Haydeh Payami

An Iranian American, Haydeh Payami is Professor of Neurology and Genetics, and holds the Strain Endowed Chair for Parkinson’s Research. She was formally trained in mathematical geneticist at UC Berkeley. As an independent investigator, her work has been translational bridging clinical, molecular, and computational science. Her lab has opened new fields in PD research, including evidence for a genetic component in common sporadic PD, which at the time was believed to be purely environmental (1994 AnnNeurol), the first successful GWAS for PD and the discovery of association of PD with HLA, which proved a causal role for the immune system (2010 NatGenet), first genome-wide gene-environment interaction study for any trait (2011 PlosGenet), characterizing the dysbiosis in PD gut microbiome (2022 NatComm), and most recently, developing a microbiome-based biomarker tool to guide personalized microbiome-based therapies.

Craig R. Cohen

Amber Teufel

Dr. Amber Teufel is Group Head and Microbiologist for the Baby, Feminine, Family Care R&D Life Sciences Division at Procter & Gamble in Cincinnati Ohio. Her work on the interplay between diaper dermatitis and the infant skin microbiome has led to new advances in product design/development and publications outside of P&G. In addition to her work at P&G, she is also an adjunct professor at the University of Cincinnati (Cincinnati Ohio) in the Biology and Microbiology divisions. She received her PhD in Microbiology from Miami University (Oxford Ohio) where she researched the influence of abiotic factors on community diversity and physiology and completed a Post-Doctoral Fellowship at Brookhaven National Laboratory thereafter. Dr. Teufel is especially passionate about communicating new and exciting research to her peers and to future scientists. She is active in STEM outreach and the promotion of women in science.

David A. Mills

David A. Mills is a Distinguished Professor in the Department of Food Science & Technology at the University of California at Davis. Dr. Mills studies the molecular biology and ecology of bacteria that play an active role in gut health including seminal work on lactic acid bacterial and bifidobacterial genomics. In the early 2000s, Dr. Mills helped create the UC Davis “Milk Group”, a consortium of researchers who investigate and translate the uniquely beneficial aspects of human and bovine milk. Professor Mills was named the Peter J. Shields Chair in Dairy Food Science in 2012, in 2015 he was elected a Fellow in the American Academy of Microbiology and in 2023 he was named a Distinguished Professor. Since 2018 he has been designated a Highly Cited Researcher by Clarivate Analytics. Dr. Mills’s research has helped launch several startup companies.

Se Jin Song

Se Jin completed her PhD in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Colorado Boulder. After completing a post-doc with Dr. Rob Knight, she started her current position at UCSD as the Director of Research – Applications at CMI. In this role, she oversees collaborative research projects between industry and academia, many of which are focused on the links between diet, health, and the gut microbiome.

Noah Zimmerman

Noah is the Chief Technology Officer for Verb Biotics. He brings more than 25 years of science, technology, and industry experience to help lead Verb Biotics. Noah is passionate about unraveling the ability of the microbiome to produce and deliver functional metabolites for better health. Prior to Verb Biotics, he worked in both large and small companies. Noah was awarded an Innovation Grant from the NIH and helped to co-found Agro BioSciences where he was defining the ability of bacteria to biotransform dietary constituents into their functional metabolites. He later led the Biochemistry, Immunology, and Human Probiotics Platforms at Church & Dwight Co. Inc. and was involved in Business Development. Noah has a proven track record of probiotic innovation, and is actively publishing papers and patents regarding the use of probiotic for various health benefits.

Feranmi Aboderin

Feranmi is a Scientist I at Arcaea, working on the Skin Microbiome team. Passionate about microbiome research and bioinformatics, he has been an integral part of multiple projects aimed at innovating personal care products through microbiome science. His work focuses on developing methods for modulating the skin microbiome community in vitro and in-vivo, and investigating the composition and functional capacity of the skin microbiome for axillary and scalp applications. He holds a Master of Science degree in Biology with a concentration in Molecular Genetics and Biochemistry from Georgia State University and a Bachelor of Science in Microbiology from Obafemi Awolowo University.

