Wonkam is a professor of genetic medicine, and director of the McKusick-Nathans Institute and Department of Genetic Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, US. He is also director of GeneMAP (Genetic Medicine of African Populations), and immediate past-deputy dean of research at the Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, South Africa. After an MD training with the Faculty of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University of Yaoundé I, Cameroon, he has completed a doctorate in medical sciences (cell biology) at the University of Geneva, Switzerland, and a PhD in human genetics at the University of Cape Town, South Africa. Wonkam also trained as a medical geneticist in genetic medicine at the University of Geneva. His scientific results are reflected in more than 230 peer-reviewed publications. His research focuses on genetic and genomic variations in the African population with a focus on 1) Genomics modifiers of Sickle Cell Disease (SCD); 2) Genetics of hearing Impairment, and 3) Ethical, Equity, and Educational Issues in Genetic Medicine Research. Wonkam is president of the African Society of Human Genetics.

Siddique obtained his PhD in 1985 from The University of Western Australia. He is Hackett Professor of Agriculture Chair, and Director, The UWA Australia Institute of Agriculture. He is a Foreign Fellow of the Pakistan Academy of Sciences; Fellow of the African Academy of Sciences; a Foreign Fellow of the Indian National Academy of Agricultural Sciences; Fellow of The Australian Institute of Agricultural Science and Technology; and Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering. He is a highly cited researcher in agricultural sciences 2018–2023, and a highly cited researcher in plant and animal science (Thomson Reuters/ Clarivate Analytics) 2021–2023. Recipient of Urrbrae Memorial Award; Member of the Order of Australia; Western Australian of the Year award; Dunhuang Award by China's Gansu Provincial Government; Friendship Award from the Chinese Government; Western Australian Indian of the Year 2021; Western Australian Scientist of the Year 2023; and Sanqin Friendship Award. Siddique was the special ambassador for the International Year of Pulses 2016, by the UN FAO.

Parisi is a theoretical physicist born in 1948, and a former student of the Italian physicist Nicola Cabibbo. From 2018–2021 he was president of the Accademia dei Lincei, and now is a member of various academies including the American Philosophical Society. In 2021 he received the Nobel Prize in Physics "for the discovery of the interplay of disorder and fluctuations in physical systems from atomic to planetary scales." He carried out his research activities at the Frascati National Laboratories, first as a fellow of the CNR (1971–1973) and later as an INFN researcher (1973–1981). During this time he spent long periods abroad at Columbia University, IHES, ENS. In February 1981, he was appointed full professor of theoretical physics at the University of Rome Tor Vergata, a position that he held until 1992. Since 1992, he has been an emeritus professor at the University of Rome La Sapienza. His contributions cover many areas of theoretical physics, including particle physics, statistical mechanics, fluid dynamics, condensed matter physics, and scientific computer constructions. He has also published some papers on neural networks, the immune system, and starling flight.

Okereke is a professor of global climate governance and public policy at the School of Policy Studies, University of Bristol, UK. He is a visiting professor at the London School of Economics and a senior academic visitor at the University of Oxford. He was previously the director of the Center for Climate Change in Alex Ekuweme Federal University, Nigeria, co-director of the Center for Climate and Justice, and co-director of the Leverhulme Doctoral Scholarship Programme, both at the University of Reading. He also served as the director of the Center for Climate Change and Development at the Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment, at the University of Oxford. A globally recognized leading scholar on global climate governance and international development, Okereke was the coordinating lead author of the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Sixth Assessment Report, Working Group 3.

Mosyakin is the director of the M.G. Kholodny Institute of Botany, National Academy of Sciences (NAS) of Ukraine (Kyiv, Ukraine), as well as the head of the Vascular Plants Department. Since September 2011, he hes been the president of the Ukrainian Botanical Society; head of the plants subcommittee of the National Commission on the Red Data Book of Ukraine; editor-in-chief of the Ukrainian Botanical Journal; member of the editorial boards of Botanica (Lithuania), Biodiversity Research and Conservation (Poland), and other botanical periodicals. He is a corresponding member of the NAS of Ukraine (2012), holds a Doctor of Sciences degree in biological sciences (2003) from M.G. Kholodny Institute of Botany, and has been a professor of botany since 2006. He was awarded by NAS Ukraine “For Professional Achievements” (2011) and “For Scientific Achievements” (2021). The Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine bestowed him for his educational achievements with the Petro Mohyla (2008) and Sofia Rusova (2005) awards. His main research interests include plant taxonomy, biogeography and ecology, botanical nomenclature, biodiversity conservation, and science education.

Gumel is a professor of mathematics and the Michael and Eugenia Brin Endowed E-Nnovate Chair in mathematics at the Department of Mathematics, University of Maryland, College Park. His research work focuses on using mathematical approaches—modelling, rigorous analysis, and data analytics—to gain insight and provide understanding on the transmission dynamics of emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases of public health significance. He has authored more than 170 peer-reviewed research articles, supervised many graduate students and postdoctoral fellows, and written four edited books. He is the editor-in-chief of Mathematical Biosciences, one of the premier journals for mathematical biology research, and the recipient of numerous awards and honours, including the 2021 Bellman Prize. He was elected fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, American Mathematical Society, Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics, African Academy of Sciences, Nigerian Academy of Science, African Scientific Institute and presented the 2021 Einstein Public Lecture of the American Mathematical Society.

Ovbiagele, MD, MSc, MAS, MBA, MLS, is professor of neurology and associate dean at the University of California, San Francisco. His primary research involves translation of evidence-based interventions into clinical practice and community settings, to improve stroke outcomes for underserved and vulnerable populations around the world. He currently leads several studies of stroke in the US and sub-Saharan Africa. Ovbiagele has published over 600 peer-reviewed articles (h-index 89) in the areas of stroke prevention, risk factors and outcomes. His work has been recognized with the Pessin and Wartenberg Awards of the American Academy of Neurology; Penn Award of the American Neurological Association; Mridha Humanitarian Award of the American Brain Foundation; Feinberg and Stroke Council Awards of the American Stroke Association; Haddock International and Distinguished Scientist Awards of the American Heart Association, and Meritorious Achievement Award of the National Medical Association. He chaired the International Stroke Conference (2016-2018) and is current editor-in-chief of the Journal of the American Heart Association. He serves on the board of the World Stroke Organization.