Garidkhuu is president of the Mongolian National Academy of Sciences and professor at the Mongolian Univ. of Scs. and Technol.. PhD,1975; DSc, 1993, Russian State Agrarian Univ., Timiryazev, Russian Acad. of Scs.. He was: leading Sci. worker and Snr. Engr.,Mongolian Land Org. Expedition; Snr. Sci. worker, Inst. of Chem. and Mongolian Acad. of Scs.. Garidkhuu, is renowned for his fundamental and significant contribution to the development of Mongolian agriculture. Publs.:Soil Sci. of Mongolia;Mongolian Land Resources; Physical, chemical and biological properties of Mongolian Soil;and 300 Sci. articles in occupational journals. Membs.:Acad. of Nat. Scs. of Mongolia;Russian Acad. of Scs.;Kazakhstan Acad. of Scs.. Awards:Science Merit Badge of Mongolia; Golden Star Medal of Mongolia;Golden medal, WIPO; Golden medal of Sinyagin,Russian Acad. of Scs.;Hon. Doctorates and Prof.,Russian Acad. of Scs., Krasnoyarsk Agrarian Univ.; Honored Worker of Science, Pioneer in Agric. Devel. of Mongolia.

Grossi de Sa (PhD, 1987, U. Paris VII) is the head of the Plant-Pest Molecular Interaction Group, EMBRAPA Genetic Resources and Biotechnology (1989-) and professor, Catholic U. of Brasília (2004-). She was president, Brazilian Soc. of Biotechnology; coordinator, Area of Biotechnology (2008-13) and member, CTC-ES, CAPES, Brazil (2008-14). Currently, she is member, Internatl. Advisory Committee, CAPES, and full member, Brazilian Acad. of Sciences. She is a recipient of the Scopus Award 2010 (Elsevier/Capes). Her research emphasizes on plant biotechnology, acting on themes, which include plant defense proteins (proteinase inhibitors, alpha-amylase inhibitors, lectins, defensins, osmotins), insecticidal proteins, plant-pests molecular interaction, development of GM plants for tolerance/resistance to biotic stress and abiotic stress and development of biopharmaceuticals.

Guharay (Ph.D.,1982, University of Nottingham), is currently Advisor Projects and Services with a Mesoamerican Information Services for Sustainable Agriculture, SIMAS. Earlier he served as Program manager Climate Smart Cocoa World Cocoa Foundation (WCF), Scientist Research for Development, International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT); Programme Leader for Integrated Pest Management and Agroforestry, Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center (CATIE), Professor of Plant Protection, National Agricultural University, Nicaragua (UNA) and Research Assistant Professor Biophysics, State University of New York at Buffalo. He is a member of the Latin American Society of Agroecology. He elucidated the biophysical basis of mechanoreception by discovering stretch-activated ion channels. His research helped to scale the biological control of vectors of Malaria in Nicaragua and laid the foundation of ecological management of agroforestry systems in Mesoamerica. He was awarded National Scholarship for Ph.D. studies by Govt. of India in 1978, the Research Scientist of the year by CATIE 2003, and the Coffee personality of Nicaragua by RAMACAFE 2006.

Hasanuzzaman is a professor of agronomy at Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University, in Dhaka, Bangladesh. He earned his PhD at Ehime University, Japan, and completed his postdoctoral research at the University of the Ryukyus, Okinawa, Japan. Subsequently, he became an adjunct senior researcher at the University of Tasmania. Hasanuzzaman has more than 400 Scopus-indexed publications, of which more than 250 in the Web of Science. His publications are cited over 31500 times as per Scopus with an H-index of 91 (as of June 2025). He is an editor and a reviewer for more than 80 peer-reviewed international journals and the recipient of Publons Peer Review Award (in 2017, 2018, and 2019). In 2014, he received the TWAS Young Scientist Award. He was also awarded the University Grants Commission Gold Medal, the Bangladesh Academy of Sciences Gold Medal Award, the Global Network of Bangladeshi Biotechnologists Award and the Society for Plant Research Young Scientist Award. He is a Fellow of the Bangladesh Academy of Sciences, the Royal Society of Biology, and the Linnean Society of London. He was named as a Highly Cited Researcher by Clarivate (2021, 2022).

