretical to applied biology that covers aspects of insect ecology, biological control, host parasite interaction, integrated pest management to insect diversity and conservation, particularly in relation to transformed habitat and land use change, and biodiversity studies.

Juliana Chan

Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Asian Scientist Magazine

Dr. Juliana Chan is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Asian Scientist Magazine, published by Wildtype Media Group, Asia’s leading STEM-focused media company, spanning digital, print, custom publishing and events. She received a BA degree in Natural Sciences from the University of Cambridge, and a PhD degree in Biology from MIT. Awards received include the L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science National Fellowship, the Singapore Youth Award, MIT Technology Review's 10 Innovators Under 35 (Asia), the ACS Nano Fellowship and Tatler Singapore's Generation T list. Juliana's research into drug delivery and nanomedicine has been featured by The BBC, MIT Technology Review and South China Morning Post, and she is an inventor on four patents, one of which has been licensed for commercialization by Pfizer. Juliana is a Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum (WEF), and she serves on the WEF Technology Pioneers Selection Committee.

Min Chen

VP & CTO of LexisNexis Legal & Professional Asia Pacific

As VP & CTO of LexisNexis Legal & Professional Asia Pacific, Min Chen is responsible for delivering products in legal research & analytics, practical guidance & drafting tools, mobile solutions, and smart content engineering & operations across 7 markets in Asia Pacific. She is based out of Shanghai, leading one of three LexisNexis global technology centers. Her team is spread across different regions of Shanghai, India, Australia, New Zeeland, Malaysia and Singapore, with around 240 members of engineers and product managers. Min also leads the Edison’s lab innovation program in Shanghai to drive customer-centric innovation through artificial intelligent technologies including machine learning/deep learning, natural language processing/understanding, computer vision, augmented reality, as well as data analytics and visualization.

Roseanne Diab

Former Executive Officer of the Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf) and Emeritus Professor in the School of Environmental Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal

Roseanne Diab is the former Executive Officer of the Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf) and Emeritus Professor in the School of Environmental Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal. She is a Member of ASSAf and is recognised for her research contributions in the field of atmospheric sciences, particularly air quality, climate change and tropospheric ozone variability. She is a Fellow of the University of KwaZulu-Natal, the South African Geographical Society, The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) and the African Academy of Sciences. She is currently Director of the global initiative, GenderInSITE, which is based in Trieste, Italy. She has served as Co-chair of the Gender Advisory Panel of The World Academy of Sciences and represents GenderInSITE on the panel. She has been a Fulbright senior research scholar and has been a member of a number of international bodies such as the International Ozone Commission (IOC).

Suraksha S. Diwan

Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science & Technology

Dr. Suraksha S. Diwan, PhD from International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, New Delhi in Bio-Medical Sciences with specialization in Malaria Vaccine Development was Scientific Consultant in the DBT-Cell for UNESCO Regional Centre for Biotechnology Training and Education from January, 2008 to May, 2010 till she joined Department of Biotechnology, Govt. of India (DBT) as Scientist ‘C’ and has been implementing several important schemes of DBT since then. She was responsible for Biotechnology Industry Partnership Programme (BIPP) and other activities of Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC) till March, 2015 and supported 150 Industries in PPP mode.

Debalina Dutta

Senior Lecturer in the School of Communication, Journalism & Marketing at Massey University, New Zealand

Debalina Dutta holds a PhD in Organizational Communication from Purdue University. She is currently a Senior Lecturer in the School of Communication, Journalism & Marketing at Massey University, New Zealand. Her research interests are culture, diversity and inclusion including how women in STEMM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, and Medicine) craft their stories of resilience and leadership in organizations in the context of culture. Her work has been published in journals such as Journal of Engineering Education, Management Communication Quarterly among others. Dutta has contributed to policy discussions on diversity & inclusion and has conducted workshops with women & children on careers.

Kerry Elliott

Executive Manager Diversity and Inclusion, CSIRO

Kerry has an extensive background in HR, Organisation Development, Diversity and Inclusion and Cultural change in both the public and private sectors. In her role as Executive Manager of Diversity & Inclusion, Kerry leads the CSIRO Diversity and Inclusion Strategy which includes, the Science in Australia Gender Equity (SAGE) program and the Male Champions of Change (MCC) initiative. Kerry plays a pivotal role in the drive by Australia’s pre-eminent science organisation to achieving best practice, innovative solutions to remedying gender inequity not only within CSIRO but across the STEM industry.

Noraida Endut

Centre for Research on Women and Gender (KANITA), Universiti Sains Malaysia

Noraida Endut currently works at the Centre for Research on Women and Gender (KANITA), Universiti Sains Malaysia, the first centre of its kind in Malaysia, pioneering a field that was little known and marginalised in the country’s academe. Noraida does research on women and the law, gender and development, violence against women and other aspects of gender studies.

Michinari Hamaguchi

Chairperson of the Council for Science and Technology, MEXT, Japan

Michinari Hamaguchi earned his PhD in medicine from Nagoya University. He was appointed Research Associate at the Nagoya University School of Medicine in 1980, and since then, he had been working at Nagoya University, except for the time he pursued his research at the Rockefeller University in the U.S. from 1985-1988. He served as the President of Nagoya University from Apr. 2009 – Mar. 2015 before becoming the President of JST in Oct. 2015. His scholarly interest is Pathological Medical Chemistry. He currently serves as Chairperson of the Council for Science and Technology, Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) in Japan.

