We are fascinated by human health
—one of life’s greatest mysteries.

Arturo Borzutzky, MD, is a pediatric rheumatology specialist and is currently an Assistant Professor of Allergy, Immunology, and Pediatric Rheumatology at the School of Medicine, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile. His research mainly focuses on the pathogenesis and treatment of atopic dermatitis, epidemiology of allergic diseases, Kawasaki disease, and pediatric autoimmunity. Dr. Borzutzky also actively studies the prevalence and manifestations of food allergies. He believes that the increased occurrence of food allergies may be due to changes in lifestyle⁶.

Professor Halina Kazimiera Grajeta, Ph.D. is a part of the Department of Dietetics and Food Science at Wroclaw Medical University, Poland. She has actively worked on understanding the effects of diet on human health. In one of her papers, she mentions that the identification of the food additives responsible for hypersensitivity and their treatment is challenging. However, effective diagnosis of the reaction-inducing additives can enable restricting or eliminating the food additive from one’s diet. This can help avoid food additive-mediated reactions and discomforts associated with them.⁸

Dr. Monica E Embers, Ph.D. is an associate professor of microbiology and immunology and the director of vector-borne disease research at Tulane University, USA. She has worked on Lyme disease and its co-infection tick-borne relapsing fever or TBRF. She and her fellow researchers were successful in detecting novel antigens that help to differentiate between Lyme disease and TBRF5. Misdiagnosis is a major issue while diagnosing Lyme disease and its co-infection. Detection of an antigen that can differentiate between the two diseases is a major breakthrough in the field of tick-borne disease research.

Patrick M Meyer Sauteur, MD, Ph.D. is part of the University Children's Hospital, Zurich, Switzerland. His research focuses on pneumonia in children, mycoplasma, Lyme disease, and acute monocutaneous reactions to infections. Mycoplasma pneumonia and Lyme disease are serious infections that can be considered endemic in the USA. Understanding these diseases can help improve diagnostic methods and treatment for the same. Dr. Meyer has worked on and published several papers on Mycoplasma pneumonia.6 Furthermore, he has collaborated with Vibrant America in studying Lyme disease.

Chev. Prof. Renald Blundell, Ph.D. is an associate professor in the department of Physiology & Biochemistry and Faculty of Medicine & Surgery at the University of Malta, Malta. Chev. Prof. Blundell has on several publications about toxins and their effects in various body systems. Continued exposure to toxins can have adverse effects and understanding how toxins affect the human body and pave way to a myriad of other disorders can help to reduce exposure and take appropriate measures to reduce its impact. Chev. Prof. Blundell's work on toxins can help in understanding this.⁸

Dr. Roberto Lucchini, MD, is a professor at the School of Public Health, Florida International University, USA. His research is mainly focused on Effects of neurotoxic chemicals and the biochemical mechanisms by which environmental toxins can damage the nervous system from neurodevelopment to neurodegeneration. Dr. Lucchini and his team has worked on effects of toxins on the nervous system in age groups ranging from early childhood to old age. His work also extends to understanding the role of environmental toxins in aging. He is also involved in understanding the health effect among workers and responders who were exposed to chemicals and intense psychological trauma at the World Trade Center after the 9/11 terrorist attack.⁹

Dr. Stojan Peric, MD, Ph.D. is a teaching assistant and neurologist at the Neurology Clinic, University Clinical Center of Serbia. His research interests include various aspects of clinical neurology, including movement disorders, neuromuscular diseases, neuroimmunology, and neuro-ophthalmology. Dr. Peric investigated the functional and morphological impairments of the central nervous system in patients with myotonic dystrophy type1. Dr. Stojan Peric's mission is to advance the field of neurology through rigorous research that examines both the clinical and basic aspects of neuromuscular diseases. His research seeks to deepen our understanding of the underlying mechanisms that contribute to neurological diseases and identify potential therapeutic targets for their treatment.⁵

Dr. Matteo Colina, MD, Ph.D. is a researcher who belongs to the Rheumatology Section of the Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine at the University of Ferrara in Italy. Dr. Matteo Colina's research primarily focuses on rheumatology. He has contributed to several studies related to bone and joint diseases such as osteoporosis, osteoarthritis, and rheumatoid arthritis. One of his recent studies examined the impact of moderate physical activity on bone mineral density in patients with rheumatoid arthritis, finding that exercise can be crucial in managing the condition. In another study, Dr. Matteo Colina and his team assessed the effectiveness and safety of a new treatment for osteoarthritis and observed that it significantly alleviated pain and improved joint function in patients. Dr. Matteo Colina believes that the advancement of our understanding of bone and joint diseases has the potential to lead to the development of new and improved treatment options for these conditions.⁶

James Roney, Ph.D. is a professor in the department of Phycology and brain Sciences at the University of California, USA. His research focuses on human endocrinology and how hormones produce coordinated output effects that are adaptive responses to specific input conditions. Dr. Roney has worked on how reactive hormone increases during encounters with potential mates and how women’s motivational priorities changes can be predicted according to the shift in ovarian hormones across menstrual cycle.⁴