Denise Kelly

Professor Denise Kelly joined Seventure Partners, a European Leader in Venture Capital, in 2015 as an Investment Advisor to the Life Sciences Team and is focused specifically, on Human Microbiome investment opportunities, globally. Prior to joining Seventure, Denise was Head of her Research Lab at the World-renowned Rowett Institute, University of Aberdeen, where she acquired over 20 years experience in gut microbiology and immunology. She was the (former) Founder Director, CEO and CSO of GT Biologics Ltd, one of the first translational spinouts, developing Innovative Microbiome-based Therapies. She is the main inventor on numerous EU and USA patent applications and during her career has collaborated with pharmaceutical and healthcare companies on several translational projects.Denise holds a BSc and PhD from Queens University, Belfast and an Emeritus Professorship from the University of Aberdeen.

Cheri Ackerman

A leader of scientific innovation and a winner of the Petri Bio Emerging Women Founder Award, Cheri co-founded Concerto to reinvent humanitys relationship with microbes. Cheri led Concerto to raise oversubscribed Seed and Series A investment rounds, fueling the companys development of transformative microbial treatments and industry partnerships. Cheri has built a strong company culture centered around rigorous science, intent listening, and compassion. She holds a PhD in Chemistry from UC Berkeley (Hertz Fellow) and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard (NIH Kirschstein Fellow).

Lada Rasochova

Natalise Kalea Robinson

Health innovation leader, Natalise Kalea Robinson, is the Co-Founder + CEO of Parallel Health, a precision skin health company that empowers you to live in your best skin, utilizing skin microbiome science, big data, and phage technology. Formerly a signed recording artist who went on to start her own label and publishing house after graduating from Stanford in three years, Natalise is no stranger to hustle. She is an experienced operator, brand marketer, and entrepreneur who has worked across various industries media, consumer beauty, biotech, etc. She has served in executive roles, transforming brand identity, building teams, 10x-ing margins, and 10x-ing revenue. Natalise received her BA (summa-cum-laude) from Stanford and MBA from Stanford GSB.

James Morton

Nicole Scott

Amy Smith

Amy began her journey as a microbiologist with a doctorate degree in Microbiology from Louisiana State University, minoring in virology and molecular biology. After years conducting research on microbial pathogenesis and molecular detection methods, Amy began a career with DuPont where she led business expansion within molecular diagnostics and transitioned to lead the probiotics global regulatory strategy for DuPont Nutrition and Health. Amy is currently Director, Global Regulatory Strategy Lead for IFF Health, where she leads the global regulatory efforts for all IFF Health ingredient dietary supplement applications and also serves the probiotics industry on the executive board of directors of the International Probiotics Association (IPA) as President. Amys ability to understand science, regulation, and real-world industry promotes a forward-thinking functional ingredient platform for the success of IFF Health, all at the current pace of immense industry growth.

Jason Bush

Dr. Jason Bush is an investigator of the microbiome. As the Chief Scientific Officer at MSP Starch Products Inc., he has led two clinical trials, which unlocked numerous clues explaining how resistant starch is utilized in the gut microbiome to influence human health. His keen interest in complex biological systems fuels his pursuit to fully understand how Solnul,^™ can be employed to positively impact our health within the gut and beyond. He has been integral in protecting the Intellectual Property behind the Solnul^™ technology and has filed numerous patent applications around Solnul^™‘s ‘Beyond the Gut’ discoveries.

Josh Parris

Josh Parris has over 12 years of microbiome research experience providing new insights into the temporal dynamics of human/animal gastrointestinal microbiomes, exploring connections between the gastrointestinal microbiome and host health, and optimizing meta-omic sequencing protocols to recover more target sequence from low biomass and/or high host background microbiome samples. His current research focuses on discovering connections between the microbiome and skin health for infant skin and vulvar skin. Dr. Parris has a B.S., M.S., and PhD in Biology with a focus in Molecular Microbiology. He has served as a postdoc with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and was awarded an Intelligence Community Postdoctoral Research Fellowship. Dr. Parris has authored or co-authored more than 20 peer-reviewed publications.

Eric Chun-Ming Huang

Professor Eric Huang’s research with 128 peer-reviewed research articles has been focused on therapeutic microbiome where microbes are used for development of vaccines, probiotics and other therapeutics.