Sarah Huggett

Head of Analytical Services APAC at Elsevier

Sarah Huggett is Head of Analytical Services APAC at Elsevier, based in Singapore. She leads a group providing consultative services to government agencies, funding bodies, policy makers, and research institutions planning for the future. Her team analyses research performance to offer insights and recommendations to research leaders. Sarah’s first job at Elsevier, in Research & Academic Relations in Oxford, UK, gave her expertise in using data to inform strategic planning. She has a particular interest in new developments in research evaluation, such as measures of attention and engagement. After completing a Bachelor’s then Master’s degrees at the University of Grenoble, France, Sarah moved to the UK to teach French at the University of Oxford, prior to joining Elsevier in 2006

Professor Tazeen Hasan Jafar

Professor Health Services & Systems Research at Duke-NUS Medical School

Tazeen H Jafar is Professor Health Services & Systems Research at Duke-NUS Medical School in Singapore, Visiting Consultant, Renal Medicine, Singapore General Hospital, and Professor of Global Health Duke Global Health Institute, Durham USA. She has 15+ years track record of leading large multi-country trials including the Control of Blood Pressure and Risk Attenuation (COBRA)-BPS trial in South Asia.

Thilinakumari Kandanamulla

Scientific Officer at the National Science Foundation of Sri Lanka (NSF),

Ms Thilinakumari Kandanamulla is working as a Scientific Officer at the National Science Foundation of Sri Lanka (NSF), which the premier science funding agency of the country. She is a co-coordinator of the NSF Steering Committee on Gender in STEM and is involved in coordinating the NSF study on Gender aspects of the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) disciplines of Sri Lanka. She represents her institution and the Asia Pacific Region at the Gender Working Group (GWG) of the Global Research Council (GRC) since 2018. She also coordinates the activities of the NSF Working Committee on International Liaison and the work related to Bilateral Scientific Cooperation.

Anders Karlsson

Vice President, Global Strategic Networks

Anders Karlsson, PhD, joined Elsevier in 2012 as Vice President, Global Strategic Networks, to support Elsevier’s relations with key stakeholders in Asia-Pacific. Before Elsevier he was for five years Counselor for Science and Innovation at the Embassy of Sweden in Tokyo, Japan. He is a member of Elsevier’s sustainability board, and is the Japan chapter Vice-Chair of the International Association of Scientific, Technical and Medical Publishers (STM). Before serving as Science Counselor, he was for 10 years Professor in Quantum Photonics at the Royal Institute of Technology - KTH, Stockholm, Sweden. In year 2000 he was one of 20 researchers to receive the Future Research Leader grant from the Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research. He also held a special research fellow position 2001-2007 with the Swedish Research Council. His work leading a consortium on quantum information technology, was awarded the EU René Descartes Research Prize in 2004. He has been Visiting Scientist at NTT Basic Research Labs, Stanford University as a Fulbright Visiting Scholar, École Polytechnique Paris, Zhejiang University and Advisor at Osaka University. He has a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering and a M.Sc. in Engineering Physics, both from the Royal Institute of Technology - KTH, Stockholm, Sweden.

Ginko Kawano

Professor of Sociology of Education and a special advisor to an Executive Director and Vice-President for promoting gender equality at Yamagata University, Japan

Ginko Kawano is a professor of Sociology of Education and a special advisor to an Executive Director and Vice-President for promoting gender equality at Yamagata University, Japan. She also works as a member of the Science Council of Japan and a director of the International Society for Gender Studies. She joined the surveys which were conducted by gender equality bureau, cabinet office, government of Japan in 2017 and 2018 as a member of an expert committee. She has been conducted many kinds of research projects on Gender, Education and Science (e.g. http://www.stem-diversity.com). Her new project- Expanding Female Students' Career Choices in the STEM Fields through a New Model of Articulation from High School to College - A Four -country Comparison- has just start this academic year (https://st.stem-diversity.com).

Kyung ok Kim

Researcher

Kyung ok Kim received her Ph.D. in Liberal Arts and currently teaches Women’s Studies and Gendered Innovations in the Fourth Industrial Revolution in Sookmyung Women’s University. Her doctoral dissertation was on Philip K. Dick’s science fiction. She explored the culture, history, and reality in Dick's science fiction. She is also interested in gender studies in literary works and has written several articles on female science fiction writers who were influenced by American Second Wave Feminism in the 1960s and 1970s, such as Joanna Russ, James Tiptree Jr., and Ursula K. Le Guin. She focuses on issues of gender discrimination as well as inequality between classes and races in the study. Recently, she has been participating in the various projects related to women and culture in the Research Institute of Asian Women at the Sookmyung Women‘s University.

Sabra Klein

Professor of Molecular Biology and Immunology at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School go Public Health

Dr. Klein is an Associate Professor of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. She is a leading expert on sex and gender differences in immune responses and susceptibility to infection and currently has over 100 peer-reviewed publications, authored several book chapters, and edited two books on the broad topics of sex differences in response to infection and treatments for infectious diseases. During the 2009 influenza pandemic, she was commissioned by the WHO to evaluate and publish a report on the impact of sex, gender, and pregnancy on the outcome of influenza virus infection. Dr. Klein has been invited to write reviews to introduce journal policies about sex reporting, wrote an Op Ed in the New York Times about sex-specific dosing of vaccines, and was lead author on an Opinion piece in PNAS defining the importance of sex as a biological variable in biomedical science. She is currently President of the Organization for the Study of Sex Differences, PI of the Johns Hopkins Specialized Center for Research Excellence (SCORE) in sex and age differences in immunity to influenza, and co-director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Women’s Health, Sex, and Gender Research.

