Dr. Pauline Convocar is the Immediate Past President of the Philippine College of Emergency Medicine (PCEM) and currently leads its Section on Advocacy, focusing on addressing emergency care disparities and promoting inclusive health systems. She is instrumental in advancing gender equity within emergency medicine and serves as President-Elect of the Asian Society of Emergency Medicine and Chair of the Specialty Implementation Committee of the International Federation of Emergency Medicine. A diplomate of the Philippine College of Occupational Medicine, her advocacies include occupational safety and health for emergency healthcare workers. She completed her Master’s in Community Healthcare Management with honors and trained in Emergency Medicine at the University of the Philippines–Philippine General Hospital, and is currently pursuing a doctorate in Public Health at the University of the Philippines Manila. An active clinician, she holds leadership roles at Manila Doctors Hospital, Corazon Locsin Montelibano Memorial Medical Hospital, and Southern Philippines Medical Center, where she has been instrumental in establishing pioneering emergency medicine residency programs. 

Associate Professor Francesca D. Frentiu is currently the Interim Centre Director and Arbovirus Transmission and Evolution Research Group Leader at the Centre for Immunology and Infection Control in the School of Biomedical Sciences at Queensland University of Technology (QUT), Australia. Associate Professor Frentiu’s research interests lie in understanding the emergence of arboviruses, specifically dengue, chikungunya and Zika. Associate Professor Frentiu’s research has contributed to the development of Wolbachia-based biocontrol of mosquitoes to reduce dengue transmission. She is particularly interested in how viruses interact with their mosquito vectors, and how this interaction can be exploited for biocontrol of human pathogens and preventing outbreaks. A current focus is understanding how climate change will influence the transmission of arboviruses. Associate Professor Frentiu has been awarded prestigious competitive grants and industry collaborative grants and has published in prestigious international journals such as Nature, PNAS, Molecular Biology and Evolution, and PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases.

Dr. Ayako Sumi is a Professor at the Center for Medical Education, Sapporo Medical University, Japan, where she is affiliated with the Department of Liberal Arts and Sciences (Physics). She earned her Ph.D. from Hokkaido University School of Medicine and has built an interdisciplinary career spanning physics and public health. Her research focuses on the epidemiology of infectious diseases, mathematical biology, nonlinear science, and time series analysis, with particular interest in modeling disease dynamics and transmission patterns. Dr. Sumi has held various academic positions at Sapporo Medical University, progressing from Instructor to Associate Professor before assuming her current role as Professor. 

Dr. Carlos Primero D. Gundran is a leading authority in Disaster Medicine and Emergency Preparedness, currently serving as an Emergency Physician at the Philippine General Hospital, Division Director of the UP Resilience Institute, and Associate Professor at the Department of Health Policy and Administration, College of Public Health, University of the Philippines Manila. He holds a Master of Science in Disaster Medicine from Vrije Universiteit Brussels and the University of Piemonte Orientale (Italy), and a Doctor of Medicine from the University of Santo Tomas, combining strong academic training with extensive field expertise. His leadership roles include heading the UP Manila Disaster Risk Reduction and Management for Health (DRRM-H) Program, convening the Health, Emergencies, and Disasters (HEAD) Study Group, and serving as Secretary of the Philippine Academic Society for Climate and Disaster Resilience (PASCDR). He has contributed widely to research and publications on disaster simulation training, pandemic response, indigenous values in DRRM policies, and emergency medical coordination during crises, and served as Principal Investigator for the National Health Research Agenda on Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation (2023–2028).

Dr. Bernadett Pua Velasco is a physician specializing in Emergency Medicine and Emergency Medical Services, currently serving as Director IV of the Health Emergency Management Bureau at the Department of Health. She earned her Doctor of Medicine degree from Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila and completed her EMS Fellowship at Singapore General Hospital. She is a Diplomate of the Philippine Board of Emergency Medicine and a Fellow of the Philippine College of Emergency Medicine, with extensive experience in hospital and emergency care systems through roles such as Operations Manager of the National Patient Navigation and Referral Center – One Hospital Command, Medical Specialist III at East Avenue Medical Center, and Medical Director of Stat Med Emergency Health Solutions, Inc. She is also actively engaged in regional and international initiatives, serving as National Medical Officer for the Asian Football Confederation and National Coordinator for both the Pan Asian Trauma Outcome Study and the Pan Asian Resuscitation Outcome Study. 