He is a professor at the Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). He earned his Master of Science degree in plant genetics and breeding and completed his PhD in plant pathology at Zhejiang University (formerly Zhejiang Agriculture University). Following his graduate studies, he pursued postdoctoral research with the Plant Molecular and Cellular Biology laboratory at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, and the Department of Plant Pathology, at the University of California, Davis. In December 2000, he was appointed as a full professor and principal investigator at the Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, CAS. His research focuses on understanding the mechanisms of disease resistance to ensure better crop production, while reducing the use of fungicides and promoting environmentally friendly agriculture. His research interests include functional genomics, mechanisms and application of plant disease resistance, in particular broad-spectrum disease resistance genes, and the cross-talk between plant defense and growth/yield.

Heong is Qiushi Chair professor Zhejiang University and Sr. Advisor, Center for Agricultural Biosciences Internatl. (CABI), Malaysia . He obtained his BSc (zoology) from U. of Malaya; his MSc, PhD and DSc from Imperial College, London. He is recognized internationally as an authority on science, technology and the implementation of pest ecology, biodiversity, ecological engineering, farmers' decision-making and pest management. He has served as a snr. res. off., Malaysian Agric. Res & Development Inst, and principal scientist, International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), Philippines. His honors include: Medal for Agriculture Development, Medal for Scientific Excellence from the Govt. of Vietnam; St Andrews Prize, US Council of Agric S and T Charles Black Award, TWAS Prize for agriculture, WB Marketplace Award, COM+Award for communication, Intern Plant Protection Award of Distinction and Zhejiang Westlake Friendship Award, Research Star Award. He is fellow of Academy of Science, Malaysia.

Hungria got her PhD in Agronomy (Soil Science) from Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and held postdoctoral positions at the universities of Cornell, California-Davis (USA) and Seville (Spain). She has been a Researcher at Embrapa since 1982, at Embrapa Soja (Londrina) since 1991, and a Researcher of National Council of Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq) since 1992. She is a Professor of microbiology and biotechnology at the University of Londrina, and supervised more than 100 MSc and PhD students. Her experience is in agronomy with emphasis on soil biotechnology: biological nitrogen fixation, biodiversity; taxonomy and phylogeny of prokaryotes, microbial ecology, soil microbiology, plant growth promoting bacteria; plant physiology; inoculant production; technologies of inoculation; omics sciences; microbial culture collections. She has over 500 refereed scientific articles, book chapters, books and technical publications. She launched more than 20 technologies, including microbial strains and commercial inoculants. She received more than 20 prizes, including the TWAS-Lenovo Science Award (2020). She is a member of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences.

Aini Ideris, a renowned scientist in avian medicine, pioneered animal vaccines development in Malaysia. Her research interest is in avian respiratory and immunosuppressive diseases. She plays an instrumental role in advancing efforts towards food security and sustainable food production in developing countries. As a distinguished scientist, Aini was elected to various fellowships, such as, Senior Fellow Academy of Sciences Malaysia (FASc), Fellow Islamic World Academy of Sciences (FIAS), Founding Fellow Malaysian College of Veterinary Specialists (FMCVS), Fellow The World Academy of Sciences, Fellow Malaysian Scientific Association (FMSA), and also elected as an Inaugural Member Hall of Honour, World Veterinary Poultry Association, for her contributions in scientific research and outstanding leadership. Aini has won various national and international awards. She sits on various councils. She has a wealth of experience in administration as well as an educator. She was the eighth Vice Chancellor of Universiti Putra Malaysia (2016–2020) and is currently the Pro-Chancellor of the International Medical University IMU, since 2021. She is also Council member of UCSI University since 2024.