Carolyn Lam

Senior Consultant of the National Heart Centre, Singapore; Professor of Duke-NUS Cardiovascular Academic Clinical Program; Director of the Clinical & Translational Research Office at NHCS; Scientific Advisor to the Clinical Trials Coordinating Centre at SingHealth and Affiliate Member of the SingHealth Duke-NUS Institute of Precision Medicine

Carolyn Lam graduated from the Faculty of Medicine, National University of Singapore, completed advanced specialty training in Cardiology in Singapore, and pursued her Research Fellowship at the Cardiorenal Laboratory, Heart Failure Fellowship at the Division of Cardiovascular Diseases, and Advanced Cardiology and Master of Biomedical Sciences at Mayo Clinic, Rochester MN. She received further training in clinical and genetic epidemiology at the Framingham Heart Study in Boston, MA, graduated from the Stanford Executive Programme and obtained her PhD at University Medical Centre Groningen.

Heisook Lee

Principal Research Fellow, Center for Gendered Innovations in Science and Technology Research(GISTeR) and Professor Emeritus, Ewha Womans University, Seoul, Korea

Having served as the founding president of the Center for WISET (Women in Science, Engineering and Technology) until Mach 2016, Professor Heisook Lee moved to GISTeR to focus on Gendered Innovations research in STEM fields. Professor Lee was a co-organizer of the Gender Summit Asia Pacific in 2015. She received her B.S. M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees in Mathematics from Ewha Womans University, Korea, the University of British Columbia and Queen’s University, Canada, in 1971, 1974 and 1978 respectively. She worked at Universitat Regensburg, Germany, as a postdoctoral fellow, and was later appointed Professor of Mathematics at Ewha Womans University in Seoul Korea. Professor Lee was Dean of the College of Natural Sciences, and Dean of Research affairs at Ewha between 1997 and 2001. She served as Dean of the Graduate School from 2006 to 2008. Professor Lee served as the founding Editor of Communications of the Korean Mathematical Society from 1986 to 1988 and as Chief Editor of the Journal of the Korean Mathematical Society from 1994 to 1996.
She also served as the founding director of the WISE Center in Korea between 2001 and 2010. HRD in STEM fields has been her main research interest. She also served as president of the Korea Federation of Women Scientists associations from 2006 to 2007. She was a member of Presidential Advisory Council on Science & Technology and National Science &Technology Commission.

Li Zi Leong

Research assistant at the Family Medicine and Primary Care department of Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Nanyang Technological University

Ms Li Zi Leong is a research assistant at the Family Medicine and Primary Care department of Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Nanyang Technological University. Together with Prof Helen Elizabeth Smith and Ms Clarissa Toh, she is working on a research study to explore the contributing factors to the decision of female health professionals in Singapore. She received her degrees in Linguistics and Psychology and Graduate Diploma in Psychology from the University of Western Australia and James Cook University Singapore. Her previous research experience includes parental bonding, academic burnout and engagement, and the effectiveness of animal-assisted interventions on psychosocial outcomes.

Linley Lord

Pro Vice Chancellor and President, Curtin Singapore

Professor Linley Lord is the Pro Vice-Chancellor and President of Curtin Singapore with overall responsibility for the academic integrity of the campus programs. She currently chairs the Education Services Interest Group for the Singapore International Chamber of Commerce. She was previously Chair of Curtin University’s Academic Board and a member of the University Council. She Co-Led Curtin’s Athena SWAN Project aimed at increasing the number of women in science, technology, engineering, maths and medicine. She was also the inaugural Academic Director for the Curtin Leadership Centre, leading the development of co-curricular student leadership programs. Her research interests focus on gender and leadership focussing on women on boards and women in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) and academic women’s careers.

Stanley Maphosa

International and National Liaison Manager of the Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf)

Stanley Maphosa is the International and National Liaison Manager of the Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf). He leads and oversees Strategic Partnerships, Member Liaison, Overseas Collaborations, African Collaborations, Gender in Science Technology and Innovation as well as Young Scientist Liaison. Since 2015, Stanley has been part of the team that started hosting the Regional Partner of The World Academy of Sciences in South Africa. Through his work with TWAS-SAREP the regional partner has reached science and technology lagging countries in the continent and seen more young scientists benefit from TWAS opportunities. Stanley’s work also includes providing leadership and guidance to the South African National Chapter of the Organisation for Women in Science for the Developing World, the South African Young Academy of Science and support for the hosting of the International Council for Science Regional Office for Africa (ISC-ROA). Stanley is a Disaster Management Professional affiliated to the Disaster Management Institution of South Africa, a member of the International Government Science Advisers (INGSA) African Chapter and a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). Stanley holds a Master’s degrees in Development Studies amidst other various qualifications.

Toni Moate

Director, National Collections and Marine Infrastructure (NCMI), Australia

Toni Moate is CSIRO’s Director, National Collections and Marine Infrastructure (NCMI), which sees her lead the Atlas of Living Australia (ALA), Marine National Facility (MNF), and National Research Collections Australia (NRCA). As the Director, National Collections and Marine Infrastructure, Toni is responsible for ensuring CSIRO’s national collections and marine infrastructure are effectively positioned, managed and utilised for long term financial sustainability and support science delivery in the national interest. Prior to her current role Toni was Executive Director, Future Research Vessel Project and Deputy Chief, Science Operations for CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research. As Executive Director of the $120M Future Research Vessel Project, Toni was responsible for management oversight of the design, build and commissioning of the research vessel, co-ordination of the prioritisation and acquisition of scientific equipment, contract and financial management, and maintaining high level relationships.