Ping Hu

Ping Hu is the computational biology capability leader, R&D Director, and Principal Scientist of the Procter & Gamble Company Corporate Function Discovery & Innovation Platform. Ping has worked on various microbial-related projects covering industrial microbial contamination detection, probiotic product development, metagenomics, and meta-transcriptomics understanding of skin, scalp, oral, baby, feminine, fabric, and built environment microbial communities. Ping has experience in human clinical, genetics, and expressional data analysis, developing artificial intelligence-enabled bio-digital applications and database systems. Ping is also leading an effort to explore the new sequencing-based capability and its usage in microbial detection, quality control, and risk assessment evaluating technologies from Nanopore, PacBio, etc. Ping graduated from New York University Medical School with a Ph.D. in Basic Medical Sciences and from Washington University in St. Louis with a Master’s degree in Computer Sciences. You can access Ping’s publications and patents from the Google Scholar link below: https://scholar.google.gr/citations?user=hu7JOt4AAAAJ&hl=en

Angela Christiano

Angela M. Christiano, PhD is the Richard and Mildred Rhodebeck Professor and Vice Chair for Research in the Department of Dermatology at Columbia University, where she also serves as Advisory Dean for Basic Science Faculty. Her research is focused on understanding the molecular processes that lead to inherited skin and hair disorders in humans, and interrogating disease mechanisms using mouse models. The lab’s most recent work revolves around the investigation of the underlying genetic and immunologic drivers of alopecia areata, and identification of potential new therapeutic targets. Her team pioneered the foundational research and proof-of-concept studies that supported the use of JAK inhibitors as a novel treatment for alopecia areata. Dr. Christiano has received numerous awards, including the William Montagna Award and the Naomi Kanof Award from the Society for Investigative Dermatology, and the Ebling Award from the European Hair Research Society. She is a past President of the Society for Investigative Dermatology, and is currently President of the American Hair Research Society. Dr. Christiano was a founding Editor of Experimental Dermatology, and served as Deputy Editor of the Journal of Investigative Dermatology for ten years and an Associate Editor of the Journal of Clinical Investigation for five years. She earned her MS and PhD degrees in Microbiology and Molecular Genetics from Rutgers University, and completed her post-doctoral fellowship at Jefferson Medical College. In 2020, Dr. Christiano was elected to the National Academy of Sciences.

Zac Lewis

Pedro J. Torres

Pedro has a passion for understanding the complex interaction between the host and the microbiome in health and disease. He has made significant contributions to the microbiome field, exploring various domains including the oral microbiome’s potential for early pancreatic cancer detection, studying the gut microbiome’s role in polycystic ovarian syndrome, and leveraging microbiome and AI technologies for precision nutrition and probiotics. Currently at Persephone Biosciences, he leverages large patient cohorts to uncover the role of the gut microbiome in human health. Persephone’s ultimate goal is to utilize this knowledge to develop novel microbial medicines for cancer patients and infant health.

Cheryl Sew Hoy

Cheryl Sew Hoy is CEO & Founder of Tiny Health, the first at-home gut microbiome testing platform for families using metagenomics.

Cheryl is an accomplished and repeat founder including a successful consumer software startup that was acquired by Walmart Labs in 2013. In 2020, Cheryl founded Tiny Health to take charge of her family’s gut health after having 2 vastly different births with her kids – one via c-section and another via vaginal birth. She learned that gut imbalances in the critical first 1,000 days may lead to eczema, allergies, asthma and other chronic conditions later in life. Tiny Health has since helped thousands of families restore their gut health and sidetrack the progression of atopic march.

Cheryl has a master’s degree in Engineering Management and Data Mining and bachelor’s degree in Operations Research & Industrial Engineering from Cornell University, NY, both on full scholarships.

Julia Durack

Julia Durack is the VP of Research and Product Development at Symbiome, a San Francisco- based microbiome R&D company and the manufacturer of Symbiome™ Skincare products. As well as a Director of Holobiont Medical Research Foundation, a non-profit organization focused on advancing research on the microbiome and its role in health and disease. She completed a Ph.D. in Food Microbiology and BS (with Honors) in Biomedical Science from the University of Tasmania, Australia. She has held research placements at Australian institutions, UC Berkeley, and UC San Francisco; has a track record of scientific impact and serves as an Associate Editor in Molecular Bacteriology and Microbiome for Frontiers in Bacteriology.

Tiina Orasmäe-Meder

Dr. Tiina Orasmäe-Meder embarked on her career in cosmetic dermatology and aesthetic medicine in 1995, specializing in topical solutions for aesthetic concerns. As a medical expert in cosmetovigilance (cosmetic safety), she contributed to Sociris Lab’s (France) research initiatives. With a focus on safety and efficacy, she led International Professional Training for Cellap Lab (Switzerland) and served as a medical consultant for Thalgo Lab’s (France) Research & Development projects until 2009. In 2009, Dr. Orasmäe-Meder established her own company, offering cutting-edge microbiome-friendly professional skincare used in over 30 countries. Today, she heads UK-based Meder Beauty International Ltd and lends her medical expertise to R&D at Cosmotec Lab (Switzerland).