Islam, an internationally reputed scientist in agrobiotechnology, has played a key role in establishing the Institute of Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering at BSMRAU, Bangladesh. He did PhD at Hokkaido University (HU), and postdoctoral research at the HU, University of Goettingen, University of Nottingham, and West Virginia University under the fellowship programs of Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Alexander von Humboldt, Commonwealth, and Fulbright, respectively. He is one of the top 2% of researchers in the world. He collaborated with Sophien Kamoun and led international scientists to rapidly identify the origin of the first epidemic outbreak of wheat blast in Bangladesh. His team developed a novel rapid diagnosis of wheat blast fungus in collaboration with researchers in China and the USA. He is Editor-in-Chief of Bacilli and Agrobiotechnology, and CRISPR-Cas Methods, and Editor of Physiologia Plantarum, Scientific Reports, Physiologia Plantarum, PLOS One, Frontiers in Microbiology, and CAB Reviews. He is an elected Fellow of the Bangladesh Academy of Sciences and the American Phytopathological Society. He received many awards and medals for his accomplishments.

Jahiruddin (PhD, 1986, Aberdeen University) is a Professor of Soil Science, former Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture and former Associate Director of Central Laboratory at Bangladesh Agricultural University. He obtained BAS Gold Medal Award 2009, Global Research Impact Award 2017, BAAG Gold Medal Award 2018 and Soil Care Award 2018. He is a Fellow of Bangladesh Academy of Sciences (BAS). Professor Jahiruddin has a very high record of research publications in relation to Micronutrient problems, arsenic contamination and conservation agriculture. He worked as a team leader for research priority setting in agriculture and development of vision document -2030 and beyond in Bangladesh: Land and Soil Resource Management.

Jayaraman is a biotechnology and plant-microbiology professor at The University of the West Indies (UWI), Trinidad and Tobago (TT). He has completed over 25 funded research projects and published over 125 refereed publications. He has received several awards including UNDP-CARUTA Research Award; UWI Vice-Chancellor's Excellence Award for Outstanding Research Accomplishments; Accreditation Council of Trinidad and Tobago Award, Government of TT for Outstanding Achievements in Applied and Academic Research; and Environmental Management Authority-TT- Greenleaf Award. He is a DST-BOYSCAST Fellow, and an elected Fellow of the Indian Phytopathological Society. He served as advisor to UNU-BIOLAC programme of the UN. He serves as plant protection advisor to programmes for several Caribbean states. A lead trainer for integrated disease/pest management (IDM/IPM) techniques for the Caribbean region, his research projects cover diverse topics focussing on sustainable agriculture including biological control, disease diagnostics, plant-microbe interactions, elicitor-biomolecules, induced disease resistance, seaweed-based products, genetic engineering of plants for biotic stress tolerance, etc.

Joshi is an agricultural scientist with a PhD in agricultural science earned in Japan, and over 25 years of experience in the field. He has been at the forefront of agrobiodiversity conservation, developing and promoting more than 100 innovative methods and best practices for managing agrobiodiversity. His interventions comprise crops, livestock, forages, agro-insects, agro-microbes, and aquatic agricultural genetic resources. His pioneering efforts include genetic enhancement of landraces, biotechnology applications, GIS, climate analog tools, participatory and evolutionary plant breeding, and agricultural policy development. Joshi has published more than 600 articles, edited 25 books, and served as editor-in-chief for two scientific journals. He has taught plant breeding, genetics, biotechnology, and statistics at various universities and was a resource person in international training. He received 12 awards and serves as president of the Plant Breeding and Genetic Society of Nepal. A life member of many scientific organizations, his motto is to make agricultural genetic resources competent and dynamic, emphasizing ecological yield, food health index, and ecological agriculture.

