David Vigerust, PhD, MS

Clinical Professor (Texas Tech University Health Sciences)

Chief Scientific Officer (Spectrum Solutions), Clinical Professor at Woody L. Hunt School of Dental Medicine (Texas Tech University Health Sciences)

Dr. David J. Vigerust is a distinguished scientist and entrepreneur with extensive experience in biotechnology, medicine, and life sciences. He earned his bachelor’s degree in biology and chemistry from the University of Texas at El Paso, followed by a master’s degree in microbiology and immunology from Texas Tech University. He then completed a Ph.D. in cellular and molecular pathology at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine.  His expertise has been instrumental in developing novel molecular diagnostic assays for predicting cardiovascular risk in patients with diabetes, infectious diseases, and cancer.

Robinson Sabino-Silva, PhD

Federal University of Uberlândia (Brazil)

Professor, Innovation Center in Salivary Diagnostics & Nanobiotechnology, Federal University of Uberlândia (UFU)

Robinson Sabino-Silva is a dentist with a Ph.D. in Human Physiology. He has received the IADR Hatton Competition and Awards at SBPQO and the Latin American Research Awards (LARA) by Google. As the leader of the Innovation Group in Salivary Diagnosis and Nanobiotechnology (SalivaNano), he has secured 18 patents and published over 75 international articles.

Eric Chow, PhD

School of Translational Medicine, Monash University (Australia)

Professor, School of Translational Medicine, Monash University; Melbourne Sexual Health Centre (MSHC) at The Alfred Hospital

Professor Eric Chow is an epidemiologist and biostatistician with expertise in sexually transmitted infections, particularly gonorrhoea and human papillomavirus. He is Professor of Sexual Health at Monash University, Australia. He heads the Health Data Management and Biostatistics Unit and co-leads the HIV/STI Clinical Trial Unit at the Melbourne Sexual Health Centre, Alfred Health. He has >400 peer-reviewed publications and is the Vice-President of the Sexual Health Society of Victoria. In 2024, He was also named Australia’s top researcher in Sex & Sexuality by The Australian.   

Omer Deutsch, DMD, PhD

Salignostics (Israel)

Co-Founder and CEO, Salignostics Ltd. (Jerusalem, Israel)

Dr. Omer Deutsch is Co-Founder and CEO of Salignostics. He has extensive experience in leading a variety of biotech research projects in fields such as proteomics, orthodontics, and diagnostics; is an inventor of 4 patents in the field of salivary diagnostics; and author and contributor of 12 peer reviewed scientific articles in the field of saliva proteomics and diagnostics.

Aaron Palmon, DMD, PhD

The Hebrew University of Jerusalem; Salignostics (Israel)

Professor, The Institute of Biomedical and Oral Research; Vice president for Research and Development; The Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Prof. Palmon was born in Israel and trained at the Hebrew University, where he received his DMD diploma in 1988. He then pursued graduate studies in cellular biology completing his Ph.D in 1991. Following a two-year postdoctoral appointment at the Weizmann Institute, he joined the Institute of Dental Sciences at the Hebrew university. Prof. Palmon is currently serving as the vice president for research and development at the Hebrew University. Prof Palmon developed technologies promoting the diagnostic value of Oral Fluids (OF) for both local and systemic diseases. Recently he founded a Hebrew University spin off company named Salignostics to translate this new knowledge to home use rapid diagnostic tests.

Justin Rolando, PhD

Wyss Institute; Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School (USA)

Postdoctoral Fellow, Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering; Research Fellow, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School

Dr. Rolando’s research focuses on early disease detection using longitudinal salivary sampling and ultra-sensitive molecular assays. By integrating these assays with predictive machine learning, he investigates how molecular heterogeneity drives conditions like pediatric sepsis, breast cancer, and antimicrobial resistance. His work aims to identify disease fingerprints, enabling innovative diagnostics to reduce morbidity and mortality.