Bradley Ringeisen

Brad Ringeisen is the Executive Director of the Innovative Genomics Institute (IGI), founded by Nobel Laureate Jennifer Doudna on the University of California, Berkeley campus. Brad is a physical chemist with a Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, a pioneer in the field of live cell printing, and an experienced administrator of scientific research and product development. Before joining the IGI, Brad was Director of the Biological Technologies Office at DARPA, where he funded cross-disciplinary research at the cutting edge of biology, physical sciences, and engineering. His office was responsible for early investments in mRNA vaccines as well as a discovery platform that isolated one of the first monoclonal antibody treatments used during the COVID-19 pandemic. He has published over 70 peer reviewed scientific articles, holds 18 US Patents, and has given scientific presentations across the world including a recent TedX Berkeley presentation titled CRISPR for Climate.

Brent Ridge

Dr. Brent Ridge completed his medical training at Columbia University in NYC and an American Federation for Aging Research (AFAR) fellowship in the genetics of aging at Harvard University.

He served as Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital where he conducted research at the International Longevity Center under pioneer Dr. Robert Butler.

After receiving an MBA at NYU Stern School of Business, he became the VP of Healthy Living at Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia where he spearheaded the founding of the Martha Stewart Center for Living at Mount Sinai.

In 2008, he co-founded Beekman 1802 with his husband, Josh Kilmer-Purcell and is an ambassador to the Global Wellness Institute

Jessica O’Connell

Amanda L. Lewis

Andrea Nardelli

• 2014 Specialization in Dermatology. Council of Physicians of the Province of Cordoba, Argentina.: Dermatologist.
• 2006-14 PhD Studies in Medical Sciences: Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium. “Fragrances: Contact Allergy and Allergic Contact Dermatitis”.
• 2005-06 Pre-doctoral Studies in Medical Sciences: Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium. Approved with greatest distinction of the jury
• 2003-04 Master of Science in Bioinformatics: Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium.Thesis approve; courses incomplete.
• 1998-01 Resident in Dermatology: Hospital Nacional de Clínicas, National University of Cordoba.
• 1991-97 Medical School: Faculty of Medicine, UNC. Degree obtained: Physician.

PRESENT APPOINTMENTS

• 2014- Now- Post-doctorate. McMaster University-Medical Centre. Clinical research. Farncombe Family Digestive Health Research Institute. Supervisor: Dr. Premysl Bercik.

Bharat Dixit

Bharat Dixit is the Chief Technology Officer at Adiso Therapeutics. He has about 20 years of experience in the biotechnology industry with a focus in the area of microbiome/live biotherapeutics for the last 8 years. Over the years he has led bioprocess and analytical development, drug formulation including fill-finish and cGMP manufacturing. Prior to joining Adiso, he led process and product development teams at Artugen Therapeutics, Finch Therapeutics, and Crestovo LLC in the LBP space.

Braden Tierney

Braden Tierney is an Instructor at Weill Cornell Medical College with a joint affiliation at Harvard Medical School. He is a combined experimental microbiologist and data scientist, and he has studied the role and function of microorganisms in a diverse array of ecologies, from the human microbiota to low-Earth orbit. During his PhD at Harvard Medical School, he built robust statistical tools for the identification of microbes causative for and associated with human disease in large scale sequencing and clinical datasets. He has managed the development of microbial products, including clinical trials for microbial therapeutics, and he has developed further applications for the use of microbes in mitigating diet-based dysbiosis. Dr. Tierney is also the co-founder and the executive director of the Two Frontiers Project, a non-profit, biotech research organization that leverages life’s adaptation to extreme environments to address major societal challenges, from climate change to food sustainability.

Cassandra Isley

Cassandra Isley served in her early career as a clinical laboratory scientist in the hospital setting overseeing hematology, clinical chemistry, and clinical microbiology. She became Executive Director and Clinical Liaison overseeing multiple hospital divisions. For over 25 years, Cassandra has led strategic initiatives with global leaders in the healthcare, pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and life science industries.  Cassandra is a proud Virginia Tech Hokie earning her undergraduate degree in biology and clinical microbiology, a master’s in clinical laboratory science, and is certified in nutrition and cancer from the University of Arizona College of Medicine.