Khan (PhD 1980, Indian Agric. Res. Inst.) is principal scientist and leader of the widely-reputed push-pull programme at the Intl. Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (icipe) in Kenya. He is Thomas Odhiambo Dist. Res. Fellow of icipe. He is a fellow of the African Acad. of Sciences, the Entomological Soc. of America and the Honorary Fellow of the Royal Entomological Soc., UK. He is an adjunct prof. of entomology at Cornell U., USA, and extraordinary prof. at the North-West U. in South Africa. Khan is a council member of the Intl. Congress of Entomology. In 2010 he received the Nan-Yao Su Award for Innovation and Creativity in Entomology and the ESA Distinguished Scientist Award, and in 2011, the TWAS Prize in Agricultural Sciences and in 2015 Louis Malassis International Prize for Outstanding Career in Agriculture for his contribution in the field of agriculture and food

Khush is adjunct professor at UC Davis. He obtained his PhD at UC Davis in 1960. After serving as assistant geneticist at the same university for seven years, he joined the International Rice Research Institute in the Philippines as plant breeder. He retired as principal plant breeder and head of the division of plant breeding, genetics and biotechnology in 2002. His honours include 14 honoris causa doctorates and several awards including the Japan Prize, World Food Prize, Rank Prize, Wolf Prize, Golden Sickle Award, Mahathir Science Award and the Padma Shri Award by the President of India. He is a member of 9 science academies including Indian National Science Academy, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Russian Academy of Agricultural Sciences, the Royal Society and the US National Academy of Sciences.

Lal is dist. univ. prof. of soil science and dir., Carbon Management and Sequestration Center, Ohio State U., Columbus. After obtaining his PhD at Ohio State and completing postdoctoral work at The U. of Sydney, Australia, in 1969, he joined the Intl. Inst. of Tropical Agriculture in Ibadan, Nigeria. He returned to Ohio State in 1987 where he has taught two classes: environmental soil physics, and soils and climate change, and conducted research on soil carbon sequestration, soil restoration and food security. Honours include: three h.c. doctorates; Hugh Hammond Bennett Award (1998); Borlaug Award (2005); IPCC Nobel Peace Prize certificate; Zayed Prize diploma, Liebig Award (2006). He is a fellow of five societies, incl. the American Assn. for Adv. of Science (1996) and The Rothamsted (2013). He has authored 15 and edited 56 books, and has about 1700 scientific articles to his credit.

Liao (PhD, Tokyo) is chair prof., Natl. Taiwan Ocean U. and Natl. Pingtung U. of Sci. and Techn., as well as vis. dist. chair, Natl. Cheng Kung U. He returned to Taiwan (1968) as res. fellow, Rockefeller Fndn., then served as dir., Tungkang Marine Lab. (1969-87), dir. gen., Taiwan Fisheries Res. Inst. (1987-02), Pres., Asian Fisheries Soc. (1998-2001) and chairman., Fisheries Soc. of Taiwan (2005-08). His honours include: Outst. Res. Awds., Natl. Sci. Coun., Taiwan (1986-95); Academic Awd., Min. of Edu., Taiwan (1987); Achvmnt. Awd. in Sci. and Engg., Taiwan Am. Fndn., USA (1989); Presidl. Sci. Prize, Taiwan (2009); Lifetime Achvmnt. Awd., Global Aquaculture Alliance, USA (2012), Outst. Memb. The NTU Alumni Ass., Taiwan (2013), and The Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon, Japan (2014). He is hon. life member, Asian Fisheries Soc. and the World Aquaculture Soc., Academician of Academia Sinica.

Magdy Madkour (PhD University of Wales 1977, UK) is Prof of biotechnology, Arid Lands Agricultural Research Inst., Ain Shams University, Egypt, and Editor in Chief, Journal of Agriculture and Food Security, BioMed Central. He was the Chairman, Executive Committee, Agriculture Research for Development Fund (ARDF), Min. of Agric and Land Reclamation, Egypt; Senior Advisor, Bibliotheca Alexandrina, Deputy Director General,ICARDA. Madkour was Prof of Plant pathology, Alexandria University. He served on the Technical Advisory Committee of CGIAR, the Board of Trustees of ICARDA and IPGRI (Bioversity). In 1990 he established the Agricultural Genetic Engineering Research Institute (AGERI-Egypt). In 2007 he received Egypt’s Presidential Gold Medal for Science & Technology, three AOAD awards for scientific excellence; FAO World Food Day recognition; TWAS Arab Regional Prize. He holds three patents, authored 140 peer reviewed publications and contributed with chapters in 9 international books.

