Dr. Carlos Cordon-Cardo is the Vice Chairman of the serological sciences network (SeroNet) of NIH, which is the largest network system of COVID-19 immunity surveillance & vaccine effectiveness in the United State. He is the Irene Heinz Given and John LaPorte Given Professor at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, and Chairman for the Mount Sinai Health System Department of Pathology. He is one of the pioneers in oncologic molecular pathology and the mechanisms of tumor suppression. He has authored or co-authored over 500 academic papers and numerous book chapters. He is on the Thomson ISI list of the top 250 researchers in Clinical Medicine and in 2013 was named to the list compiled by Stanford University and SciTech Strategies of the world's 400 most influential bio-medical scientists He was the first investigator to identify genetically distinct pathways for superficial and muscle-invasive bladder cancers. The underpinnings for these pathways were based on over a decade of studies elucidating genetic perturbations seen in low and high-grade tumors. These pathways now serve as a template for modern studies. He received his MD from the Autonomous University of Barcelona, Spain in 1980, and his Ph.D. in Cell Biology and Genetics from Cornell University Medical College in 1985. He has received numerous awards in acknowledgment of his significant contributions to the field of pathology, including the 1991 Boyer Young Investigator Award, the Gold Medal of the Swedish Society of Physicians, and the Gold Medal of Medical Sciences “Govierno de Galicia.” He is also a member of the World Health Organization Collaborating Centers, and the State Legislative Committee of the American Association for Cancer Research. He also served as a member of the Review Committee for Cancer Centers and Research Programs of the NCI. He was elected to chair the Scientific Committee for COVID-19 Summit 2023.

Dr. Yang Xu is the Secretary General of global immunity surveillance alliance (GISA) and the member of the serological sciences network (SeroNet) of NIH, which is the largest network system of COVID-19 immunity surveillance & vaccine effectiveness in the United State. He has contributed to many areas of clinical immunological research, including early detection of SARS fingerprint using immuno-mass-spectrometry in 2003, special diagnosis in early stage of cancer, COVID-19 severity and mortality associated with the decrease in specific cellular immunity. He is the inventor of “a method for detection of severe COVID-19 caused by co-infection with influenza A and B viruses”. He received his PhD from the Cornell University. He has received numerous awards and honors and has written comments extensively on how to monitor COVID-19 immunity in Science & JAMA and published first paper for “Tackling SARS-CoV variants by cross-reacting specific immunity” in 2020. He was elected as deputy chairman of the Scientific Committee for COVID-19 Summit-2023.

Dr. Adolfo Firpo-Betancourt has been a full professor and Medical Director of Clinical Laboratories & Center for Clinical Laboratories at Mount Sinai Hospital, New York for several years. He has contributed to many areas of clinical laboratory research, including the first FDA EUA approval of monitoring of SARS CoV-2 IgG immunity test in the United State in early 2020 and published many scientific papers, including “robust neutralizing antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 infection persist for months” in Science. He received his MD from the State University of New York. He completed his medical training at Cornell University Medical Center and has received numerous awards and honors.

Dr. Biaoyan Lin is the chief scientist of the systems biology platform of Zhejiang California International Institute of Nanotechnology, Zhejiang University, CEO of Hangzhou Proprium Biotech Co., Ltd. and the deputy secretary general of global immunity surveillance alliance (GISA) in Asia. He has published more than 30 papers in PNAS, Science, Cancer Research, etc. He has very rich experience in finding and identifying markers for early diagnosis of cancer and has discovered many important prostate cancer markers (such as TMPRSS2, PART1, PSDR1, WDR19, etc.) and also has in-depth research on immunity to COVID-19. He received his PhD from the University of British Columbia (UBC) in Canada. He has received numerous awards and honors. Dr. Lin is a national expert in China.

Horace W. Goldsmith, Professor and Chair, Department of Microbiology, Professor, Department of Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

PETER MARKS, PH.D., Director, Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, FDA

Former FDA Deputy Director, Office of Vaccines Research and Review, Consultant, World Health Organization

Dr. Berzofsky pioneered characterization of B- and T-cell epitopes and their modification to make epitope-enhanced vaccines, discovered the importance of T cell avidity in viral/tumor clearance, pioneered use of defined molecular adjuvants to alter quality of immune responses, advanced mucosal HIV vaccines, discovered NKT cell regulation of tumor immunity, and blocked negative regulation by TGF-beta, IL-13, and regulatory cells to enhance tumor immunity and vaccine efficacy. He translated these strategies to clinical trials in prostate cancer, melanoma, and HER2-positive cancers. As Chief, he oversees the Vaccine Branch’s basic, translational, and clinical research in cancer and retroviral vaccines and immunotherapy.

