Alex Aliper, PhD, is the President of Insilico Medicine. He pioneered the application of AI in multi-omics data for drug discovery and drug repurposing, generative chemistry and generative biology and put an AI-designed drug into human clinical trials. He built a team of over 100 AI engineers that developed state-of-the-art software products for target discovery, small molecule generation and clinical trial outcome prediction, and he has published over 50 peer-reviewed publications. He was recognised as "Top 100 AI Leaders in Drug Discovery and Advanced Healthcare" by Deep Knowledge Analytics. In 2020, Endpoint News selected Alex Aliper as the top 20 under 40 biotechnology executives globally.

Angelos Karlas studied Medicine (MD) and Electrical and Computer Engineering (Dipl.-Ing.) at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece. He holds a Master of Science (M.Sc.) in Medical Informatics from the same university and a Master of Research (M.Res.) in Medical Robotics and Image-Guided Interventions from Imperial College London (DIC), UK. He completed his PhD (Dr.rer.nat.) in Experimental Medicine and is currently a Dr. med. and Lecturer (Privatdozent) candidate at the Technical University of Munich, Germany. He served as the Group Leader of the independently funded interdisciplinary Clinical Bioengineering Group at the Institute for Biological and Medical Imaging, Helmholtz Center Munich, Germany. He is about to finish his clinical residency at the Clinic for Vascular and Endovascular Surgery at the ‘rechts der Isar’ University Hospital in Munich, Germany, where he also serves as a Senior Research Scientist. His main research interests are in vasometabolic optoacoustic imaging and sensing, AI-based disease biomarkers, and robot-assisted and image-guided vascular interventions.

Dr. Ayman Al-Hendy is currently a Professor (Tenure) and Vice Chair (Research), Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Advisor to Dean of Medicine, Pritzker School of Medicine, University of Chicago (UC). Dr. Al-Hendy is a Gynecologist and minimally-invasive Surgeon at UC Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois with a busy practice that focuses on serving women with symptomatic uterine fibroids, endometriosis and premature ovarian insufficiency. Dr. Al-Hendy is double board certified by the Royal College of Surgeons of Canada and The American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Dr. Al-Hendy’s medical research interests focus on developing novel therapies including gene and stem cell therapy for Premature Ovarian insufficiency, Endometriosis, and particularly Uterine Fibroids. Dr. Al-Hendy has published more than 281 peer reviewed publications in high tier peer reviewed scientific journals, above 400 presentations in national and international meetings, and has edited 5 medical books. Dr. Al-Hendy have received numerous awards and have been elected as the 71st President of the Society for Reproductive Investigation

Christian Sina, MD, completed his medical education at universities in Rostock (Germany), Aarhus (Denmark), and Brown University (USA). He specialized in Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology at Christian-Albrecht University in Kiel and the University of Luebeck, Germany.

Dr. Sina is a Professor of Medicine and the Department Head of the Institute of Nutritional Medicine at the University Medical Center Schleswig-Holstein in Luebeck (UKSH). He leads a dynamic team of over 40 physicians, scientists, and technicians. Additionally, he is the Programme Director of “Medical Nutritional Science” at the University of Luebeck.

Dr. Sina also heads the Precision Prevention Program at the Fraunhofer Research Institution for Individualized and Cell-Based Medical Engineering (IMTE) in Luebeck. His research focuses on Digital Therapeutics & Personalized Nutrition to prevent and treat chronic diseases such as T2D, Migraine, and IBS.

Furthermore, Dr. Sina is the Co-Founder of Perfood, a Series-B startup specializing in digital therapeutics. He is committed to fostering innovation by mentoring and investing in several science-based startups that originated from the Institute of Nutritional Medicine.

Chief physician associate
Department of internal medicine and medical oncology at University Hospital Renji of Jiaotong University, Shanghai
Professor of medicine at Shanghai University of medicine and Health Sciences

Healthy Longevity Medicine:
Healthy Longevity Medicine Society, founding President elect Longevity Education Hub: co-founder and trainer of CME longevity medicine courses for physicians and managing over 6000 certified physicians in the network Organizer of Longevity Medicine Day at ARDD conference

Specialist in internal medicine (FMH Swiss) and medical oncology, full-time clinician at university hospital, professor of medicine (vienia docendi) at Shanghai University of Medicine and Health Sciences. Research focus on oncology and multimorbidity in internal medicine, as well as healthy longevity medicine, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and digital health, precision medicine, biogerontology, and geronto-oncology. EB published over 150 peer-reviewed papers, is a frequent speaker at scientific and medical conferences in Asia and Europe. Board member of various medical societies, e.g. European Federation of Internal Medicine, World Academy of Medical Sciences, Swiss Society of Internal Medicine etc.

EB spent over a decade practicing medicine, while also lecturing at medical schools and performing clinical and translational research in Boston, New York, Shanghai and Basel, with extensive experience in scientific research and clinical practice at the following well-known and highly reputable institutions: University Hospital of Basel, Fudan Cancer Institute and Hospital; Zhongshan Hospital, Renji Hospital and Shanghai East Hospital. EB sits on several scientific and advisory boards of biotech and longevity hubs. Currently also affiliated with the Centre of Healthy Aging, Universität Zürich, and prev. senior attending physician of internal medicine at the University Hospital Basel.