Aaron Weinberg, DMD, PhD

Professor and Chair, Dept. Biological Sciences, School of Dental Medicine, Case Western Reserve University

Case Western Reserve University

Dr. Weinberg is Chair of the Department of Biological Sciences, former Associate Dean for Research at the Case Western Reserve University School of Dental Medicine and secondarily appointed in the Departments of Pathology and Otolaryngology at the CWRU School of Medicine. Over the last 30 years, he has combined his clinical background with molecular and cellular biological approaches to investigate microbial interactions with the oral mucosa and subsequent innate responses resulting from these challenges; primarily in the context of periodontal disease and oral cancer. His latest work related to the discovery of a novel biomarker for oral cancer detection; i.e., the beta defensin index (BDI), is positioning his team to conduct a large clinical trial to validate the BDI in a large demographically diverse population nationally and internationally, along with designing and testing a chairside point of care device to provide results in less than 30 minutes.

Lavinia Alberi Auber

Michael E Hogan

Ravneet K Grewal

Scientist, Department of Research and Innovation, STEMskills Research and Education Lab Pvt Ltd, Faridabad, India

Scientist, Department of Research and Innovation, STEMskills Research and Education Lab Pvt Ltd, Faridabad, India

Dr. Ravneet K Grewal is a scientist at the Department of Research and Innovation and STEMskills Research and Education Lab in India. She is currently working toward understanding the role of glycosylation in cancer pathophysiology and developing strategies for better diagnostic, prognostic, and therapeutic measures.

Mara G. Aspinall, MBA

Illumina Ventures (USA)

Partner, Illumina Ventures

Mara Aspinall is a healthcare industry pioneer with deep experience leading genetics, genomics, and diagnostics companies. She is currently a Partner at Illumina Ventures and was President and CEO of Ventana Medical Systems, a division of The Roche Group, and President of Genzyme Genetics, transforming it into a top diagnostic testing provider. Mara also co-founded BlueStone Venture Partners and created the Biomedical Diagnostics master’s program at Arizona State University.

Indira Martin, PhD

National Reference Lab, Ministry of Health and Wellness (Bahamas)

Lab Director, Ministry of Health and Wellness, The Bahamas

Indira Martin has a doctorate in Biomedical Sciences and is currently the Lab Director at The Bahamas Ministry of Health and Wellness National Reference Lab. In her current position she coordinates the national laboratory surveillance of and response to diseases of public health significance in The Bahamas, including respiratory illnesses such as covid-19 and influenza. She has a strong background in molecular biomedicine and is interested in public health research from a combined molecular and humanist/social perspective.

Louise Causer, PhD, MBBS, MScPH, DTM&H

Senior Lecturer, The Kirby Institute, UNSW Sydney

The Kirby Institute, UNSW Sydney

Dr. Causer is a medical epidemiologist and Senior Lecturer at the Kirby Institute, UNSW Sydney and Lead for the Decentralised Diagnostics Implementation Research Group. She is the Sexually Transmitted Infections (STI) lead for the First Nations Molecular Point of CareTesting Program for infectious disease in regional and remote First Nations health services. Her research focuses on the evaluation and scale-up of point-of-care diagnostic tests to improve the control and management of infectious diseases.

Tanya Applegate, PhD

Associate Professor, The Kirby Institute, UNSW Sydney

The Kirby Institute, UNSW Sydney

Associate Professor Applegate is lead of the Diagnostic Innovations Group within Surveillance Evaluation and Research Program at the Kirby Institute, UNSW Sydney. Tanya is Scientific Manager of the RAPID Point of Care Research Consortium for accelerating the scale up of point of care testing for infectious disease in the Asia Pacific, and a Co-Director of an ARC Industrial Transformation Research Hub to combat antimicrobial resistance. Her research focuses on working with stakeholders across industries to accelerate the development, evaluation and implementation of novel infectious disease diagnostics tests for people who are marginalised or living in remote or resource limited settings.

Lukerensia Mlongoti, BSc

Malawi Liverpool Wellcome Research Programme (Malawi)

Research Assistant, Malawi Liverpool Wellcome Programme (MLW)

Lukerensia Mlongoti is a biomedical researcher with a Bachelor’s degree in Biomedical Sciences from Kamuzu University of Health Sciences, Malawi. Her work centres on microbial genomics, particularly host-pathogen interactions, to develop effective strategies against infectious diseases in Malawi and Sub-Saharan Africa. Lukerensia aspires to become one of the leading female scientists in her field and is passionate about training and mentoring the next generation of researchers.