Noryawati Mulyono

Head of Food Technology Department of Atma Jaya Catholic University of Indonesia

Noryawati Mulyono is a science-based entrepreneur with managerial experiences in private manufacturing company for 10years and Vice Dean for Finance, Collaboration and Infrastructure, and academic experience as lecturer, researcher and the Head of Food Technology Department of Atma Jaya Catholic University of Indonesia. She has succeeded in innovating a food packaging that can be eaten. Her research interest in sustainable packaging was started in 2010, when Nory succeeded in winning the L’Oreal - UNESCO For Women In Science for Bioplastic. Since that year, she had received many awards, from Indonesia Toray Science Foundation in 2011, Diplomat Success Challenge in 2012, Indonesia Ministry for Higher Education, Research and Technology in 2013-2017, Ellen MacArthur Foundation in 2017, and again, Indonesia Ministry for Higher Education, Research and Technology in 2018. She won another award as an inventor granted by Ministry of Law and Human Rights Indonesia in 2016.

Marian Asantewah Nkansah

Faculty member at Department of Chemistry, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST)

Dr. Marian Asantewah NKANSAH is a faculty member at Department of Chemistry, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Kumasi, Ghana.  Her research interests span a wide range of fields with a focus on Environmental Chemistry, especially in the areas of contamination and pollution of the environment by toxic substances. She is a member the Royal Society of the Chemistry (RSC), affiliate of the African Academy of Sciences (AAS) and affiliate of the World Academy of Science (TWAS). Dr. Nkansah was named the inaugural recipient of the FM Al-Kharafi TWAS Prize in 2016. She was recently elected as an Executive Member of the Global Young Academy (GYA) and selected a Fellow of the Next Einstein’s Forum (NEF).

Tayanah O'Donnell

Director of Future Earth Australia based at the Australian Academy of Science

Tayanah is an experienced science leader, communicator and collaborator, having worked in research and leaderships roles in private practice, government and academia for 15 years. She has particular expertise in the legal, political and cultural aspects of climate change. She is a qualified lawyer and human geographer and is highly soughtafter for her ability to bring people from all walks of life together. Her passion is in working towards a better future for current and future generations and enabling intergenerational equity and justice.She is currently the Director of Future Earth Australia based at the Australian Academy of Science, with academic affiliations with the ANU and RMIT University.

Sonja Ochsenfeld-Repp

Head of the Division “Equal Opportunities, Research Integrity and Cross-Programme Development”, German Research Foundation

Before she has been Deputy Head of Division “Quality and Programme Management” (2016-2018). Her focus is on the promotion of gender equality, early career researchers, international cooperation and on safeguarding good scientific practice. From 2012 to 2015 she was Deputy Director of the European Liaison Office of the German Research Organisations (Kowi) and Head of the Bonn office. She was coordinator of the KoWi-Part of the National Contact Point for the European Research Council (ERC). Her priorities lay on the funding opportunities of the ERC and the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions. She is a fully qualified lawyer by training and has been awarded a doctoral degree from the University of Bonn in 2007. She has participated as a speaker or moderator in many national, European and international conferences.

Hee-Young Paik

Director of the Center for Gendered Innovations in Science and Technology Research(GISTeR), Korea Federation of Women’s Science and Technology Associations(KOFWST) in Korea and Professor Emeritus of Seoul National University

Dr. Hee-Young Paik currently serves as the Director of the Center for Gendered Innovations in Science and Technology Research(GISTeR), Korea Federation of Women’s Science and Technology Associations(KOFWST) in Korea and Professor Emeritus of Seoul National University. Dr. Paik received Doctor of Science in Nutrition from Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, Massachusettes, USA. After receiving doctoral degree, she worked as a faculty member at Sookmyung Women’s University and then at Seoul National University in Korea until February 2016. She worked in various professional organizations serving various roles including Presidents of the Korean Home Economics Association in 2013, the Korean Nutrition Society in 2015, and the Korea Federation of Women’s Science and Technology Associations in 2014-2016. She was the Chair of the the Korean DRIs Committee during 2002-2005, when the Dietary Reference Intakes for Koreans were newly developed in Korea. She was a member of the IUNS Council in 2005-2009, and received several honors including Excellent Research Awards in Science (2005), National Honor for High Achievements in Science (2008), and Asia-Pacific Clinical Nutrition Award (2009) and Blue Ribbon National Medal for Public Service (2012). Dr. Paik served as the Minister of Gender Equality and Family, Republic of Korea, 2009-2011.

Merlyne Paunlagui

Director, Center for Strategic Planning and Policy Studies, University of the Philippines, Los Baños

Merlyne Paunlagui has more than 25 years of work experience in the fields of socio-economic research. Starting with women and development, her research interests expanded to agrarian reform communities focusing on the changing demographics of the farmer and the farming households and assessment of local institutions involved in the delivery of agricultural and social services including education, health, nutrition, and social protection. Dr Paunlagui teaches social policies and the disadvantaged groups, quantitative and qualitative methods in conducting research, and social impact assessment. She earned her PhD and Diploma in Demography from the Australian National University, completed a Master’s Degree in Rural Sociology at the University of the Philippines Los Baños, and graduated with a Bachelor Degree in Liberal Arts at Jose Rizal University.