Swiss board certified as internal medicine specialist (FMH), trained in Europe, USA and China (Harvard Medical School affiliated hospitals (Mass General Hospital, Beth Israel MD, Dana Farber Institute) and Columbia University NYC; Fudan University hospitals, Shanghai and University Hospitals of Zurich and Basel (Switzerland).

George Malliaras is the Prince Philip Professor of Technology at the University of Cambridge. He leads the Bioelectronics Laboratory, an interdisciplinary group of scientists, engineers and clinicians who translate advances in electronics to better tools for healthcare. George received a BS from the Aristotle University, Greece, a PhD from the University of Groningen, the Netherlands, and did a postdoc at the IBM Almaden Research Center, USA. Before joining Cambridge, he was a faculty member at Cornell University in the USA, where he also served as the Director of the Cornell NanoScale Facility, and at the School of Mines of St. Etienne in France.

His research has been recognized with awards from the European Academy of Sciences, the Materials Research Society, the New York Academy of Sciences, the US National Science Foundation, and DuPont. He was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Linköping (Sweden), and is a Fellow of the Royal Society, the Materials Research Society, Academia Europaea and the European Academy of Sciences. He serves as a Deputy Editor of Science Advances.

Joyce Harper is an Internationally renowned, award-winning educator, author, podcaster, academic, and scientist. She is Professor of Reproductive Science at University College London in the Institute for Women’s Health where she is Head of the Reproductive Science and Society Group.

She has worked in the fields of fertility, genetics and reproductive science since 1987, written over 240 scientific papers and published three books. Her topics of interest are menopause, reproductive health education and fertility treatments.

She is leading the development of a UK Menopause Education and Support Programme with support from key organizations (https://www.ucl.ac.uk/global-health/uk-national-menopause-education-and-support-programme).

She is co-founder of the UK Fertility Education Initiative (www.fertilityed.uk) and founder of the International Reproductive Health Education Collaboration (www.eshre.eu/IRHEC). She is working with schools in the UK and globally to help deliver reproductive health education.

Her latest book, Your Fertile Years, What you need to know to make informed choices, was published in 2021 by Sheldon Press. She is currently writing her next book where she has interviewed 50 women over 50 to discuss embracing age – discovering your second spring.

Her podcast is called Why Didn’t Anyone Tell Me This? Is available on all podcast channels.

She regularly appears in the media, on Radio and TV.

Further information – www.joyceharper.com

Follow on Twitter, Instagram, Tiktok and Linkedin - @ProfJoyceHarper

Maarten De Vos is currently Professor in the Departments of Engineering and Medicine at KU Leuven after being Associate Professor at the University of Oxford (UK) and Junior Professor at the University of Oldenburg (Germany). Since the start of his career, he focused on improving data science approaches for various healthcare applications.  Currently, his Artificial Intelligence (AI) solutions are used in various hospital departments, ranging from neonatology to elderly care. 

His pioneering research has won several innovation prices, among which the prestigious Mobile Brain Body monitoring prize (2017), the Martin Black Prize for the best paper in Physiological Measurements (2019) and in the IEEE EMBS Benelux award for best paper in the biomedical field(2021). He has a strong interest in translational research, and advises many healthcare spin-off companies (e.g. Circadian Therapeutics, Albus Health, ArtiQ) on how to embed AI solutions in their product portfolio. He is also currently associate editor for IEEE Journal of Biomedical Health Informatics and on the editorial board of Journal of neural engineering, and Nature Digital Health.

Professor Moustapha Kassem obtained his medical degree from the Faculty of Medicine, University of Cairo, Egypt, in December 1983. After becoming a fully registered physician in 1985, he pursued advanced postgraduate training in Internal Medicine and Endocrinology in Denmark. His dedication to the field led him to earn a Ph.D. in 1994 and a Doctor of Medical Science (Dr.Med.Sc.) degree in 1997, both from the University of Aarhus, Denmark.

From 1993 to 1995, Professor Moustapha Kassem served as a research fellow in the Endocrine Research Unit at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, USA. His academic and clinical excellence led to his appointment in 2002 as Professor of Molecular Endocrinology and Chief Endocrinologist at the University Hospital of Odense and the University of Southern Denmark in Odense, Denmark. In addition to his primary roles, he has also served as an adjunct professor of Stem Cell Biology at the University of Copenhagen since 2013.

Professor Moustapha Kassem's research is at the forefront of understanding the mechanisms underlying impaired bone formation, particularly in the context of aging and osteoporosis. His pioneering work aims to develop innovative therapeutic strategies to combat age-related musculoskeletal decline. This includes the identification of small molecule anabolics and the repurposing of existing drugs to enhance bone health. Professor Moustapha Kassem has received several awards and honors both nationally and internationally. He is widely recognized as one of the leading clinician-scientists in the field of metabolic bone diseases and osteoporosis.

Nicole Sirotin, MD, is a beacon of inspiration in the field of Lifestyle Medicine, known for her vibrant approach to guiding patients toward lives brimming with health, joy, and fulfillment. As a passionate leader, she has become a renowned figure in the UAE, celebrated for her innovative health programs, dynamic team leadership, and the powerful message that our daily choices profoundly impact our health and lifespan.

