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.

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.