Yen-Wen Peng

Associate professor of public affairs management at National Sun Yat-sen University, Taiwan

Yen-Wen Peng is an associate professor of public affairs management at National Sun Yat-sen University, Taiwan. Peng got her Ph.D. degree from Rutgers University, USA. Her research interests include gender & politics, gender & management, and participatory democracy. Besides her academic role, she serves as Executive Board Member of the National Alliance of Taiwan Women’s Associations and the Kaohsiung Women Awakening Association.

Barbara Plinkert

EU Ambassador to Singapore

H.E. Barbara Plinkert began her term as the EU Ambassador to Singapore in 2017 - a historically significant year as the EU turned 60 and ASEAN 50; and the EU and ASEAN marked 40 years of ties. Singapore's importance as a regional partner is being further emphasized by its three- year role as ASEAN's coordinator for EU relations since mid-2018 and by the signature in October 2018 of three landmark agreements: the EU-Singapore Free Trade Agreement, the EU-Singapore Investment Protection Agreement and the EU-Singapore Partnership and Cooperation Agreement. Prior to her assignment in Singapore, Ambassador Plinkert was Head of Division responsible for Headquarters Security and EEAS Security Policy at the European External Action Service in Brussels. Before that, she served in various positions in different parts of the world. From 2011-2015, she was based in Addis Ababa as Deputy Head of the EU Delegation to Ethiopia. Prior to that, she has held key positions within the EU with postings in Zimbabwe, Tajikstan and Kazakhstan. Between 1998 and 2003 she worked for the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, which took her to Afghanistan. Ambassador Plinkert speaks English, German, French and Chinese. She holds a Masters of Arts degree in Sinology, South-east Asian studies and Linguistics from Free University of Berlin.

Elizabeth Pollitzer

Director, Portia Ltd, UK; founder, Gender Summit

Elizabeth Pollitzer, (PhD (InfSc), BSc (Bio/Phys)) is the founder and  director of Portia, which set up the Gender Summit in 2011 and has co-convened  each summit since then.  She is expert evaluator and adviser for the European  Commission, and is involved in several EU projects.  Elizabeth Pollitzer PhD is founder and Director of Portia, an organization devoted to improving gender equality in STEM and promoting the inclusion of the gender dimension in STEM. She has 20 years’ experience teaching and researching in the Departments of Computing and Management at Imperial College, University of London. Her original training was in Biophysics. She now applies this scientific background to her work as director of Portia. Portia was the coordinator of the genSET project, the Gender Summits were established as part of the genSET project.

Wirulda (Nik) Pootakham

Researcher at Genomic Research Lab at the National Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (BIOTEC)

Wirulda (Nik) Pootakham studied Plant Molecular Biology at Cornell University and graduated summa cum laude in 2002. She went on to pursue a PhD in Cell and Molecular Biology at Stanford University, studying a signal transduction pathway that regulates nutrient starvation responses in Chlamydomonas, a single-cell green alga. After obtaining a doctorate degree, she returned to her home country of Thailand and joined the Genomic Research Lab at the National Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (BIOTEC) with a determination to help drive agricultural sciences in Thailand forward. Her work focuses primarily on applying next-generation sequencing technologies to help identify molecular markers that are linked to important agronomic traits in a number of Thailand’s economic species (rice, cassava, oil palm, rubber tree and sugarcane). Nik also has been involved in projects that address environmental issues of coral bleaching in the Gulf of Thailand and Andaman Sea. She received a Young Technologist Award from the Foundation for the Promotion of Science and Technology under the Patronage of His Majesty the King in 2017, the UNESCO-L’Oréal For Women in Science Fellowship in 2018, and was elected to serve as a Young Affiliate for The World Academy of Science (TWAS) from 2017 to 2022.

Lakshmi Ramachandran

Programme Manager for the HBMS funded Cancer ImmunoTherapy Imaging (CITI) Programme

Dr. Lakshmi Ramachandran works at Duke-NUS Medical School as the Programme Manager for the HBMS funded Cancer ImmunoTherapy Imaging (CITI) Programme, a national initiative involving 12 partner organisations across Singapore. At the SingHealth Duke-NUS Academic Medical Centre, Lakshmi has also been supporting the design and execution of the Women in Science Career Advancement Programme (WinS-CAP). Her 15 years professional career in science broadly spans early drug discovery, science communications and research programme management. Lakshmi was a speaker at the Gender Summit 10 (GS10) held in Tokyo in May 2017 and also at the GS15 held in London in June 2018 . Influenced by the value and global impact of the Gender Summit, she is the co-organiser of Gender Summit Asia Pacific, 2019 (GS16), to be hosted in Singapore in August 2019.Lakshmi is affiliated with the STEM Advocacy Institute, Boston, USA, as a senior program specialist. She is also an inspirational keynote speaker and an author.

Vandana Ramachandran

Director of Research Affairs and Administration at SERI

As Director of Research Affairs and Administration at SERI, Dr Vandana Ramachandran oversees all research, academic affairs and spearheads the formulation and implementation of strategic projects and initiatives locally and internationally. Vandana received her PhD from the National University of Singapore in collaboration with INSERM, Paris, followed by a postdoctoral fellowship at The Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, working on malaria. She was the Head of Research Admin at Institute of Medical Biology, A*STAR for the last 10 years where she founded A*PECSS (A*STAR Postdoc and Early Career Scientists Society). She was awarded a MTI (Ministry of Trade & Industry) outstanding activist award for this. She is the co-founder of the Singapore Women in Science and have been actively promoting women participation in Science through networking events with women leaders in the STEM field, mentoring and hosting talks by these professional women. Vandana was a speaker at the Gender Summit 15 (GS15) held in London in June 2018 and she is co-organizing the Gender Summit Asia Pacific 2019 in Singapore (GS16).