Dr. Sirotin's vision in leadership is to make positive changes and redefine the future trajectory of healthcare. She is committed to fostering a healthcare environment that prioritizes scientific advancements in prevention and precision medicine. Her innovative approach and dedication are paving the way for a new era in healthcare, one where long-term health and vitality are within everyone's reach.

For the past 10 years, Dr. Sirotin has played a pivotal role at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi (CCAD), which has earned the distinction of being the top hospital in the UAE and GCC. Initially spearheading the Internal Medicine Department, she then established the Department of Preventive Medicine and held the position of Medical Director for the Office of Facilitated Access at CCAD. This division encompasses a concierge-style primary care practice, a comprehensive Lifestyle Medicine program, and the esteemed CCAD Executive Health program.

Dr. Sirotin's work in Lifestyle Medicine is transformative, combining a unique approach within the UAE by applying the principles of precision medicine with personalized scientific lifestyle strategies to help patients prevent and reverse diseases. One of her most significant achievements is the creation of and implementation of a groundbreaking Lifestyle Medicine program within the CCAD Cancer Center. This program ensures that every cancer patient receives precise treatment aimed at reducing side effects, minimizing recurrence, and improving overall survival rates.

Currently serving as the Chief Executive Officer at the Institute for Healthy Living Abu Dhabi. She is also a Clinical Assistant Professor at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine and has taught at Weill Cornell Medical College and Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Her educational background includes a medical degree from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, a residency in Primary Care/General Internal Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, focusing on Health Equities, and a research fellowship in Global Public Health at the University of California, San Diego. Her dedication to medicine has been recognized with several prestigious awards, including the 2019 “Physician of the Year” from the Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi Women’s Professional Staff Association and the 2008 UCSF Exceptional Physician Award.

Outside of her professional endeavors, Dr. Sirotin enjoys the vibrant lifestyle of Abu Dhabi with her husband, Joshua, and their son, Finley. She loves hiking, traveling, savoring delicious food, exploring new knowledge, and immersing herself in the soulful sounds of the blues. Dr. Sirotin’s life and career are a testament to her belief that “each day is a new opportunity to embrace health and vitality,” a philosophy she passionately imparts to her patients and community.

Rosario Rizzuto is Professor of General Pathology and Chairman of the Department of Biomedical Sciences at the University of Padua. From 2015 to 2021 he was the Rector of the University of Padua. He is currently the President of the National Center for Gene Therapy and RNA-based Drugs, funded by the Italian Recovery Plan with €320,036,606.03. and grouping researchers from 47 public and private research centers.

Prof. Rizzuto's research activity has been focused on the study of cellular signaling pathways, and in particular of intracellular calcium ion homeostasis in physiological and pathological conditions. Early in his career, he developed an innovative method to induce the expression of luminescent (equorin, luciferase) or fluorescent (GFP) proteins in cell organelles. This technique made it possible for the first time to quantitatively assess the concentration of calcium ions in specific organelles (endoplasmic reticulum, mitochondria, Golgi apparatus), demonstrating, for example, the role of mitochondrial calcium signals in apoptosis, the role of the Golgi apparatus as agonist-sensitive store and to estimate the calcium concentration in the ER and in the subplasmalemmal cytosolic rim.

A seminal contribution was the demonstration of the calcium microdomains occurring in the contact sites between the ER and the mitochondria, the first demonstration of privileged signalling interactions between intracellular organelles (Science 1998, >1800 citations). More recently, he identified the protein channels responsible for mitochondrial Ca2+ and K+ fluxes. By bioinformatic screening of a database of mitochondrial gene products and in vitro and in vivo validation, a 40 kD protein was identified as the mitochondrial Ca2+ channel, the Mitochondrial Calcium Uniporter, MCU). This discovery (Nature 2011, >1500 citations) was followed by the identification of the accessory components of the MCU, and of the ATP-sensitive mitochondrial K+ channel (mitoKATP), proposed as the primary regulator of ischemic pre-conditioning (Nature 2019). Overall, Prof. Rizzuto authored more than 320 publications in international journals listed by Pubmed (>50,000 citations; h-index 109, from Scopus).

Prof. Rizzuto received multiple awards, including the Chiara D'Onofrio Prize, the Biotec Award, the Theodor Bucher Medal and in 2014 the Antonio Feltrinelli Award from the Accademia dei Lincei. Prof. Rizzuto gave >300 invited talks at international conferences and seminars at research institutions. He is a member of the Academia Europaea, of Accademia dei Lincei and of the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO). He acts as reviewer for funding agencies (BBSRC, Wellcome Trust, UMDF, etc.) and top international journals (Nature, Science, Cell, etc.). His research activity was funded through the years by National and International agencies, such as the European Research Council (Ideas Advanced "Mitocalcium" project), the National Institute of Health (NIH), the Italian Association for Cancer Research (AIRC), Telethon, the Ministries of Education and Health and the Cariparo and Cariplo Foundations.

Alyaa AlMulla Founder of Longevity Think Tank, where she drives policy development and advocacy and advisory to the public and private sector in wellbeing and healthy longevity in the UAE. She specializes in enhancing healthspan, wellbeing, and the longevity economy through innovative public policy frameworks. Alyaa has led the workplace wellbeing initiative under the UAE’s National Program for Happiness & Wellbeing, creating a robust, evidence-based framework and implementing tools to boost wellbeing in both public and private sector organizations.