Lior Rennert, PhD

Clemson University Center for Public Health Modeling and Response (USA)

Associate Dean for Health Sciences, Associate Professor for Biostatistics; Director, Center for Public Health Modeling and Response; College of Behavioral Social and Health Sciences, Clemson University

Dr. Lior Rennert serves as Associate Dean for Health Sciences, Associate Professor of Biostatistics, and the Founding Director of the Center for Public Health Modeling and Response in the College of Behavioral, Social, and Health Sciences at Clemson University. His work, funded by the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, focuses on translational research to develop and implement data-driven approaches for health-related decision-making.

Yasin Abul, MD, ScM

Brown University (USA)

Assistant Professor of Medicine, Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University; Medical Director, Geriatric Medicine Ambulatory Care Practice and Homebound Patient Program, Brown Medicine; Researcher at VA Capt. John H. Harwood Research Center.

Dr. Yasin Abul is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Brown University, sub-specialized in geriatric medicine, infectious diseases and pulmonary medicine. His research focuses on respiratory infections, vaccine response, public health surveillance, immunosenescence, and health outcomes in nursing home populations, with pharma and CDC sponsored grants and  numerous publications in high-impact journals.

Sofiane Bendifallah, MD, PhD

American Hospital of Paris (France)

Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Surgeon specializing in robotic and minimally invasive surgery, [American Hospital of Paris]

Prof. Sofiane Bendifallah is a gynecologic surgeon and researcher specializing in molecular biology, robotic and minimally invasive surgery. He is dedicated to improving women's health through cutting-edge techniques and a holistic, multidisciplinary approach. Prof. Bendifallah is also an advocate for innovation and education in healthcare. He published over than 300 scientific papers in the field of cancer and endometriosis.

Søren Therkelsen

Qvin (USA)

CPO and Co-founder, Qvin

Søren Therkelsen is the co-founder of Qvin, where he leads the product development efforts to transform menstrual blood into a meaningful source of diagnostic health data. With a background in product development and biotech innovation, he is passionate about designing technologies that can impact human health on a global scale. Søren is committed to reimagining how healthcare can be made more accessible, equitable, and data-driven.

Adriana Patricia Corredor- Figueroa, MSc and PhD

ECCI University (Colombia)

Guest researcher, ECCI University, Bogotá- Colombia

Adriana Patricia Corredor-Figueroa is currently a Guest Researcher at Universidad ECCI. She serves as a peer reviewer and academic evaluator for Minciencias, the Colombian Observatory of Science and Technology (OCyT), the National Accreditation Council (CNA), the National University of Colombia, and various international scientific journals. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Bacteriology, as well as a Master’s and a Ph.D. in Biological Sciences. She was awarded a scholarship by Pontificia Universidad Javeriana to pursue her doctoral studies at the same institution, where she graduated with Magna Cum Laude honors. With 16 years of experience in research and diagnostics in human and animal virology, she has specialized in the study of zoonotic viruses. She has presented at national and international conferences and has published scientific articles. She has won three awards for best research work and, in 2020, was recognized as one of the top scientists in Colombia.

Roberto Eggenhoffner, Prof. Dr.

University of Genoa (Italy)

Associate professor, Department of Surgical Sciences and Integrated Diagnostics, University of Genoa.

Roberto Eggenhöffner, as medical physicist and professor at the University of Genoa, leads research on innovative technologies for viral detection, tissue regeneration, and nanomaterials. His interdisciplinary work bridges physics, biology, and medical applications to tackle pressing challenges in healthcare and biotechnology.

Luca Giacomelli, PhD

Polistudium SRL (Italy)

Director at Polistudium srl and Medisan srl; Visiting Professor, University of Genoa.

Luca Mario Giacomelli, PhD is a researcher specializing in molecular biophysics. His work spans across different disciplines, from developing algorithms for molecular genomics to advancing consensus methods in medical research, with a focus on pediatric palliative care.