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.

Professor Kadambot Siddique obtained his PhD in 1985 from The University of Western Australia. Currently Hackett Professor of Agriculture Chair, and Director, The UWA Australia Institute of Agriculture. He is Fellows of The World Academy of Sciences, Pakistan Academy of Sciences, African Academy of Sciences, Indian National Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Agriculture Institute of Australia and Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering. He was designated by United Nations FAO as special ambassador for the International Year of Pulses 2016. Highly Cited Researcher in 2019-2023 in Agricultural Sciences and double Hi Ci in 2021-2023 in Agricultural Sciences and Plant & Animal Science (Thomson Reuters/Clarivate Analytics). Professor Siddique is the recipient of national and international awards. In 2025 was bestowed Doctor of Science (Honoris Causa) by Kerala Agricultural University, India and 2024 Crawford Fund Medal in recognition of considerable and continued contribution to international agricultural research through the Crawford Fund’s programs and related activities. Awarded Western Australian Scientist of the Year 2023.

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 Distinguished Professor of Mathematics and the Michael and Eugenia Brin Endowed E-Nnovate Chair in Mathematics at the Department of Mathematics, University of Maryland, USA. He also holds the honorary Extraordinary Professor position at the University of Pretoria, South Africa. His research focuses on using mathematical approaches to gain insight and provide understanding on the transmission dynamics and control of emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases of major public health significance. He has authored over 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, and 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. He presented the 2021 Einstein Public Lecture of the American Mathematical Society.