Prof. Adewale Olusegun Obadina is a highly accomplished food safety expert and professor at the Federal University of Agriculture in Nigeria. He has extensive experience and expertise in food safety and biotechnology, with a focus on traditional African foods. Adewale has published numerous research papers on food safety, and has been involved in collaborative research to commercialize and ensure the safety of African foods. He has also worked as a consultant for international organizations such as UNIDO and USAID on food safety and quality projects. Adewale is a member of several food safety organizations and has served on various boards and committees related to food safety.
Prof. Stanley Brul is a leading expert in Molecular Biology and Microbial Food Safety at the University of Amsterdam. He directs the College of Life Sciences and coordinates the Medical Biochemistry and Biotechnology track in the master’s program. With a strong publication record and extensive experience supervising graduate students, Prof. Brul’s research focuses on the behavior of microbial species in various environments, including the oral and gut microbiome. His research group collaborates with other scientists to analyze complex data and imaging approaches related to bacterial spore germination and outgrowth. In a clinical context, they study conditions such as Inflammatory Bowel Disease, Neurological Disorders, and diseases of the oral cavity. Prof. Brul is also actively involved in evaluating Life Sciences education and research initiatives at both national and international levels.
Professor Carlos Gonçalo das Neves is a Portuguese and Norwegian citizen with a background in Veterinary Medicine and Public Health. He currently serves as the Chief Scientist of the European Food Safety Authority and as a Full Professor at the University of Tromsø. With expertise in wildlife diseases and ONE HEALTH, he has contributed to various organizations and commissions related to wildlife health, food safety, and environmental conservation. He has also served as the President of the Wildlife Disease Association and as an Honorary Consul of Portugal in Norway.
Dr. Anil Kumar Anal is a highly accomplished professor in the field of Food Innovation, Nutrition, and Health at the Asian Institute of Technology in Thailand. He is recognized as a top 0.5% scientist globally in Food Science and specializes in Indigenous Food Systems, Biomolecular Interactions, Designer Diets, and nanotechnology-based delivery systems. He has a strong publication record with patents, journal articles, book chapters, and books. Dr. Anil has supervised numerous graduate students and has been invited to speak at international conferences. He also serves on editorial boards and as a visiting professor at universities in various countries. His research focuses on sustainable and safe food production systems and food safety standards.
George Monbiot is an influential author, Guardian columnist, and environmental activist who is currently focusing on researching the global food system. His work includes best-selling books such as Feral, Heat, and Out of the Wreckage. He has also produced viral videos, including How Wolves Change Rivers and Nature Now with Greta Thunberg. In 2022, he was awarded the Orwell Prize for Journalism and became an Honorary Fellow of Wolfson College, Oxford. His latest book, Regenesis, explores innovative ways to grow more food with less impact on the planet. Monbiot’s upcoming speech will address the environmental destruction caused by the food sector and the need for sustainable solutions to ensure everyone has access to healthy, affordable food.
Hon. Prof. Ruth Oniang’o is a highly accomplished food scientist and nutritionist who has made significant contributions to the field of food security and agricultural processing in Africa. She has founded several organizations and journals aimed at promoting research and resources for small farmers and improving food security. She has received numerous awards for her innovative work, including the AFRICA FOOD PRIZE and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Union of Food Science & Technology. Hon. Prof. Oniang’o continues to be a leader in the field and has been recognized for her dedication and contributions to food science and technology.
Dr. Mark Post is a renowned academic with a background in tissue engineering, holding multiple appointments at universities such as Maastricht University and Harvard University. He is known for his research in engineering tissues for various applications, including the development of cultured beef and leather from stem cells. Dr. Post has published numerous papers in scientific journals, received significant funding and awards, and is a frequent speaker at international events on innovation in the agrifood sector. He is also the CSO and co-founder of Mosa Meat and Qorium, two companies focused on commercializing meat and leather applications of tissue engineering.
Emeritus Prof. Dr. Arnold van Huis is a renowned expert on insects as food and feed, with a background in Tropical Entomology at Wageningen University. Throughout his career, he has conducted research, coordinated projects, and published extensively on the topic. He is the chief editor of the Journal of Insects as Food and Feed and has authored numerous papers, books, and chapters on edible insects. In collaboration with the FAO, he published the influential book “Edible Insects: Future Prospects for Food and Feed Security” and organized a conference on the topic. Since 2015, he has focused his research efforts on insects as food and feed.
Professor Pete Smith, FRS, FRSE, FNA, FEurASc, FISoilSci, FRSB is a Professor of Soils and Global Change at the Institute of Biological and Environmental Sciences at the University of Aberdeen (Scotland, UK) and Science Director of the Scottish Climate Change Centre of Expertise (ClimateXChange). His interests include climate change mitigation, soils, agriculture, food systems, ecosystem services modelling and nature-based solutions. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology, a Fellow of the Institute of Soil Scientists, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, a Foreign Fellow of the Indian National Science Academy, a Fellow of the European Science Academy, and a Fellow of the Royal Society (London).
Dr. Eelco Franz was trained as a biologist at Utrecht University (2002) and obtained his PhD (2007) in pathogen ecology from Wageningen University. Between 2007 and 2010 worked at the RIKILT – Institute for Food Safety (currently known as Wageningen Food Safety Research) in Wageningen. In 2010 he joined the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), Centre for Infectious Disease Control where he worked in the Food Safety. There he was responsible for the National Reference Laboratory for E. coli. Since 2016 he is Head of the Department epidemiology and surveillance of enteric, vectorborne and zoonotic infections. He co-initiated the transition towards whole-genome-sequencing based One Health surveillance, including data-sharing with the food safety authority. He functions as the ECDC national focal point for food- and waterborne disease and for emerging and vector-borne diseases. He is coordinator of the EU joint action United4Surveillance which aims at capacity building for improved infectious disease surveillance systems. In addition, he served/serves various WHO, FAO and ECDC working groups and advisory committees.
Dora Marinova is Professor of Sustainability at the Curtin University Sustainability Policy (CUSP) Institute, Australia which she established in 2007 and where she was Director between 2015 and 2018 and Deputy Director between 2007 and 2015. Dora started as an academic at the University of National and World Economy, Sofia, Bulgaria and previously worked at Murdoch University, Australia where she was Head of School of the Institute for Sustainability and Technology Policy (ISTP). Her research focusses on sustainability, innovation and sustainometrics, resulting in nearly 400 refereed publications and the successful supervision of 75 PhD students. In 2023, her book Food in a Planetary Emergency, co-authored with Diana Bogueva, received “Best in the World” in the Future of Food category of the prestigious 28th Gourmand Award. Dora’s work has received significant social media attention, with five of her papers ranking in the top 5% worldwide by Altmetric Since 2013, Dora is actively involved in Australia’s National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) as a peer reviewer since 2013. She is an Elected Member of the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS) and Elected Fellow of the Modelling and Simulation Society of Australia and New Zealand (MSSANZ). Scopus ranks her as Australia’s top author and 21st globally in sustainability from 1975 to 2023.