Emma Garrett is a dedicated researcher and academic specialising in infectious diseases, epidemiology, and global health security. She is currently pursuing a Master of Public Health (Epidemiology) / Master of Infectious Disease Intelligence (Extension) at UNSW, building on her strong foundation in microbiology and infectious disease research.

Emma has presented her work at prestigious conferences, including the Transplantation Society of Australia and New Zealand and The Transplantation Society in Istanbul. She was also selected as an Ambassador for the Global Health Security Conference 2024, assisting Dr. Magda Robalo, former Minister of Health of Guinea-Bissau.

Her research experience spans multiple disciplines, including meta-analyses on hepatitis transmission in organ transplants, bacteriophage therapy for antibiotic-resistant infections, and fieldwork in Southeast Asia focusing on antimicrobial resistance and health policy. She has contributed to peer-reviewed publications and played a key role in projects at the Westmead Institute for Medical Research, the University of Sydney, and the Charles Perkins Centre.

Emma’s commitment to education extends beyond research, as she has served as a Laboratory Demonstrator at the University of Sydney, leading practical sessions and mentoring undergraduate students in molecular biology and human biology.

With expertise in epidemiological research, laboratory analysis, and public health policy, Emma aims to contribute to the advancement of infectious disease surveillance, outbreak response, and global health security initiatives.

I am a scientist and global health professional with 16 years of experience in the field of pre-clinical and clinical research, and public health, especially in epidemic and pandemic-prone diseases prevention, preparedness, and control in various international settings including resource-limited countries.

Since 2020, I have worked as a technical Officer in the Emerging Technologies, Research Prioritization and Support Unit within the Science Division, of the World Health Organization, Headquarters based in Geneva. In this capacity, I coordinate upstream work on fostering responsible conduct of life sciences, mitigating biorisks, and governing dual-use research in the perspective of global health spanning from the development of governance and mitigation framework, operationalization of the norms and standard, awareness raising and capacity building, continuous dialogues and engagement with different stakeholders from various disciplines, sectors and levels and resource mobilization.

Before joining WHO at the Regional Office for Africa in 2014, where I served for 6 years as the regional focal point for Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response, influenza surveillance and response, and the pandemic influenza preparedness works, I worked as a clinical research coordinator in the field of influenza viruses at Pasteur Institute of Madagascar and I completed my postdoctoral training at Novartis Diagnostics and Vaccines in Siena – Italy, where I supported the pre-development team working on Haemophilus influenza B vaccine research.

I hold a Doctor of Medicine (MD), a Master’s degree in tropical medicine and international health, and a PhD in epidemiology of infectious diseases from the University of Versailles (France).

Tim Nguyen is the Head of Unit for Medical Countermeasures in the Department of Epidemic and Pandemic Management of the WHO Health Emergencies Preparedness and Response Programme (WHE). The medical countermeasure (MCM) landscape is highly complex, requiring strong coordination among multiple partners to ensure the world is ready to face future health emergencies in a fair and effective way.
The unit work focuses on making sure that communities can protect themselves during crises by securing timely, sufficient, and equitable access to essential tools—such as diagnostics, treatments, vaccines, medical supplies, and other critical health products—at prices that are both affordable and sustainable. Tim joined WHO in 2006 working as a Technical Officer in the Yellow Fever Programme which coordinated an initiative funded by the GAVI Alliance to provide 40 million doses of vaccine to most at risk populations. In 2008, he joined WHO’s Global Influenza Programme and took part in the global response work to the first influenza pandemic of the 21st century. From 2014-2017, he was the Unit leader for Knowledge Management, Evidence and Research for Policy-Making at the WHO Regional Office for Europe based in Copenhagen, Denmark. There, he established the scientific journal Public Health Panorama and developed the WHO/Europe resolution and action plan for evidence-informed policy-making. Since 2017 he leads various governance mechanisms for access and allocation of MCMs in health emergencies.

Yong-Bee Lim is Associate Director on the Global Risk team. He is also a Visiting Scholar in the College of Global Futures at Arizona State University. Previously, he was the Deputy Director of both the Converging Risks Lab and the Janne E. Nolan Center on Strategic Weapons at the Council on Strategic Risks. He has also worked in research positions at U.S. government offices, including at the Office for At-Risk individuals, Behavioral Health, and Community Resilience (HHS/ASPR), the National Defense University’s Center for the Study of Weapons of Mass Destruction and the Center for Technology and National Security Policy (DoD), and at the Center for Global Security Research at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (DoE).