Cecile Vernochet

Cecile Vernochet serves as the Discovery Project Lead and a member of the Clinical Development Team at the Gates Medical Research Institute since 2020. In her role, she is primarily tasked with providing scientific and program development support for probiotic nutritional supplement LMICs clinical trials. Additionally, she acts as an advisor on women’s health live biotherapeutic product discovery and program development for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Before joining the Institute, Cecile accrued 20 years of experience in biology discovery research and drug program development. Her expertise spans a wide range of in vitro and in vivo tools, particularly focusing on stem cell biology and complex metabolic diseases associated with malnutrition. Notably, she led a target discovery and validation laboratory at Pfizer, where she supported small molecule and RNAi programs from preclinical discovery to Phase 2B clinical development. Cecile obtained her Ph.D. in Physiology from the University of Science, Nice, France, followed by a postdoctoral fellowship at the Boston University Medical Center and the Harvard-affiliated Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston

Jun Sun

Dr. Jun Sun is a tenured Professor and Associate Head of Department of Medicine, the University of Illinois Chicago. She is an elected Fellow for the American Physiological Society and American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) Fellow. She chaired the AGA Microbiome and Microbial Therapy section (2020-22) and co-chaired the national Task Force Committee on Omics Pathobiology in Long COVID. She is internationally known for her pioneering discovery of novel roles of microbiome in various diseases, including vitamin D/vitamin D receptor deficiency, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, infection, and cancer. She has published over 240 scientific articles in leading journals e.g., Gastroenterology, Gut, Cell Reports Medicine, Nature Genetics, & Gut Microbes. She is the leading editor/author of 10 books on microbiome. She serves on the editorial board of high-impact peer-reviewed journals, e.g., a Deputy Editor for AJP-GIL, an Associate Editor for Gut Microbes.  Her research is supported by the NIH, DOD, and VA awards.

Krystal Thomas-White

Dr Thomas-White is a microbiologist specializing in the female urogenital microbiome and how it relates to health and disease. In under 10 years she has over 20 peer-reviewed articles that have been cited over 1000 times. Her research explores how alterations in both the bladder and vaginal microbiomes are associated with common disorders (like UTIs, bacterial vaginosis, and incontinence) and how the microbiome changes in response to hormones throughout life, particularly during pregnancy, and menopause.  As senior scientist at Evvy she is excited to help bridge the gender health gap, and provide women with insight into a part of their bodies that has been too often overlooked.

Noelle Patno

Noelle Patno, Ph.D. is Chief Science Officer at Bened Life, makers of Neuralli Medical Probiotic. She received a BS in chemical engineering, with honors and distinction, from Stanford University, a Masters in Translational Science and doctorate in Molecular Metabolism and Nutrition from the University of Chicago. Dr. Patno’s deep work experience spanned the pharmaceutical, medical device and nutraceutical industries primarily with Abbott Laboratories and Metagenics. She has led projects in R&D, supply chain, and international technology transfer. Additionally, she has launched products targeting digestive health, the microbiome, and immune health. She has designed and monitored clinical trials resulting in publications on probiotics and prebiotics. As a scientific educator, Dr. Patno has written and spoken on the microbiome, digestive health, and probiotics and prebiotics.

Ryan Garrett

My time with Vedanta has been focused on designing manufacturing schemes (including for phase III clinical trials), driving submissions to the FDA and European regulatory agencies, and supporting products’ eventual commercial launch. Serving in senior- and director-level roles, I’ve become adept at developing high-performing process development teams, optimizing for efficiency and productivity, overseeing product transfer to large-scale manufacturing, and ensuring the process works. I’ve led the team in running the never-before-run commercial production scale manufacturing process. Earlier roles included a research fellowship at the NIH and a role with Pfizer as a Fermentation Scientist in vaccine development. Following my bachelor’s in biochemistry and NC State University, I began advanced studies at Duke University, where I researched viral pathogens, including coronaviruses, in Singapore.  I’ve amassed deep experience in both upstream and downstream processing, as well as scaling up manufacturing processes from bench top to as much as the 100,000-liter reactor scale.

Xin Zhou

Xin Zhou, Ph.D., is a experienced researcher in the realm of genomics and microbiome interactions, currently making strides at the intersection of microbiology, immunology, and genome sciences. His academic journey began with a Ph.D. from The Jackson Laboratory for Genomic Medicine, under the guidance of George Weinstock, and progressed through a postdoctoral fellowship at Stanford University with Michael Snyder. Xin’s research primarily focuses on the intricate relationships between the microbiome at different body sites and its longitudinal impact on host health, particularly concerning diseases like type 2 diabetes and pulmonary arterial hypertension.