Dr. Joseph Murray, MD, is currently a Professor of Medicine, at Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, and a clinician investigator and consultant in the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology and Department of Immunology. He is also an Adjunct Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Southern Denmark. Dr. Murray has conducted extensive research on the clinical epidemiology of the celiac disease, the role of genetics in predicting disease, and the development of animal models for the disease and its associated dermatologic condition, and dermatitis herpetiformis. Many of his research programs have been sponsored by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). He led the first clinical trials of novel methods for treating celiac disease. He has published more than 300 peer-reviewed scientific papers, chapters, and books on celiac disease and esophageal reflux.⁷

Ruchi Gupta, MD, MPH, is a Professor of Pediatrics and Medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and a Clinical Attending at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago. She is well known for her groundbreaking research in the field of food allergy. In her book, Food without Fear, she states that one in five people in the U.S. suffer from food allergies, sensitivities, or intolerances. She sheds light on the differences between an allergy and an intolerance/sensitivity and focuses on the need for effective diagnosis. She also discusses the microbiome's role in adverse food reactions. Dr. Ruchi believes that effective testing for food allergies and sensitivities would help manage these conditions appropriately, thereby improving the individual's quality of life.⁹

Niaz Banaei, MD is a Professor of Pathology and Medicine at Stanford University and is the Director of the Stanford Clinical Microbiology Fellowship and Stanford Global Health Diagnostics Fellowship. He is also the associate program director for the Clinical Pathology training program. His research focuses on the development, assessment, improvement, and clinical impact of novel infectious diseases diagnostics, and immunopathogenesis of M. tuberculosis. Dr. Banaei has worked on and published papers on several infectious diseases including but not limited to Sars-Cov-2, M. tuberculosis, etc.⁷

Dr. Suzanne E. Fenton, Ph.D. is a staff scientist of National Toxicology Program, which is a part of National Institute of Environmental Sciences, North Carolina, USA. She has worked on and published several studies on per and poly-fluoroalkyl substances or PFAS. PFAS is highly toxic and can adversely affect human health. She believes that PFAS can have detrimental effects on human health and has worked to understand these effects on different body systems¹⁰.

Dr. Alan Ducatman, MD. MSc. is a member of the West Virginia Governor’s Advisory Council on Substance Abuse in the USA. His research is mainly focused on environmental health. Some of his research interests are the health outcomes after exposure to environmental toxins, exposure to environmental perfluorocarbon and the human physiologic responses, using secondary data to understand environmental health questions, etc.11 He has stressed the importance of reviewing and improving the medical guidelines for toxins exposure (e.g., PFAS) and has published several papers.

Dr. Jens Walter, Ph.D. is the CAIP chair for nutrition, microbes, and gastrointestinal health at the University of Alberta, Canada. His research primarily focuses on the microbial ecology of the human and animal gastrointestinal tract and the metabolic and immunological interactions between the microbiome and its host in relation to health. He perceives the relationship between the gut microbiome and their host to be symbiont. He is interested to understand how environmental factors (such as diet and lifestyle) and historic processes impact the gut microbiome and the host at large. Dr. Walter's interdisciplinary and highly collaborative studies have proven that the gut microbiome has a profound effect on the host's health.⁵

Dr. Susan Lynch, Ph.D. is a professor in the Department of Medicine – Gastroenterology, at the University of California, San Francisco, USA. Her work primarily focuses on the gastrointestinal microbiome, and its role in both the origins of and established chronic inflammatory diseases. She believes that bioactive products of the gut microbiome influence host cellular populations in a co-evolved, and frequently reciprocal relationship. As a result, perturbation to the composition and function of the gut microbiome leads to the development of chronic diseases. She relentlessly strives to determine the microbial-derived mechanisms that promote immune function and contribute to the origins of childhood asthma and inflammation in inflammatory bowel disease, as she believes that manipulating the gut microbiome can help prevent and manage chronic inflammatory conditions⁶.

Dr. Marilyn Albert, Ph.D. is a professor of Neurology at Johns Hopkins, and Director of the Division of Cognitive Neuroscience, USA. Dr. Albert focuses on the cognitive and brain changes associated with aging and Alzheimer’s disease (AD). She has also identified lifestyle factors that promote the maintenance of mental abilities with advancing age. In one of her papers, she mentions that the changes in cognition are associated with aging and with neurodegenerative disorders, particularly AD. Understanding the cognitive and brain changes associated with aging might provide information to improve early diagnosis. Dr. Albert believes that focusing on the early identification of AD, and potential ways of monitoring the progression of the disease is needed for its early intervention.⁶

Dr. Vikram Khurana, Ph.D. is the Chief of the Division of Movement Disorders at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School and Principal Faculty at the Harvard Stem Cell Institute, USA. His clinical and research interests relate to neurodegenerative movement disorders, particularly Parkinson's disease. Dr. Khurana and colleagues have advanced the understanding of cellular consequences of alpha-synuclein (a protein involved in Parkinson's pathology) misfolding, the fundamental pathology associated with Parkinson's and related diseases. He believes that this understanding is essential to developing treatments that target alpha-synuclein.⁷