Dr. Karin Bok is the Director of Pandemic Preparedness and Emergency Response at the Vaccine Research Center, National Institutes of Health. She provides expertise for the preclinical and clinical development of several preparedness and response medical countermeasures, including preventive and therapeutic products against Ebola, Zika, Nipah, Influenza, and Coronavirus. Karin collaborates with government colleagues and external stakeholders to prepare and accelerate the response to an infectious disease emergency and advance the study of preventive measures that target unmet medical needs. She is currently part of H-CORE (former Operation Warp Speed) contributing to accelerating the development and testing of vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 in the US. She is also part of the senior team working on the advanced development of broadly neutralizing monoclonal antibodies for HIV, as well as universal influenza and RSV vaccines.

Previously, Dr. Bok was a Senior Vaccine Scientific Advisor at the National Vaccine Program Office, within the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health. Dr. Bok led the vaccine safety portfolio and advised on vaccine research and development issues. She also directed research and policy studies on vaccines administered to pregnant women. Karin represented NVPO and HHS in several executive scientific advisory committees, such as the Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC, FDA), the Advisory Commission on Childhood Vaccines (ACCV, HRSA), and the Task Force on Research Specific to Pregnant Women and Lactating Women (PRGLAC, NICHD) to name a few.

In addition, Dr. Bok has more than 20 years’ experience working on research and discovery programs, leading her own scientific studies focused on vaccines, antibody products, antivirals, diagnostics, and virus evolution of gastrointestinal viruses.

Her international scientific experience includes managing and conducting research through Argentina’s national gastroenteritis surveillance program, the clinical testing of the rotavirus vaccine, and the reimplementation of the National Smallpox Vaccine Program.

Dan Barouch received his B.A. in biochemistry from Harvard University summa cum laude in 1993. In 1995, he received his Ph.D. in immunology from Oxford University as a Marshall Scholar. In 1999, he received his M.D. from Harvard Medical School summa cum laude. He completed clinical residency training in internal medicine and fellowship training in infectious diseases at Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. Barouch is a professor of medicine and professor of immunology at Harvard Medical School. In 2012, he was named the founding director of the Center for Virology and Vaccine Research at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. He is also a founding member and a steering committee member at the Ragon Institute of Massachusetts General Hospital, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Harvard University. He was appointed the William Bosworth Castle Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School in 2020.

Dr. Robert Carnahan is an Associate Professor in Pediatrics and Associate Director of the Vanderbilt Vaccine Center at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. His expertise is in the discovery of novel antibody therapeutics and rapid pandemic response platforms. In particular, he has guided the DARPA-funded Pandemic Prevention Platform (P3) program at VUMC. The goal of this program was to define and test rapid response platforms for viral pandemics. This platform was activated to respond to SARS-CoV-2 in 2020 and developed a large panel of potently neutralizing antibodies, including the parental antibodies for a now EUA-approved antibody therapeutic. Dr. Carnahan is also a recognized expert in Lean Laboratory management practices. He has not only developed and implemented Lean Lab strategies within the Vaccine Center, but has served as a consultant and an invited speaker on this topic across the US

Dr. Crowe received his MD degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he also completed his pediatrics residency. Following his clinical training, Dr. Crowe received five years of post-doctoral training in the laboratory of Infectious Diseases at the NIH. He completed infectious diseases fellowship training in 1996 at Vanderbilt and has run an independent laboratory at Vanderbilt since that time. He is currently Professor of Pediatrics and of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology, and the Ann Scott Carell Chair, Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

The laboratory’s work has been published in over 300 publications in high-quality science journals including Cell, Science and Nature and leading medical journals including the New England Journal of Medicine and JAMA.

Dr. Crowe was elected to the National Academy of Medicine in 2014 and National Academy of Inventors in 2017. He has been the recipient of investigator awards from the March of Dimes, American Society for Microbiology, Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society, and Society for Pediatric Research. He was awarded the Judson Infectious Daland Prize of the American Philosophical Society, the Oswald Avery Award of the IDSA, the E. Mead Johnson Award for Excellence in Pediatrics, the Outstanding Investigator Award of the American Federation for Medical Research, the Norman J. Siegel Award of the American Pediatric Society, the Samuel Rosenthal Prize for Excellence in Academic Pediatrics, the Stanley J. Korsmeyer Award of American Society for Clinical Investigation, the Distinguished Medical Alumnus Award from UNC School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC. He is an elected Fellow of AAM, AAAS, ASCI and AAP, IDSA, APS, and others. His research team was selected as Best Academic Research Team at the 11th Annual Vaccine Industry Excellence Awards. He was awarded the inaugural 2019 Merck Future Insight Prize, a 1M Euro prize shared with Pardis Sabeti.

He is the Founder of IDBiologics, Inc., an early stage biotech company developing human monoclonal antibodies for infectious diseases.