Curt Rice

President of Oslo Metropolitan University

Professor Curt Rice is the President of Oslo Metropolitan University in Norway – an institution which has achieved complete gender balance at the professorial level. He also leads Norway’s Committee on Gender Balance and Diversity in Research. Rice has been active in issues related to gender equality in academia for many years, and has had a role in several EU projects, including genSET, genderSTE, EGERA, LIBRA, and more. Rice was part of the genSET Science Leaders Panel, which in 2010 examined evidence on how gender dimension is treated in research. The Panel’s conclusions led to the creation of the Gender Summit platform. He has also been involved in the development of gender equality projects at the Research Council of Norway, including the creation of their «Balance» program. Prior to assuming the presidency of OsloMet, Rice was the Vice President for Research at the University of Tromsø, where he also was the Founding Director of that institution’s first Center of Excellence, CASTL — the Center for Advanced Study in Theoretical Linguistics. He is a prominent writer and speaker on issues of the type to be addressed at the Gender Summit and in 2018 he addressed the Nobel Prize Committees as part of their efforts towards great success in identifying more women Nobel laureates.

Dr. Wan Wardatul Amani binti Wan Salim

International Islamic University of Malaysia

AMANI received her B.Sc. and M.Sc. in Electrical Engineering from University of Minnesota Twin Cities in 2001 and 2003 respectively, and her Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from Purdue University in 2009. Prior to her position at the International Islamic University of Malaysia, where she is currently teaching. Amani was a Postdoctoral researcher at Purdue University, USA and was appointed as the Principal Investigator to a NASA Small Satellite project (www.sporesat.org).Amani’s research focuses on multidisciplinary approaches for the development of advanced sensor technologies with applications in agriculture, biology, environmental science, medicine and space biology. She also received the Thora W. Halstead Young Investigator's Award in 2012 from the American Society for Gravitational and Space Research (ASGSR), and was recipient of the 2015 National L’Oréal – UNESCO Fellowship for Women in Science.

Fabiano Santos

Senior Program Specialist at Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC)

Fabiano Santos is a medical research professional with over 8 years of combined multidisciplinary experience in the fields of biomedical technology and pharmaceutical sciences. He is currently managing the Joint Canada-Israel Health Research Program at Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC), where he works collaboratively with global partners supporting initiatives addressed to foster scientific collaborations, capacity building, biomedical innovation and exchanges between researchers based in developed and developing countries. He earned his PhD degree in Pharmaceutical Sciences at the Université de Montréal, Canada. Before joining IDRC, he was a research fellow at the Department of Oncology of McGill University (Canada) and has also served as adjunct professor at the Université du Québec en Abitibi-Temiscamingue (Canada).

Ylann Schemm

Director of the Elsevier Foundation

Ylann Schemm drives the Elsevier Foundation’s programmatic focus on advancing diversity in science, building research capacity in developing countries, global health and embedding technology for development across the portfolio. For over a decade, Ylann ran the Foundation’s New Scholars program which supports projects to help early- to mid-career women scientists balance family responsibilities with demanding academic careers and addressed the attrition rate of talented women scientists.  She currently also serves as Director of External Partnerships within Elsevier's Global Communications group, developing in depth corporate collaborations focusing on technology and the SDGs and co-chairs the communications group for Research4Life, a UN-pan publisher access program working to bridge the digital divide.  Ylann is both American and Dutch and holds an MA in Film & Television Studies from the University of Amsterdam and a BA, magna cum laude in English from Amherst College.

Kanwaljit Soin

Practicing medical specialist

Dr Kanwaljit Soin is a practicing medical specialist and was Singapore’s first female Nominated Member of Parliament. She is a founder of many civil society organisations including WINGS (Women’s Initiative for Ageing Successfully) and AWARE (Association of Women for Action and Research). She was a global ambassador of UK-based HelpAge International which serves disadvantaged older people worldwide. She has served as a board member of Washington University International Advisory Council for Asia. She has also been a jury member of for the Rolex Awards for Enterprise. In 2000, she was presented the “Women Who Make a Difference Award” by International Women’s Forum, Washington D.C. In 2006, Dr Soin was presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award by the United Nations Development Fund for Women (Unifem) Singapore for her selfless contribution to society, especially towards the less advantaged. She was name Singapore’s “Her World Women of the Year” in 1992, and in 2014 she was inducted to the Singapore Women’s Hall of Fame. She was the co-editor of the book “Our Lives to Live – Putting A Woman’s Face to Change in Singapore” and author of “Silver Shades of Grey – Memos for Successful Ageing in the 21st Century”.

Siddarth Somasundaran

Director X0PA, Singapore

Driven by genuine interests in strategic marketing, sales operations, client engagements and business development, I have taken up a challenging role at X0PA AI, an artificial intelligence firm headquartered in Singapore, which operates in the Talent Management space helping corporations of all sizes significantly improve their organizational health powered by AI and predictive analytics. Leveraging my decade long experience at Fortune 100s, I now look to fulfill my aspiration of transformatively leading diverse teams to create a meaningful, positive, global impact. He has an MBA, General Management from NUS and a Bachelor of Engineering from the University of Mumbai among other qualifications.