He is a recognized expert on convergence issues from WMD and emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, robotics, automation, additive manufacturing, and synthetic biology. He has also conducted ground-breaking work on understanding the risks and opportunities associated with the life sciences and technology democratization. His work also goes into spaces such as risks and opportunities in Bio x AI, Ecological x Biological security, and considering complex governance questions as governments, companies, and society try to find balance in a rapidly changing world.

He has also had the privilege of key fellowships and opportunities, including the John Hopkins Center for Health Security’s Emerging Leaders in Biosecurity Initiative (ELBI) in 2018, the inaugural cohort of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists’ Editorial Fellowship in 2021, and was a speaker in the only open session of the 18th Annual NATO Conference on Arms Control, Disarmament, and Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) Non-Proliferation in 2023.

Dr. Lim holds a doctorate and a master’s degree in Biodefense with a specialization in Terrorism and Homeland Security Studies from George Mason University. He also holds a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the same institution.

Dr. Angela (Angie) Rasmussen, PhD is a virologist at the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization (VIDO) at the University of Saskatchewan. Her research focuses on the role of the host in virus susceptibility and pathogenesis, with a particular interest in emerging viruses that are or have the potential to be major threats to global health, such as avian influenza virus, dengue virus, Ebola virus, mpox (monkeypox) virus, MERS-CoV, and SARS-CoV-2. Her work combines classical experimental virology and animal models with systems biology approaches to study the global response to infection and how that contributes to pathogenesis or protection from emerging pathogens.

Dr. Rasmussen graduated from Smith College with a BA in Biological Sciences (2000) and received a MA (2005), MPhil (2006), and PhD (2009) in Microbiology and Immunology from Columbia University. She did her postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Washington and previously held faculty positions at the University of Washington and the Columbia Mailman School of Public Health, as well as an affiliation with the Georgetown Center for Global Health Science and Security. In addition to her primary appointment at VIDO, Angie is also an adjunct professor in the Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology, and Immunology at the University of Saskatchewan and an adjunct professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolution at Stony Brook University. She is the co-lead of the Coronavirus Variants Rapid Response Network (CoVaRR-Net) Host-Virus Interactions pillar. She is also a member of the WHO Ad Hoc Expert Committee for Preclinical Models of COVID-19 and sits on the Editorial Boards at Vaccine, mSphere, and Cell Reports.

In addition to her research, Dr. Rasmussen is a prolific science communicator on both social media and in the mainstream press, as well as a writer for numerous publications including Forbes, Leaps.org, Slate, Foreign Affairs, the Washington Post, and the New York Times. She is passionate about advocating for equity in biomedical research and public health, and is a member of the US NIH Advisory Committee to the Director Working Group on Changing the Culture to End Sexual Harassment, as well as a faculty mentor for the volunteer science education group Wearing is Caring. She believes strongly that biosecurity and global public health must be collaborative international efforts and is eager to extend this outreach work in Canada and abroad.

Dr. Nancy Connell is a Senior Scholar at the US National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) in the International Networks and Collaborations section of the Division of Policy and Governmental Affairs. Trained in microbial genetics at Harvard, Dr. Connell was an investigator from 1992-2018 in microbial genetics and drug discovery at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School (NJMS), finishing her long career there as Professor in the Division of Infectious Disease and Director of Research in the Department of Medicine. She was then Senior Scientist at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security and Professor in the Department of Environmental Health. Dr. Connell now focuses on advances in life sciences and technology and their application to developments in biosecurity, biosafety, and biodefense. She has had a long-standing interest in regulatory policies associated with biocontainment work and dual-use research of concern. and she currently serves as advisor to the Rutgers New Jersey Medical School Regional Biocontainment Laboratory, putting her policy interests to work. Dr. Connell’s recent work has focused on AI and the life sciences.

Janet Robinson is an infectious disease, health security, public health, clinical, laboratory, health systems strengthening, quality assurance and regulatory specialist with more than 30 years’ experience in global public health, health security, pandemic preparedness, healthcare programming, health systems strengthening, human and animal health laboratory diagnostics, regulatory affairs/quality assurance and research. She is currently serving as a Portfolio Director within FHI 360’s Infectious Diseases Division and is responsible for driving growth, partnerships, innovations, and business development for the division. Previously she served as FHI 360’s Director of Emerging Infectious Diseases and Health Security leading a global portfolio of global health security, infectious diseases and health systems strengthening projects spanning Asia, Africa, and South America. Ms. Robinson has a track record of succeeding with strategic investments, first with the creation of the Laboratory Sciences Division and later with the establishment of the Emerging Infectious Diseases and Health Security Division.