Grifoni, who was born in Rome, works in the lab of fellow Italy native Alessandro Sette, Dr. Biol. Sci., a professor at LJI. Grifoni explains that the lab has always aimed to establish strong international collaborations. Before the pandemic, Grifoni had worked with scientists overseas to better understand the impact of dengue virus. At the time that COVID-19 started spreading rapidly, Grifoni and Sette immediately began collaborating with scientists in Italy, one of the countries first hit hardest by the virus.

It was very important also to share differences in our science and our perspectives,” says Grifoni. “I think it really enriched my research.

Dr. Gruber is Senior Vice President of Pfizer Vaccine Clinical Research and Development, and is responsible for global clinical development of vaccines. He joined in 1999 as Vice President of Clinical Vaccine Research for Wyeth, now a wholly owned subsidiary of Pfizer. Prior to his position at Wyeth, Dr. Gruber was an Associate Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. He also served as the Director of the Diagnostic Virology Laboratory at Vanderbilt University Hospital.

Dr. Gruber is Board Certified in Pediatrics and Pediatric Infectious Diseases. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics, member of the Society for Pediatric Research, Fellow of the Infectious Diseases Society of America, and member of the America Society for Microbiology. Dr. Gruber has served as a consultant reviewer for the National Institutes of Health, NIAID, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and PATH. Consulting activities have included advice on strategies for maternal and infant immunization against RSV and influenza, as well as strategies for prevention of malaria.

Dr. Gruber received his bachelor degree in Mathematical Sciences from Rice University, Houston, Texas, and his medical degree from Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas. He received his pediatric and infectious disease training at Baylor College of Medicine, where he also served as Chief Resident in Pediatrics.

During his industry career, Dr. Gruber’s clinical research group has been responsible for global clinical development of pneumococcal conjugate, meningococcal conjugate, rLP2086 meningococcal B, Staph aureus, C. difficile, HIV, influenza, RSV, parainfluenza, and HSV vaccines. Dr Gruber is responsible for guiding clinical research direction for Pfizer’s Group B streptococcus, CMV, and RSV maternal and adolescent vaccine programs. Dr. Gruber has authored or co-authored 140 original research articles and numerous invited articles and book chapters. He is a reviewer for several scientific journals.

Head - Business, Development & Advocacy, Bharat Biotech

Academician of the International Eurasian Academy of Sciences, Director of the Department of Internal Medicine, Tongji Hospital, Huazhong University of Science and Technology.

Department of Laboratory Medicine, Peking Union Medical College Hospital

Kar Muthumani, M.S., Ph.D. is the Chief Scientific Officer, GeneOne Life Science, Inc. Dr. Muthumani enhances GeneOne’s existing capabilities in the fields of DNA and RNA vaccines against Emerging Infectious Diseases, immunology, and oncology. During his time at the School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, and more recently at the Wistar Institute, Dr. Muthumani developed ground-breaking vaccines against lethal and significant diseases such as HIV, CHIKV, MERS Coronavirus, Zika virus, Mayaro MAYV, Powassan (POWV) and the SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) coronavirus. His lab also developed a number of novel synthetic DNA-encoded monoclonal antibodies for infectious disease and cancer immunotherapies.

CSO, GeneOne Life Science, Inc., Republic of Korea

Dr. Byrareddy is the Vice-Chair of Research, Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Neuroscience, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE. Dr. Byrareddy has strong background in molecular biology, virology, immunology, systems biology and animal models background with expertise in the field of viral immunology, vaccines, and pathogenesis. He made significant contributions in the field of emerging and reemerging viruses such as HIV/AIDS, ZIka and SARS-CoV-2 and published more than 130 original research/reviews in peer reviewed journals in the field of Virology, Pathogenesis, Immunology and Epidemiology, etc. He received Distinguished Scientist Award & outstanding performance for past five years from University of Nebraska Medical Center.

Professor, Vice Chair of Research, University of Nebraska Medical Center

Shibo Jiang was educated in China for getting M.S. and M.D. degrees. He received his postdoctoral training in the Rockefeller University in New York from 1987 to 1990, worked in the LFK Research Institute of the New York Blood Center as Member and Laboratory Head from 1990 to 2010, and joined Fudan University as a professor in late 2010. His major research interest is to research and develop antiviral therapeutics and vaccines against HIV, HPV, IAV, and CoV. So far, he has published 568 peer-reviewed papers, which have been cited 40,531 times, with an h-index of 100 (Google Scholar). He has obtained 25 US patents and 29 Chinese and PCT patents, 11 of which have been licensed out. Since the beginning of 2020, he has published 126 peer-reviewed papers in The Lancet, Cell (x2), Nature, Science (x2), Nat Rev Microbiol, Nat Rev Immunol, and other high-profile journals, making contribution in the research and development of pan-sarbecovirus and pan-β-CoV vaccines for controlling current COVID-19 pandemic and future SARS-like diseases.

Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology, Professor, College of Basic Medical Science, Fudan University, Shanghai, China