Dr. Mario Villasaya Capanzana is the Executive Director of the Philippine Chamber of Food Manufacturers Inc. (PCFMI) and a technical consultant for Monde Nissin Corp., as well as a Professorial Lecturer at the University of Santo Tomas Graduate School. He serves as Chairperson of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) Technical Panel for Food Technology, the TWG of the Functional Food Program of the DOST–Philippine Council for Health Research and Development, and is a former Director of the Food and Nutrition Research Institute (FNRI) of DOST and Research and Development Lead of the DOST Science for Change Program. He led key national initiatives including the FNRI Expanded National Nutrition Survey (2018–2020) and the Food Safety Program of DOST, with research interests spanning food fortification, functional foods, technology transfer, food safety and quality, product development, and policy studies. He has contributed to landmark legislation such as the Food Fortification Law (RA 8976) and the Philippine Food Technology Law (RA 11052), and is a 2016 Presidential Lingkod Bayan Awardee, Fellow and former President of the Philippine Association of Nutrition. A Professional Food Technologist and licensed Chemical Engineer, he earned his PhD in Food Science from the University of New South Wales, Australia. 

Dr. Maria Regina “Gina” Hechanova-Alampay is a Professor at the Department of Psychology of Ateneo de Manila University and the newly appointed Dean of the Dr. Rosita G. Leong School of Social Sciences (2026–2029). She previously served as Chair of the Department of Psychology and Executive Director of the Ateneo Center for Organization Research and Development, and currently leads the International Association of Jesuit Universities Taskforce on Holistic Wellbeing. A recognized expert in leadership, organization development, resilience, and community-based mental health, she has authored numerous publications, including the award-winning For the People, With the People: Developing Social Enterprises in the Philippines. She has received multiple distinctions such as Outstanding Psychologist from the Psychological Association of the Philippines, the Global Citizenship Award from the American Psychological Association, and the 2024 Metrobank Outstanding Filipino Award for Higher Education. She earned her PhD in Organizational Psychology from Central Michigan University, with earlier degrees from the University of the Philippines Diliman, and is a Licensed Psychologist and Internationally Certified Addiction Professional Level 2. 

Dr. Toshio Hattori is a Japanese medical doctor specializing in infectious diseases and hematology, with an MD and PhD in Internal Medicine from Kyoto University and a distinguished career spanning clinical practice and academic research. He currently serves as Director of Roken Akanpe Nursing Home, Visiting Professor at Shizuoka Graduate University of Public Health, Editor-in-Chief of MDPI, and Emeritus Professor at Tohoku University. His contributions to the field have been widely recognized, earning honors such as the President Educational Awards from Tohoku University and the People’s Government Science and Technology Award from Heilongjiang Province, China. With an extensive research portfolio exceeding 10,000 citations and an H-index of 56, he is recognized for his significant impact in infectious disease research.

Michael R. Cousineau is Emeritus Professor of Population and Public Health Sciences at USC. He has a joint appointment in the Sol Price School of Public Policy. He taught in both the Masters in Public Health program and in the Professionalism and the Practice of Medicine and Keck School of Medicine. He was the director of the MD MPH program at USC Keck School of Medicine. He attended U.C. Berkeley with an undergraduate degree in genetics and has a masters and a doctorate from the UCLA School of Public Health. His work focuses on health policy and health services and evaluation research, access to care for the low income uninsured, governance and operation of safety-net providers including public hospitals, community-based clinics and health centers; and health needs of vulnerable populations including the unhoused. His work includes studying the impact of initiatives to expand health insurance to adults and children, the dynamics of insurance coverage decisions by small businesses, alternative governance of safety net hospitals, and the health and mental health needs of the homeless. He has been funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, The Center for Medicaid and Medicare Services, the U.S. Health Services and Services Administration, The California Endowment, the Office of Minority Health, Blue Shield Foundation, the California Healthcare Foundation, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. He has published in Health Affairs, Medical Care, Public Health Reports, the American Journal of Public Health, Academic Medicine, and Health Services Research.