In addition to her policy work, Alyaa serves as a lecturer at the Geneva College for Longevity Science and has previously been a Visiting Senior Lecturer in Positive Psychology & Positive Societies at the University of East London. She holds a Master’s degree in Public Administration from Harvard Kennedy School and was an academic fellow at the Oxford Institute of Population Ageing, Oxford University .Alyaa has also been a member of the World Economic Forum’s Future Council on Human Enhancement and Healthy Longevity.

Dr. Bartlomiej Piechowski-Jozwiak serves as the Head of Research at the Institute for Healthier Living Abu Dhabi. He is a distinguished neurologist focusing on stroke, cerebrovascular diseases, and neurosonology. He completed his medical degree at the Medical University of Warsaw, Poland. Further, he specialized in vascular neurology at Helsinki University Hospital, Finland, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois in Lausanne,  and the World Health Organization in Geneva, Switzerland. Dr Piechowski-Jozwiak received his Master of Business Administration in International Healthcare Management at Robert Kennedy College, Zurich, Switzerland and the University of Cumbria, UK. Dr. Piechowski-Jozwiak has held several notable positions, including consultant neurologist positions at King’s College Hospital in London, consultant neurologist, and director of research at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi.

Most recently, he started working as a consultant neurologist in Australia. His research interests encompass NCD prevention, acute stroke treatment, and the application of advanced neuroimaging techniques. He focuses on preventative and precision medicine, emphasizing early intervention and personalized treatment strategies. Dr. Piechowski-Jozwiak is also pioneering research into predictive AI algorithms for NCDs, aiming to enhance early detection and improve patient outcomes through innovative technological solutions.

Chris Awai is Chief Scientific Officer at Lake Lucerne Institute (LLUI) and Director of the Data Analytics & Rehabilitation Technology (DART) Lab. His research focuses on the continuous collection of physiological and behavioural data in populations with neurological deficits and the modelling of individual rehabilitation trajectories. He is especially interested in markers of movement quality, and how these interact with functional excellence, healthy aging, and disease.

With a PhD in health sciences and biomechanics from the University of Sydney and University of Nice, he has dedicated 15 years of research to biomarkers of movement quality and methods to track these in high performance athletes and persons with neurological injury. He has co-authored over 50 publications, lectures at top ranked higher education institutes, and has created a stand-alone Master’s program for Precision Neurorehabilitation at LLUI. He is member of the advisory boards of various companies in the neurorehabilitation space and is fully dedicated to bringing the outcomes of his research into clinical practice at scale.

Dr. Mohamed Salem AlAmeri holds a PhD in Epigenetics of Pediatric Acute Myeloid Leukemia Diagnosis, and a Master’s degree in cell and Gene Therapy with distinction from University College London. He received a bachelor's degree with honors in Genetics from the University of Western Ontario in Canada. Dr Mohamed currently works as Section Head of Studies and Special Projects at the Department of Health, Abu Dhabi.

He holds experience serving as a Teaching Fellow on two different MSc programs (Gene and Cell Therapy, Personalized Medicine and Novel Therapies) at University College London and he is a member of the British Society for Genetic Medicine and Cancer Genetics. Prior to this Dr Mohamed worked as a medical laboratory technician in the molecular diagnostics laboratory in Sheikh Khalifa Medical City.

Rui da Silva (PhD) is Deputy Director of the Al Qasimi Foundation for Policy Research and a Visiting Research Fellow from the School of Education and Social Work at the University of Sussex. He worked as a researcher, consultant, and education specialist on projects

Omar is the Executive Director of Al Saqer Group Healthcare and Life Science (UASQ HLS). UASQ HLS aims to be the largest private healthcare and life science holding company in GCC by the year 2030. Its main mandate is building an operational unit that create, own and operate assets in the innovative Healthcare Life Science space. Spanning the industries of Humans, Animals, Plant and Environments.

Just before joining United Al Saqer Group, Omar was the executive director of Executive Affairs and Special projects Office at the Abu Dhabi Department of Health. In that role, he was one of the leaders that transformed Abu Dhabi Healthcare to be one of the best systems globally and drove the creation of a globally competitive Life Science Ecosystem.

Some of his key rolesincluded; being a member of a core “AD Healthcare Gold Command Team” for Covid- 19; with Abu Dhabi achieving number 1 safest city globally at times of Covid19 (DKG) and UAE being number one most resilient country (Bloomberg). Omar was responsible for leading the establishment of the Hope Consortium in day zero, contributing to handling over 260 million covid19 doses to over 65 country in one year.

Other aspects of his work at the department of health, is leading on developing the ambitious Abu Dhabi Life Science Strategy; the attraction of investment and making healthcare a positive contributor to a globally competitive Abu Dhabi economy.

Omar trained as a Head and Neck surgeon in the UK and worked at Mckinsey & Co London office. Omar is a member of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh; Holds a Masters in Surgical Technology and Healthcare Innovation from Imperial College London. He holds several international committee scientific membership and has published and presented extensively in medical research, healthcare innovation and economy. He lives in Abu Dhabi with his wife and two children.