Malik was educated at Government College, Lahore, Pakistan, and the U. of Aston, Birmingham, UK (PhD, 1970). He is currently Dist. Natl. Prof. (Biotechnology) and Dean Postgraduate Studies, Forman Christian College U., Lahore. He was Member, Pakistan Planning Comm., and Secretary, Natl. Comm. on Biotech.. Previously he worked as snr. scientific officer, Nuclear Inst. for Agriculture and Biology (NIAB), Faisalabad; Principal Scientific Officer, NIAB; Chief Scientific Officer, Natl. Inst. of Biotech. and Genetic Eng. (NIGBE); Chief Scientist and DG NIBGE and NIAB; Chairman, Pakistan Agriculture Res. Council; and Mmember (biosciences), PAEC. His awards include: Tamgha-e-Imtiaz, 1988; Sitara-e-Imtiaz, 1998; Hilal-e-Imtiaz, 2004; Gold Medal, Pakistan Acad. of Sci., 1996; and ISESCO Prize in Biology, 1997. He is a fellow of the Pakistan Acad. of Sciences.

Mazzafera is a full professor at the University of Campinas (Unicamp), São Paulo, Brazil. He graduated in agronomy and his main knowledge area is plant physiology. He started his career at Agronomic Institute of Campinas, working with coffee, a crop that is still his passion. He teaches plant physiology/biochemistry in undergraduate and graduate courses and supervised more than 120 MSc, PhD and postdoctoral students. Nowadays, his main research areas are lignin metabolism and crop nutrition in coffee, sugarcane, soybean and eucalyptus. He published over 300 refereed scientific articles, book chapters, and technical publications. During his career, he had intense administrative activity. He was head of department at Unicamp twice (1997-2003), director of the Institute of Biology (2006-2010), advisor to the dean of research (2003-2006), advisor to the rector (2011-2013) and director of the National Laboratory of Bioethanol Science and Technology (CTBE) (1985-1986). He is a Member of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences and of the Academy of Sciences of São Paulo. He is a level 1A researcher at the Brazilian National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq).

BSc from University College Dublin (1987), MSc from University of Edinburgh (1988), and PhD from University of Oxford (1991), received a post-doctorate scholarship at the University of Sydney (2002). She is a full professor of Universidade de Brasilia and a CNPq scholarship holder (1A). She has experience in animal genetics and breeding, in conservation of animal genetic resources and landscape genetics. McManus has published more than 500 articles in peer-reviewed journals with the editorial board, 24 book chapters, more than 550 abstracts in conferences, and supervised more than 200 students. She participates in joint projects at the United States Department of Agriculture and the Agricultural Research Council of South Africa, among others. She is a reviewer for 38 national and international journals, and 11 development agencies, as well as associate editor for Tropical Animal Health and Production. She was the director of international affairs for CAPES/Ministry of Education, Brazil. McManus is a Brazilian Academy of Science member and commander of the National Order of Scientific Merit. Currently, is responsible for research collaboration in FAPESP/São Paulo/Brazil.

Muhammed is rector of the National University of Computer and Emerging Sciences, Islamabad. He received his DPhil in biochemistry. Oxford University, and completed postdoctoral research at the Oakridge National Laboratory, USAEC. He established the Nuclear Institute for Agriculture and Biology, Faisalabad, in 1969 and was its first director. He was also the vice-chancellor of Agriculture University, Faisalabad, and founder-chairman of the Pakistan Agricultural Research Council from which he retired in 1990. He was awarded an honorary DSc, the Prime Minister's Gold medal, and the Gold Medal for lifetime achievement by FAO. He is fellow and past-president of the Pakistan Academy of Sciences. He was elected president of the Pakistan Association for Advancement of Science and the Scientific Society of Pakistan.