Mikyung Sung

Professor of the Department of Food and Nutrition and the Vice-President at Sookmyung Women’s University in Seoul, Korea

Mi-Kyung Sung is a professor of the Department of Food and Nutrition and the Vice-President at Sookmyung Women’s University in Seoul, Korea. She also served as the Dean of the Office of Research & Business Development (2016-2018) and the Director of Research Institute of Asian Women (2012-2014). Dr. Sung has been involved in a number of expert committees. Most recently she acted as a member of Review Board for the Nutritional Science Division, the Korea Research Foundation to co-ordinate the grant review committees. She is a member of Health Functional Foods Review Board in the Ministry of Health and Welfare of Korea, and the Board of Agricultural Science and Technology in the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. Dr. Sung is also involved in many academic societies. She served as the president of the Korean Society of Cancer Prevention and the Vice-President of the Korean Society of Clinical Nutrition Research. Current research focuses on diet-induced metabolic disturbances. Dr. Sung published more than 150 papers in peer-reviewed journals and contributed more than 10 book chapters as an author.

Subra Suresh

President and Distinguished University Professor at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore)

Subra Suresh, who was appointed the Fourth President of NTU Singapore in July 2017, is an eminent American scientist, engineer and entrepreneur with decades of distinguished and impactful leadership in academia, industry and government. Nominated by United States (US) President Barack Obama and unanimously confirmed by the US Senate, Prof Suresh served as the Director of the National Science Foundation from 2010 to 2013, managing a US$7 billion annual budget. His other recent leadership roles include his tenure as the ninth President of Carnegie Mellon University and as Dean of the School of Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he was a faculty member for two decades. Over his career, Prof Suresh has made the push for more equal gender representation in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines. His own research in materials science and engineering, mechanics and biomedicine has helped to shape fields and technologies at the intersections of engineering, science and medicine. Prof Suresh holds the distinction of being the only university president elected to all three US national academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, in addition to his election to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the National Academy of Inventors. He is an elected member of 15 science and/or engineering academies based in the US, China, France, India, Sweden, Germany, Italy and Spain. He has over 300 research publications, 26 patent applications and 18 honorary doctorates, and co-founded a technology start-up. An independent Director of HP Inc, Palo Alto, and a member of the Global University Leaders Forum in Davos, he serves on numerous boards and councils, including non-profits, in Singapore and abroad.

Cara Tannebaum

Scientific Director of the Institute of Gender and Health at the Canadian Institutes of Health Research

Cara Tannenbaum was appointed the Scientific Director of the Institute of Gender and Health at the Canadian Institutes of Health Research in 2015. She holds a number of distinguished awards including the May Cohen Gender Equity Award, presented by the Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada to recognize outstanding achievement in improving the gender equity environment in academic medicine in Canada, a YMCA Woman of Distinction Award, and a Knowledge Translation award from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. Dr. Tannenbaum obtained her medical, specialist and research degrees at McGill University. She is a Full Professor in the Faculties of Medicine and Pharmacy at the Université de Montréal, where she holds the Chair in Pharmacology, Health and Aging. Her research focuses on sex and gender differences, and patient education in the area of drug safety.

Clarissa Toh

Research assistant at the Family Medicine and Primary Care department of Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Nanyang Technological University,

Ms Clarissa Toh holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology majoring in Organisational Psychology from Murdoch University and a Bachelor of Psychological Science (Honours) from James Cook University Singapore. She is currently a research assistant at the Family Medicine and Primary Care department of Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Nanyang Technological University, working on a research study with Prof Helen Elizabeth Smith and Ms Li Zi Leong to understand the factors influencing the decision of Singaporean female health professionals. Her previous research experience includes behaviour management, counselling and student welfare, mental health and resilience, and sexuality education.

Brigid Trenerry

Research Fellow at the Lee Kuan Yew Centre for Innovative Cities at the Singapore University of Technology and Design, Singapore

Brigid Trenerry is an interdisciplinary social science researcher and currently a Research Fellow at the Lee Kuan Yew Centre for Innovative Cities at the Singapore University of Technology and Design in Singapore. Her expertise is in the area of diversity and the future of work with a focus on organisation studies and policy translation. Her current research interests include workplace diversity, anti-discrimination, digital disruption and labour market inequality. She is particularly interested in studying innovative responses to pressing demographic and technological challenges across multiple settings and contexts. She holds a PhD in Sociology from Western Sydney University and an Honours Degree in Political Science from the University of Melbourne.

Kaori Tsukazaki

Former Vice President of National Institute of Technology

Professor Kaori Tsukazaki is former Vice President of National Institute of Technology, Kagoshima College (2015 - 2019) and the first female professor in the 56-year history of the college. She has been working on empowering female students in her college and was chosen as one of the best professors among 55 national colleges of technology in Japan and received an award from the National Institute of Technology in Tokyo in the spring of 2019.

Aye Lei Tun

Senior Livelihood and Gender Program Manager with the Enlightened Myanmar Research Foundation in Yangon

Aye Lei Tun is the Senior Livelihood and Gender Program Manager with the Enlightened Myanmar Research Foundation in Yangon. She holds a Master of Development Practices degree (2015) from the University of Queensland in Australia and a Master of Gender, Human Rights and Conflict Studies degree (2016) from the International Institute of Social Studies. She has led the research on several studies: Gender Awareness in Myanmar Film Industry; Engendering Political Recruitment and Participation at the Party, Local and National Levels in Myanmar; Gender Representation in Myanmar Media (2010–2015); A Baseline Survey of Myanmar Garment Sector Workforce; Border Study (Myanmar–China); Future of Work for Women in Myanmar; and Women’s Rights to Citizenship Documentation. Her research works with EMReF could be found at www.emref.org.