Dr. Merriman has over 35 years of experience leading multi-disciplinary R&D programs in academia and industry. The unifying theme of this work is to create new technologies that will have the greatest impact in the areas most important for the future of humanity: developing unlimited energy, curing all disease, the ability to engineer biology, and developing artificial intelligence. In pursuing this mission, over the course of his career he has done extensive work on Nuclear Fusion Energy, Precision Medicine and Human Longevity, Synthetic Biology, and Computational Algorithms. This work also spans 20 years in academia as a Professor at UCLA, and 15 years in Industry leading major R&D programs at leading global corporations and high-profile start-ups.

In regards to Human Health, Dr. Merriman has 25 years of experience specifically developing technologies for Precision Medicine and Longevity, in both academia and industry. In academia, as a Professor at UCLA, he pioneered the development of genomic technologies for studying the genetic basis of disease. This included co-directing the UCLA Genomics Core facility, an NIH-funded national core facility serving hundreds of researchers nationally. Highlights of his work in genomics include an advance in autism genetics research that was ranked in the Top 100 most important science discoveries of 2004 by Discover Magazine, solving the oldest outstanding genetic disease (Ferguson-Smith Syndrome, a spontaneously healing skin cancer, unsolved for 75 years), sequencing the first-ever cancer genome, performing first ever whole-genome epigenetic sequencing, as well as inventing the modern methods for determining distant relationship using DNA sequencing, and for methods of targeted DNA sequencing, which have now become widely used methodologies.

In industry, his focus has been on (1) developing semiconductor chip devices that bring the transformative power of chip scaling to high value applications in Precision Medicine, such as sequencing, diagnostics, and genome engineering, and (2) applying these and other state-of-the-art technologies for population-scale, comprehensive programs in Precision Medicine and Longevity. He initially left academia to join the global leader in sequencing technology, Applied Biosystems Inc (later merged into Life Technologies), as their Lead Architect for Advanced Sequencing Technology, where he led over $1 Billion of advanced R&D efforts. This included developing the first semiconductor chip for sequencing DNA, known commercially as the Ion Torrent platform, which remains one of the market leading DNA sequencing platforms and is the next-gen sequencing platform of the global leader in scientific tools, Thermo Fisher Scientific. Dr. Merriman subsequently also developed chip devices for single molecule DNA sequencing—the “Genia” nanopore chip that was ultimately sold to Roche and is currently their flagship sequencing platform—as well as founding two spin-out companies that make highly advanced chips for diagnostics (Roswell) and genome engineering (Avery).

In addition to work on foundational chip technologies in biomedicine, Dr. Merriman has lead efforts in establishing national-scale programs for realizing the benefits of precision medicine. At Life Technologies, Dr. Merriman was also the founder and Chief Science Officer of the Enterprise Genomic Solutions Business Unit, where—in a unique role reporting directly to the CEO & President—he led the architecting and execution of large-scale precision medicine programs globally, in partnership with governments and major healthcare systems. These pioneering national-scale efforts included programs for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the US military and US Veterans Healthcare Administration, and Boston Children’s Hospital, the global leader in pediatric medicine. In 2014, Dr. Merriman left Life Technologies (by then a division of Thermo Fisher) to accelerate this work, by joining genomics pioneer Craig Venter in creating the new venture Human Longevity Inc., which became the global the leader in applying precision medicine at scale to the problem of extending human healthspan. There Dr. Merriman reported directly to CEO Craig Venter as VP of Global Technology Assessment, and his role was to establish the comprehensive technology stack for precision longevity medicine, and also to develop personalized longevity plans for elite, ultra-high net worth clients. Highlights of this work included developing personalized cancer vaccines for cancer treatment and developing personalized disease treatment and wellness plans based on comprehensive patient profiling—including whole genome, epigenome, metabolome, microbiome, and immune system profiling, as well as inputs from team of multiple domain expert medical doctors—and providing comprehensive combination therapies drawing on drug, stem cell, nutritional and lifestyle modalities. Other highlights include working with the world-leaders in AI and Machine Learning to develop tools and methods for predicting disease risk, diagnosing disease, predicting healthy lifespan, and for otherwise make personalized, predictive interpretations from whole genome sequence and other multi-omic data.

Early in his academic career, before focusing on biomedical research, Dr. Merriman’s focus was energy research and he worked on the design of nuclear fusion reactors, including being part of the design team for the international fusion demonstration reactor, ITER, the largest fusion effort in history which presently nearing completion in France. He also did extensive work on developing computational algorithms and AI methods for computer-based design of high-complexity physics- based systems such as fusion reactors, fission reactors, nuclear weapons, hypersonic jet engines and semiconductor chip fabrication tools.

Dr. Merriman has over 100 scientific publications—with an H-index of 53 and 22,000 total citations, including 6 papers having over 1,000 citations each—and over 50 granted patents with over 100 more in process. He has given over 100 invited lectures internationally, on diverse areas of science, technology, and precision medicine. He holds a PhD degree in Applied Mathematics from the University of Chicago and BS degrees in Mathematics and Physics from the University of Washington, Seattle. He is presently an Adjunct Faculty in Synthetic Biology at The J. Craig Venter Institute, as well as co-founder and Chief Science Officier of two bio-chip companies, that produce semiconductor chip devices for diagnostics and genome engineering.