As part of her many roles within FHI 360, Ms. Robinson has spear headed business development and growth efforts, securing over $110M in funding from a diverse range of USG and non-USG donors. She has driven the creation of a diverse and robust portfolio of projects, building the capacity of a global team of over 130 staff to implement awards. To support this work, she has extensive proposal design and development, operational, and financial skills. Ms. Robinson is a strategic thinker and has demonstrated her ability to create and design collaborative relationships, partnerships, and solutions to address complex public health issues. Ms. Robinson has led teams and projects and research that have sought to address numerous infectious diseases including HIV, TB, malaria, dengue, avian influenza, severe human influenza, COVID-19, Zika, Chikungunya, polio, ebola, diarrheal diseases, sepsis, Lassa fever, meningitis, Japanese Encephalitis and other zoonotic and vector-borne diseases and parasites. Her work has also included addressing the effect of climate change on health systems using a multisectoral approach. For over ten years, she led the Asia Pacific global research team based out of Bangkok, Thailand.

Before joining FHI 360, Ms. Robinson held several positions with Unipath Diagnostics Inc. (private sector pharmaceutical company), including Director of Clinical and Medical Affairs. Ms. Robinson is a certified clinical pathologist (specialism medical microbiology) and is a Fellow of the Institute of Biomedical and Laboratory Sciences (UK). Ms. Robinson is a steering group member of the Global Health Security Agenda Consortium. She is an invited member of several international laboratory working groups including laboratory strengthening working groups run by the Clinical Laboratory Standards Institute, the American Society of Microbiology, and the College of American Pathologists. She is also a member of the US FDA Advisory Committee for Microbiology. She authored the Laboratory Diagnostics chapter of the 23rd and 24th edition of Manson’s Tropical Diseases.

Geoffrey Otim is an accomplished researcher andleader in synthetic biology, biosecurity, and global health, with a strong focus on African scientific advancement. His roles include Research Associate at the National University of Singapore and founder of SynBio Africa, Africa’s first synthetic biology platform. He has led initiatives such as the SynBio Africa Global Catastrophic Biological Risks Initiative, engaging over 100stakeholders in African pandemic preparedness efforts. Otim also serves as a member of the UN Biodiversity’s Ad Hoc Technical Expert Group on Synthetic Biology and as a Biosafety Expert for the Georgetown Center for Global Health Science and Security.His career highlights include extensive research in molecular biology, involvement in WHO’s Polio and Measles lab network, and roles in disease surveillance and outbreak response. Otim has contributed to global health through multiple fellowships, partnerships, and international presentations. He holds an MSc in Life Science, an MA in International Affairs, and several certifications in health management, biosecurity, and synthetic biology, reflecting his interdisciplinary expertise and dedication to biosecurity and health innovation in Africa.

Saadia Zia is a multifaceted educationist and project management professional with 15 years of experience in research, training, and development across academia and industry.She currently serves as a Senior Lecturer at the University of Central Punjab, focusing on educational innovation and industry-academia linkages. Sadia has led initiatives in biosafety and biosecurity, serving as a Design Principal for the China Manned Space Utilisation Agency, and as Co-Lead for Disease Characterisation with The Global Health Network at Oxford University during the COVID-19 pandemic. Her background includes roles with the United Nations Association of Pakistan, executive membership in the Asia-Pacific Institute of Food Professionals, and expertise in food security, health policy, and sustainable development. Saadia holds an MS in Project Management, an M.Phil. in Molecular Biology, and various certifications in biosafety, public health, and quality management, demonstrating her commitment to advancing health,education, and policy.

Darren is a ThinkPlace Global Partner, and serves as Head of Digital Societies and Chief Ethicist. Over 20 years, Darren has worked to innovate for public good, designing or assuring large scale transformations, regulatory initiatives and program interventions that tackle societies’ most complex challenges. Darren works with governments, international NGOs and responsible corporates, at the most senior levels and on the most sensitive topics, taking a co-design approach to create new coalitions to drive change.