Maria Corazon A. De Ungria

Heads of DNA Analysis Laboratory of the Natural Sciences Research Institute, University of the Philippines, Diliman

Dr. Maria Corazon A. De Ungria heads the DNA Analysis Laboratory of the Natural Sciences Research Institute, University of the Philippines, Diliman. Because of her work in promoting the use of DNA technology as a tool for finding justice or 'DNA Forensics' and for helping study our national (pre)history through understanding the genetics of Philippine populations, Dr. De Ungria had received prestigious scientific awards such as the Outstanding Young Scientist from the Philippine National Academy of Science and Technology as well as The Science Academy for the Developing World (TWAS). Dr. De Ungria was named as the first Filipino regional fellow affiliate of NAST from 2007 to 2011. Her type of leadership was recognized by different sectors that awarded her with The Outstanding Young Men award, The Ten Outstanding Women in the Nation Service award, and the Asia Society Young Leader Award. Dr. De Ungria won the search for the Outstanding Woman Researcher in the Life Sciences organized by the Third World Organization of Women Scientists in Malaysia and was named as a one of the first two National Fellows of the L’Oreal – UNESCO Women in Science Program. In 2014, the National Research Council of the Philippines gave one of the Achievement Awards to Dr De Ungria, once again giving honor to a career of science and service to the community.

Zee Upton

Executive Director of IMB, Singapore

Professor Zee Upton joined the Institute of Medical Biology (IMB) within the as a Research Director in July 2015 and is now the Executive Director of IMB. She is also the Leader of the Skin Integrity, Repair and Regeneration Theme in the Skin Research Institute of Singapore (SRIS), a tripartite initiative with Nanyang Technological University and the National Health Group. She is a biochemist by training, a tissue engineer, an inventor and entrepreneur, and is internationally renowned for her research in molecular, biochemical and cellular aspects related to growth factors, extracellular matrix proteins and tissue repair. Zee believes that innovation commonly arises in the “white spaces” between disciplines and actively champions interdisciplinary research. Prior to relocating to Singapore, she was a senior research leader and research manager at the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) in Brisbane, Australia, where she held various roles, including Assistant Dean (Research) in the Faculty of Health. She also established the Australia-wide Wound Management Innovation Cooperative Research Centre which operated between 2010-2018. At IMB/SRIS, she has built a similar highly inter-disciplinary consortium of researchers focussed on chronic wounds through the establishment of the pan-Singapore Wound Care Innovation for the Tropics Programme.

Frederique Vanhoslbeeck

Associate Dean Diversity and Inclusivity for the Faculty of Science

After studying architecture for two years, I decided that she would be better off doing something else and went onto physics. I got a PhD in physics from the Université Libre de Bruxelles (Belgium) in 2003. I also obtained a diploma in teaching (secondary). Originally, from Belgium, I have moved to New Zealand in 2003 and have been at The University of Auckland since then. With my partner, also an academic, we have had three kids born in New Zealand and are well settled in this country. In 2005, I has started a new team to perform research in biophotonics with an emphasis on developing new imaging technologies. I am a strong advocate for a healthy work-life balance and for diversity and inclusivity for both our staff and students as demonstrated by my recent award from the Optical Society of America. For the last 4 years, I have chaired the equity committee in my department and we have now been awarded the silver level of the Pleiades, the equity scheme from the astronomical society of Australia. I have just started a new challenge by accepting the position of Associate Dean Diversity and Inclusivity for the Faculty of Science.

Dr Miyoko O. Watanabe

Deputy Executive Directorior, Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST); Director, Office for Diversity and Inclusion, JST, Japan; Chair, Gender Summit 10 Asia-Pacific

Miyoko O. Watanabe is Deputy Executive Director at Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST). She is also the agency’s Director of the Office for Diversity and Inclusion, and Director-General of the Center for Science Commnication. Dr Watanabe is a member of the Science Council of Japan and chair of the council’s Committee on Comprehensive Synthetic Engineering in Science. She is also a member of the Science and Technology Council at Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology in Japan, as well as a Member of Specialist Committee on Formulating the Fourth Basic Plan for Gender Equality in the Council for Gender Equality of the Japanese Cabinet Office. She worked in various roles for Toshiba since 1979.

Stefan Winkler

Senior Deputy Director at AI Singapore and Associate Professor at the National University of Singapore

Stefan Winkler is Senior Deputy Director at AI Singapore and Associate Professor at the National University of Singapore. Prior to that, he was Distinguished Scientist and Director of the Video & Analytics Program at the University of Illinois’ Advanced Digital Sciences Center (ADSC) in Singapore. He also co-founded two start-ups and worked for a Silicon Valley company. Dr. Winkler has a Ph.D. degree from the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland, and a Dipl.-Ing. (M.Eng./B.Eng.) degree from the University of Technology Vienna, Austria. He is an IEEE Fellow and has published over 130 papers. His research interests include video processing, computer vision, machine learning, perception, and human-computer interaction

Rosita Yocgo

Researcher at the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS) Rwanda

Dr Yocgo is currently a researcher at the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS) Rwanda. She was Extra-ordinary Researcher at University of Stellenbosch, South Africa. Her research focus is on multilevel plant interactions. She uses a multidisciplinary approach (field observations, biotechnology, computing/modeling) to document mutualistic and antagonistic plant interactions, their resultant network topologies, and investigates the influence of environmental change drivers (climate, land use, pathogens/pests). This is in an effort to identify inert patterns or molecular markers that can be exploited to promote a healthy and sustainable agro-ecological system and plant community for increased food security and environmental conservation efforts.