Professor Rifat Hamoudi, Ph.D, C.Eng, C.Sci is a multi and inter-disciplinary researcher with deep background and work experience that spans the fields of Medicine, Engineering and Computer Science. He started out as electronic engineer but moved into medical sciences. He has three different MSc degrees from the University of London in Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Electronic & Medical Engineering and Computer Science respectively. He has a PhD from University of Cambridge in Pathology & Immunology.

He worked in cancer genetics at the Royal Marsden Hospital and Institute of Cancer Research, United Kingdom and was a member of the team that discovered BRCA2. Following the publishing of the human genome in 2001 he moved to work in molecular pathology establishing and applying novel wet methodologies, algorithms and software for molecular screening and personalised medicine, diagnostic and prognostic biomarker discoveries and understanding the molecular mechanism of various diseases with a view to identifying key therapeutic targets.

He co-initiated the Personal Genome Project - UK with colleagues at UCL where he led the software and algorithms development and has written many information management system software using various software engineering methodologies to collate, store clinicopathology information and correlate that to multi-OMICs (genomics, transcriptomics and epigenetics) data.

Prof. Hamoudi developed many software products for various purposes including natural language processors, image analysis and computer vision and analysis next generation sequencing data. His main field of interest is developing novel algorithms, tools and devices based on Artificial Intelligence and Engineering Mathematics principles and applying them to the acquisition and analysis of data obtained from biomedical sciences.

Dr Erik Koornneef is a global healthcare executive with 25 years of international management experience in growing healthcare economies. He is currently the Director of Research and Innovation with SEHA, Abu Dhabi’s largest, integrated healthcare provider. In his current role he is responsible for setting up a dedicated Health & Life Sciences research program, transforming the existing research functions into dedicated health research units across the organization.

Previously Erik has held multiple senior roles in the healthcare industry, including the Health and Information Quality Authority of Ireland, the Abu Dhabi Department of Health, the Abu Dhabi Health Information Exchange, the UAE Ministry of Presidential Affairs and Truven Health Analytics / IBM Watson Health.

Erik holds a PhD in Health Policy and Management, Erasmus University Rotterdam, the Netherlands. He also holds a M.Sc. In Health Services Management, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland and M.Sc. in Educational Sciences from the Radboud University of Nijmegen, the Netherlands.

Dr. Asma Al-Mannaei is an accomplished executive director of research and innovation in the Department of Health Abu Dhabi, with over 18 years of experience in Public Health, Strategy & Policy, Quality and Healthcare Research and Innovation. With an extensive background in healthcare Management, she is an expert in leading the transformation of healthcare life science in Abu Dhabi. Dr. Al-Mannaei is recognized for her innovative strategies and her ability to drive success in complex projects. She holds an MBBS from UAEU, a Master of Public Health from Johns Hopkins and Executive Education of Advanced Leadership and Management from Harvard Kennedy school.

Current Projects

• Precision Medicine
• Abu Dhabi Genome Program & biobank
• Abu Dhabi Healthcare Life Science Strategy
• Healthtech incubator & accelerator
• Drugs & medical products regulations
• Research & Clinical Trails regulations

In 2008 the Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates and Ruler of Dubai His Highness SHK. Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum asked a retinal specialist in Dubai hospital - Dr Manal Taryam to design a one-year initiative that can provide eye treatment to 1 Million individuals. Within one year, Dr Taryam has put together a strategy and implementation plans were Noor Dubai was able to achieve coverage of over 5 million people with cataract surgeries and preventive chemotherapy for control of Onchocerciasis in 10 countries. Impressed with the achievement and convinced with the great positive impact Noor Dubai had on the health and wellbeing of nations, Sheikh Mohammed issued a decree to establish the NGO Noor Dubai Foundation in 2010.

Within less than 10 years, Dr Taryam and members of the board, nurtured and developed the new NGO from scratch to a well-established international NGO that is currently one of the most prominent and active NGOs in the field of eye care. The Foundation had so far covered over 33 million people globally, with 28,974 cataract surgeries in many hard to reach communities with no access to cataract surgical services in 18 countries. Another 67,642 people were treated with glasses and coverage of over 15 million people with eye care services and another tens of millions covered by NTD preventive chemotherapy.

Concerned with the scourge of the preventable trachoma in causing blindness and hardship in many Africa countries, Dr Taryam linked up with the US based Carter Centre to support trachoma control program in one of the most trachoma endemic regions of the world – Amhara region of Ethiopia. In the last 6 years the program has removed over 5 million people from risk of the disease as 47 districts of the region have achieved disease elimination level.

In efforts to address the lack of awareness towards screening and early detection and management of eye disease in communities, which is prevalent even in affluent societies Dr Taryam established a free mobile eye outreach services using a mobile bus to cover the many schools, universities, government and public entities as well as the labor housing facilities . The outreach provides eye assessment, glasses and treatment to the public. The program had screened over 29,000 people in 5 years and provided surgical support to 240 people who could not afford the treatment. This program had won the 2016 Dubai Government excellence award, as it resulted in providing adequate eye screening and correction of undiagnosed refractive errors in public transport drivers, resulting in a reduction in the rate of traffic accedints.