Dr. Suzette Bielinski, Ph.D., M.Ed., is a genetic epidemiologist at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science in Rochester, Minnesota. Dr. Suzette Bielinski research focuses on identifying molecular biomarkers of cardiovascular disease and associated risk factors, as well as understanding the role of genetic variants in drug response. She has identified genetic and protein biomarkers and other clinical factors associated with heart disease, including heart attacks, heart failure, and abnormal heart rhythms, that can be used to improve risk prediction. Dr. Suzette Bielinski believes that understanding individual differences in cardiovascular disease holds the promise of improving the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of disease by tailoring medical care to an individual's molecular profile.⁶

Dr. Michael J. Ackerman, M.D., Ph.D., is a pediatric cardiologist at Mayo Clinic; a professor of medicine, pediatrics, and pharmacology at Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science, and a principal investigator of the cardiovascular disease and aging lab, at Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science in Rochester, Minnesota. His research interests include studying genomics and genotype-phenotype relationships in heritable cardiovascular diseases predisposing to sudden death. Dr. Ackerman and his colleagues have discovered more than 12 genes that can lead to sudden death. This research is now being used to develop genetic tests that can help identify patients who are at risk for developing heart disease and sudden death. Dr. Ackerman believes this research is enabling true personalized/individualized medicine for patients and families with genetic heart rhythms and genetic heart muscle diseases.⁷

Dr. Donna Bunch, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at UNC School of Medicine, North Carolina, USA. Dr. Bunch's research focuses on understanding how autoimmune diseases affect the kidney, and how abnormal B cell responses lead to the development of microparticles and cytokines that cause disease. She is particularly interested in understanding how regulatory B cells help maintain balance in the immune system and promote autoimmune disease remission. Dr. Bunch's goal is to translate our understanding of autoimmune disease pathogenesis into better clinical tools that can be used to predict relapse and better management of autoimmune diseases affecting the kidney.⁷

Dr. Meghan Free, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at UNC School of Medicine, North Carolina, USA. Dr. Free’s research focuses on understanding the role of T cells in autoimmune glomerulonephritis. Her studies have shown that regulatory T cells do not function properly in patients with this disease and that this lack of regulation leads to excess inflammation alongside autoreactive T cells. She is currently examining the potential role of myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) in autoimmune glomerulonephritis conditions. Dr. Free believes that investigating the roles of T cells and circulating immune components would help understand their contributions to autoimmune disease progression and relapse.⁸

Dr. Liou Y. Sun, MD, Ph.D. is an associate professor in the Department of Biology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, USA. His research is focused on how nutrition and hormones during early development can influence long-term health and age-related diseases. Hormones play a role in aging and understanding this mechanism can help to improve longevity and reduce the development of age-related disorders. Dr. Sun is also studying interventions for age-related disorders⁵.

Dr. Andrzej Bartke, Ph.D. is a professor of internal medicine and physiology at the Southern Illinois University (SIU) School of Medicine in Springfield, USA. His research is mainly focused on genetic and hormonal control of aging in mammals. He has published several papers on hormonal control of aging and longevity. Hormones heavily influence aging and hormonal imbalance can lead to age-related disorders. Hence, his work on hormonal control of aging is extremely important. He is currently working on growth hormone and its effects on aging and longevity.⁶

Dr. Bruce Ames, Ph.D., has pioneered the fields of biochemistry and nutritional science. He is a Professor Emeritus of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, at the University of California, Berkeley, and most recently was a Senior Scientist at Children's Hospital Oakland Research Institute (CHORI), and director of their Nutrition & Metabolism Center, USA. According to Dr. Ames, micronutrient deficiencies may result in chronic metabolic disruption, DNA damage, and mitochondrial decay with oxidant leakage and cellular aging. These factors may lead to serious health conditions. Dr. Ames proposed the triage theory, which states that the body has developed a rationing response to shortages of micronutrients (vitamins and minerals) throughout evolution. In nutrient deficiency states, the scarce micronutrient in the cells is allotted to proteins essential for short-term survival. Proteins needed for long-term health, including those that protect DNA, lose out and become disabled and which leads to diseases of aging. He believes that micronutrient supplementation is the way to ensure intake of the Recommended Dietary Allowance of micronutrients⁵.

Regan Bailey, Ph.D., M.P.H., R.D. is an Associate Director of Precision Nutrition for the Institute for Advancing Health Through Agriculture and a professor of Nutrition at Texas A&M University, USA. Her research focuses on improving the methods of measuring nutritional status to optimize health. Bailey developed the first models combining nutrients from foods and dietary supplements to estimate total usual intake. Her work was used to inform the calcium and vitamin D Dietary Reference Intakes and the National Academy reference values. She believes that micronutrient deficiencies are a global concern. Their long-term consequences are not only seen at the individual level but can nationally impact economic development and human capital, making the prevention of micronutrient deficiencies very crucial⁶.