David McCoy is a public health specialist and professor of global public health who works in the fields of health systems policy and development; global health governance and international health policy; and the political and economic determinants of health.  Much of his recent research has consisted of multidisciplinary and multi-sectoral case studies.

He qualified as a medical doctor from Southampton University and spent six years as a clinician in the UK and South Africa, before entering a career in public health. He spent a further seven years in South Africa with the University of Cape Town and the Health Systems Trust where he supported the post-apartheid transformation of South Africa’s health care system. On returning to the UK, he has worked in civil society and the non-government sector (Peoples Health Movement, Aidspan and Medact), in academia (University College London and Queen Mary University London) and in the public sector (the NHS).

J. Kenneth Wickiser serves as the Phyllis Mailman Associate Professor of Epidemiology at the Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University. Starting his professional life as an Army Aviation officer serving in the Signals Intelligence mission space, he transitioned to the biosciences and earned his Doctorate in Philosophy from Yale University in Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry having helped develop early microbial genetic searching tools to discover and characterize classes of ancient RNA-based genetic control mechanisms they termed, riboswitches. He then completed his postdoctoral research work in the Laboratory of Molecular Neuro-oncology at the Rockefeller University in New York City before serving as a civilian faculty member at West Point, eventually achieving the rank of Professor of Biochemistry (with tenure) and Associate Dean for Research. At West Point, Dr. Wickiser founded the Synthetic Biology research program and the clinical research program identifying molecular and biometric biomarkers of injury and disease in healthy military populations.

In 2021, Wickiser left federal service to help found the Global Alliance for Preventing Pandemics (GAPP), a center at Columbia University dedicated to technical workforce development, standardization of best practices, and dedication to transparent data sharing among international partner organizations. GAPP is focused on training people and sharing information and tools so that everyone has the ability to quickly, effectively, and independently detect and contain local pathogen outbreaks using a tiered and fit-for-purpose diagnostic algorithm and the associated reagents and tools ranging from RDTs, PCR, and ELISAs to advanced NGS methods like our clinically approved VCS pan-pathogen-focused metagenomics system. The GAPP team develops broad solutions to assist teams engage in simultaneous surveillance, clinical research, and biosecurity/biosafety efforts. Over the past four years, the GAPP team has trained lab scientists, clinicians, and public health administrators from Ecuador, Mexico, Nicaragua, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Liberia, Kenya, Mali, Nigeria, South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Germany, Netherlands, UK, the CDC, US Army, US Navy, and the US Air Force; the team anticipates expanding operations significantly in the Indo-Pacific region and the Americas over the next two years.

Wickiser serves on the Executive Committee of the Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction (CWMD) Other Transaction Authority (OTA), representing all academic organizations contributing to that essential mission. He also serves on the Department of Veterans Affairs Research Advisory Committee for Gulf War Veterans’ Illnesses (RACGWVI) where he helps advise the branch on research investments designed to serve this population of Americans who served in specific operations.

Carlo is a public health epidemiologist working in health emergencies and immunisation. He has contributed to multiple public health projects in select Southeast Asian countries where he engaged with hard-to-reach and conflict-affected communities to improve vaccine uptake and strengthen health emergency preparedness and response capacities. Most recently, he served as an advisor to the Migration Health Unit of UN-IOM Philippines, advancing health outcomes of migrants and populations in fragile settings. He is currently completing his doctoral degree at The University of Sydney Faculty of Medicine and Health, where his research examines barriers, facilitators, and inequalities in childhood immunisation across Southeast Asia.

Ricardo Echalar is a recognized global health security and One Health leader and subject matter expert. Most recently, Mr. Echalar spearheaded regional global health security and health emergencies engagement for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) while based in Nairobi, Kenya. He actively collaborated with partner governments, regional bodies, multilateral agencies, and the private sector across the Africa region to implement and strengthen technical programming. He is an epidemiologist with over 20 years of experience, designing and overseeing U.S. and international programs focused on infectious diseases, emergency preparedness and response, national security, and foreign affairs. Mr. Echalar provided critical technical leadership during multiple response efforts, including the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic, Ebola, Marburg, Mpox, pneumonic plague, and the COVID-19 pandemic. He has leveraged this deep technical experience across roles with USAID, NGOs, and WHO/PAHO, managing programs in Latin America and the Caribbean, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Southeast Asia. He actively serves as a technical expert on global advisory groups and engages extensively with multilateral institutions and global health actors.

Soatiana Rajatonirina is a global health expert with 17 years of experience. A medical doctor specialized in international health, tropical medicine, and infectious disease epidemiology, Soatiana has driven impactful work across research, pharmaceutical company, and public health. She led influenza virus research at the Pasteur Institute of Madagascar, advanced vaccine development at Novartis in Italy, and strengthened disease surveillance and pandemic influenza preparedness at WHO’s Regional Office for Africa.

Since 2020, at WHO Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, she is coordinating the governance of emerging technologies and dual-use research, promoting the responsible use of life sciences and supporting countries and regions in operationalizing these critical concepts to tackle emerging health challenges in a rapidly changing world.

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. 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 is the Founder and CEO of SynBio Africa, the first and largest community-building and policy advocacy initiative for synthetic biology and biosecurity in Africa. He has over ten years of experience working across government, industry, academia, and multilateral organisations, including the United Nations. He spent more than eight years at the WHO Polio and Measles Regional Reference Laboratory at the Uganda Virus Research Institute, where he worked on polio and measles disease surveillance and outbreak response.

He led the implementation of the SynBio Africa Global Catastrophic Biological Risks Initiative, which brought together over 100 key regional stakeholders from across Africa to discuss pandemic preparedness on the continent. During his tenure with the United Nations Mission in South Sudan at the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, he actively participated in and provided technical advice on COVID-19 testing protocols, as well as guidance on laboratory preparedness to support COVID-19 testing within the UN Mission in South Sudan laboratory network and among national counterparts.

He has served as a member of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity’s Ad Hoc Technical Expert Group on Synthetic Biology; an external biosafety expert with the Elizabeth R. Griffin Program at Georgetown University; a rapporteur with WHO Geneva supporting Uganda in piloting the implementation of the WHO framework for the governance of somatic human genome editing; and a member of the OECD Global Forum on Technology (GFTech) expert focus group on synthetic biology. He is a Non-Executive Director (Board Member) of the Global Health Security Network, a 2025 Emerging Leaders in Biosecurity (ELBI) Fellow, a 2025 Vox Future Perfect 25 Honouree, and a 2023 SynBioBeta Impact Awardee.

He holds an MSc in Life Sciences, an MA in International Affairs and Diplomacy, formal training in Science Policy and Advocacy for STEM Scientists, and is currently pursuing a PhD in Bioengineering at the University of Queensland, Australia.