In line with the Universal health coverage and sustainability of eye care interventions Dr Taryam has in the last 2 years redirected the focus of the Foundation to integrated comprehensive eye care approaches. As such in 2018 the Foundation started rolling out integrated sustainable comprehensive eye care programs in regions of Nigeria and Bangladesh in collaboration with the respective local health authorities. More countries and regions are being planned to be added in this approach.

For evidence based planning of eye care services in the Emirate of Dubai, Dr Taryam launched the first ever National Dubai eye health population based survey to determine the prevalence and causes of visual impairment, coverage and quality of eye care services in the Emirate.

In the academic field, Dr. Taryam was a pioneer in establishing the national Emirates Ophthalmic Society, she was appointed president of the society in 2013. The same year, Dr. Taryam represented the Emirates, as a board member, at the Middle East African Society for Ophthalmology. she was also entrusted to support the World Ophthalmology congress 2012 as the vice president, a global event that was attended by over 12,000 eye care providers.

Through her work for the government of Dubai, Dr. Taryam was appointed CEO of Primary Health Care at the Dubai Health Authority from 2013 until 2022, overseeing the operations of 14 health Facilities and the Telemedicine clinics.

Dr. Taryam is chairing one of the global councils on SDG, the Nexus model . This model will demonstrate the impact of the Katsina eye health program (Northern Nigeria) on 5 SDG goals in the namely goal 1 No Poverty, goal 3 Good Health and Wellbeing, goal 4 Quality Education, goal 5 Gender Equality and goal 17 Partnership for the Goals.

Dr. Taryam played an important role in over 127 strategic initiatives including the Digital Transformation of the health sector, and inclusive health at the Dubai Disability Strategy.

Through out her career, Dr. Taryam won many awards in recognition of her distinguished achievements, She was awarded for her humanitarian efforts by H.H Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum in 2018 in addition to receiving the international Stevie Awards in 2019 for “Best CEO in nonprofit organization”. She has received 28 awards, including Sheikh Rashid Awards for Scientific Excellence and Distinguished Government Employee, at the Dubai Government Excellence Program- 2006.

Mark is an Associate Professor at University College London (UCL). He studied in Liverpool, Munich and London before completing his PhD in Clinical Neuroscience at UCL. He is currently based at the UCL Great Ormond Institute of Child Health and is the Director of UCL Genomics, a core facility located within the Zayed Centre for Research into Rare Disease in Children (ZCR). His major research themes lie in genomics, personalised medicine and neuroscience and his major interests lie in equitable education programmes, entrepreneurship, patient advocacy, public engagement and student careers as well as running numerous academic postgraduate programmes at UCL and global education initiatives. He is also the President of the Global Academy for Genomics and Personalised Medicine and a scientific advisor to the Department of Health, Abu Dhabi.

Shannon is an experienced healthcare leader with over 25 years experience in the public and private healthcare sector in Australia, Asia and the Middle East. He is an expert in the field of Healthcare Innovation, Healthcare Management, Clinical operations and Business Development. He holds a Masters in Healthcare Management from University of NSW, Australia and a Bachelor of Nursing from University of Technology, Australia. Shannon leads Purehealth’s longevity business in the UAE including the launch of advanced preventative medicine centers of excellence throughout the UAE and integrating longevity medicine into the PureHealth ecosystem. Shannon has worked for organizations such as Mediclinic Middle East, Parkwayhealth (IHH healthcare), Monash IVF, CBMG Biotech, LifeClinic and WA Healthcare. In China, he opened Parkwayhealth’s flagship site and lead the market entry of Parkwayhealth in Shanghai. With WA Healthcare he co-founded a cutting edge Anti-aging and Regenerative medicine company in China that was listed on the NASDAQ. In Hong Kong he co-founded an integrative consumer health and wellness company that became the largest longevity medicine group in Hong Kong. Shannon has been at the forefront of new medicine and healthcare disruption, and has successfully developed new brands in emerging markets and launched companies in areas including longevity medicine, functional medicine, regenerative medicine and integrative medicine.

Nada Naser is the Director of Research Services at Khalifa University, where she leads initiatives to drive impactful research that aligns with the University’s goals and the UAE’s vision. With a strong passion for advancing women’s health, Nada is committed to supporting research that drives meaningful progress in this field, while also overseeing a wide range of research grants and partnerships. Her previous experience includes managing research and grants for university medical centers, children's hospitals, and health-related initiatives, including women’s cancer prevention programs and government women’s aid projects. Nada holds a Master’s in Public Policy & Urban Affairs from the University of Texas and has a strong background in public health and policy. She has worked across various sectors, including academic institutions, medical centers, and nonprofit organizations.

Dr. Mishkat Shehata MBBS, MRCGP, MPH, DRCOG, DipIBLM, AFMCP is the Clinical Director of Longevity at PureHealth and the Regional Director for the British Society of Lifestyle Medicine in the Middle East. She is a double board-certified UK-trained Consultant in Family Medicine, Lifestyle Medicine Physician and Functional Medicine Practitioner with over 12 years of clinical expertise. Her extensive academic credentials include Masters in Public Health (MPH), Masters in Health Service Delivery and Disease Prevention along with certifications in epigenetics, sports nutrition & weight management. With a robust background that spans clinical practice, research, and healthcare innovation, her dedication to advancing the longevity agenda position her as a thought leader in this field.

Dr. Nadia Qassim Bastaki is a distinguished C-suite executive and trailblazing board member with nearly two decades of experience in corporate governance, strategic transformation, and human capital leadership. As the first female Chief at Etihad Aviation Group and a recognized expert in aviation medicine, Dr. Bastaki has built a reputation for delivering transformative results, driving sustainable growth, and championing diversity and inclusion initiatives. Currently serving as Chief People & Corporate Affairs Officer at Etihad Aviation Group, Dr. Bastaki leads a team of over 250 professionals and is responsible for spearheading the group’s people, government relations, and corporate affairs strategy. Under

her leadership, Etihad has optimized workforce costs, driven significant year-on-year employee growth, and implemented cutting- edge digital transformation initiatives, including the launch of the company’s first P&CA Analytics Hub.

Dr. Bastaki’s strategic oversight extends to board roles, where she serves on the Board of Directors for Air Arabia Abu Dhabi and as a member of the Nomination and Remuneration Committee (NRC) for Global Aviation Logistics Abu Dhabi. She has contributed

significantly to corporate governance, ensuring alignment with strategic goals, overseeing risk management, and driving board- level decision-making for sustainable long-term growth.

Throughout her tenure at Etihad, Dr. Bastaki has been instrumental in leading high-impact projects, including restructuring the C- suite with 40 senior executive hires, creating a comprehensive internal communication strategy, and launching initiatives that directly

improved employee engagement and Net Promoter Scores (NPS). Her accomplishments include achieving $60M+ in cost savings through workforce optimization, growing the employee base by 20-25% year-on-year for three consecutive years, and driving international sales growth with strategic PR campaigns across the Americas and Europe. In addition to her professional achievements, Dr. Bastaki holds an array of prestigious qualifications, including completing the MBZU AI Executive Program in 2023, alongside certifications from Harvard Medical School, Hult University, and the Institute of Directors. Her leadership is further underscored by her humanitarian efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic, where she led multiple initiatives that supported frontline workers and the wider community.

Executive Director of Engagement and Customer Experience Sector

H.E. Hind Mubarak Al Zaabi was the Executive Director of Healthcare Facilities at the Department of Health-Abu Dhabi, she also served as Acting Director of International Patient Care. She has more than 19 years of experience working in the healthcare sector starting from Al Jazeera Hospital, Centeral Hospital, Ministry of Health and Prevention (MOHAP) and DoH. Al Zaabi has led establishment of the centers of excellence COEs that aimed at enhancing the quality of healthcare services, promoting research, and ensuring the highest standards of care and also developing the Emerald Mushar for green facilities which was launched in COP28 she has also led the project to establish the International Patient Care Operations Center and transferred the supervision of patients sent abroad for treatment to the Operations and collaborated with leading hospitals and universities in order to provide top care for IPC patients and improve healthcare services by establishing IPC center. She holds a Master’s degree in Business Administration and a Bachelor of Applied Science in Health Information Management from the Higher College of Technology in Abu Dhabi with Distinction with Honors.  

Ms. Al Zaabi also managed the Visiting Doctors Programme and headed delegations for field visits in multiple countries to build strategic relations, a few of them came in high importance, such as heading a technical delegation to start relations with South Korea, the United Kingdom and the United States of America. She also led the project of establishing a command operations center abroad and transferring the responsibility of supervising patients sent for treatment.  

She was honored by H.H. Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak’s HCT Excellence Award. she holds CME hours from Harvard medical international & Dubai Healthcare city she holds a Certificate in Strategic Leadership from the National Defense College and the Abu Dhabi Government Academy. She has a medical resident certificate for fitness to travel from Etihad Airways. She was honored by NCEMA’S Director General for her work with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs & International Cooperation, National Emergency Crisis and Disaster Management Authority in their initiative repatriate more than 3,000 Emirati patient from aboard during COVID-19 outbreak. She was honoured by His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed Al Nahyan for her efforts and outstanding work in serving the Court of the Ruler's Representative in the Western Region. She was part of several committees, such as Vice-Chairman of the Medical Committee for Treatment Abroad, Member of the Committee for Unification of Sponsorship, and she was Member in International Hospital Federation – Geneva IHF,ISQUA Membership, AHF Board Membership, IHF Membership and Member in Young Executive Leaders’(YEL )steering committee.

Dr. Habiba Al Safar, Dean of the College of Medicine and Health Sciences and Professor of Genomics at Khalifa University, focuses her research on constructing genomic profiles of individuals of Arab descent to identify disease-related genetic segments, particularly those affecting the UAE's local communities. With over 100 publications in Q1 journals, her work includes the first whole-genome sequencing of Emirati subjects, shedding light on genetic diversity and establishing a UAE-specific reference genome. Recognized as an exceptional Arab woman scientist, she has received the International L'Oréal-UNESCO Fellowship for Women in Science and the UAE's prestigious First Honor Model award from His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. Dr. Al Safar has been a member of the UAE Science Council since 2016 and recently earned the Khalifa Award for Education for her outstanding university lectures in the UAE.