Through his participation in the Integrated Human Microbiome Project (iHMP) and his work on type 2 diabetes, Xin has produced several high-profile publications. His pioneering development of a bioinformatics tool to quantify microbiome individualization opens new avenues for personalized probiotics and microbiome transplantation strategies.

Kimberley Sukhum

Dr. Kimberley Sukhum received her PhD in Evolution, Ecology, and Population Biology from Washington University in St. Louis. She was formerly a faculty member at WashU School of Medicine, where she directed the development of the Pathogenomics and Microbial Medicine Research Center.

Dr. Sukhum has organized and analyzed data from over 10 clinical studies focusing on the gut microbiome or microbial genetics. She studied the impact of antibiotics in healthy and ICU populations, tracked antibiotic resistant strain genomes across ICU patients and environments, and has 6 publications on the gut microbiome and microbial pathology.

In 2019, Dr. Sukhum was the recipient of the Society of Healthcare Epidemiology of America Research Scholars Award.

Alan Murray

Alan has worked in the world of nutritional foods, supplements and ingredients for the last ten years.  He has worked in various countries around the world and was CEO for Tetra Pak North America before joining NextFoods.  Probiotic Juice.  He was involved at its inception in 2008, when he helped secure the license of a patented probiotic strain from Sweden and participated in naming the product and raising the initial outside capital.

Alan sits on (or has sat on) a number of boards in the natural foods and packaging industries, working closely with the founders, investors and management teams.  He has also presided over numerous exits to strategic and PE buyers. He was Chairman of both SunOpta Inc, a USD 1bn public company, and the Carton Council, an industry organization established to promote the recycling of beverage cartons, which he founded.

He holds a degree in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from the University of Cape Town.In his private time, he surfs, plays tennis and golf and skis in Colorado, his current home.

Sathya Janardhanan

Aubrey Levitt

Aubrey Levitt has worked on consumer and healthcare products for over twenty years, from branding and product formulation to launching startups. Aubrey is a leader in pioneering the adoption of the postbiotics category, developing products, and co-founder of Postbiotics +, a clinical stage microbiome startup.

Laura Sycuro

Dr. Laura Sycuro is an Associate Professor in the Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Infectious Diseases at the University of Calgary’s Cumming School of Medicine. She serves as the Genomics and Bioinformatics Theme Lead for the International Microbiome Centre and leads a research program focused on harnessing the microbiome to promote the health of women and children. Her work couples discoveries relating to infection, preterm birth, and neurodevelopment with service and educational efforts targeting gender-based health inequities. Dr. Sycuro has been honoured as a CIHR Early Career Investigator in Maternal Health and was appointed as the Functional Omics Lead for the IMPACTT Pan-Canadian Microbiome Research Core in 2018.

Alexandra Castillo-Ruiz

Ren-Hau Lai

Dr. Lai is a highly skilled professional with extensive experience in Research and Development, particularly in the food, nutrition, and supplement industry after his TCMD and PhD training. Having held various critical positions in the industry for more than 15 years, Dr. Lai has a proven track record of driving innovation and delivering exceptional results. Dr. Lai specializes in building R&D team capacity, leading cross-functional teams, developing new products, and implementing strategic initiatives to meet market demands. Dr. Lai is passionate about staying up-to-date with industry advancements and using technical knowledge to create cutting-edge solutions. With a commitment to quality and an eye for detail, Dr. Lai consistently strives to exceed expectations and contribute to the success of the organization.

Laurie Rey

After an engineering degree in biochemistry and a PhD in molecular biology, Laurie did her post-doctoral research in Cambridge, UK, amassing more than five years’ experience in R&D. She went on to join a consulting company to help life sciences corporations and start-ups position new products on the market. She then took up a position as business & partnerships director at TWB, a public/private consortium that works with industrial biotechs to develop sustainable production pathways. She was responsible for TWB’s current and future turnover, in addition to building an evolutive offer in response to customer needs. With her solid foundation in R&D, marketing, project management and business development, she joined Lallemand Health Solutions to develop and manage EXPERT’Biome, CDMO by Lallemand, to support next-generation strain development (probiotics and live biotherapeutics) at R&D, Production and Regulatory level.

Alex Sakatos

Hana Janebdar

Hana Janebdar is Co-founder & CEO of Juno Bio, the world’s first vaginal microbiome testing company backed by Illumina, Entrepreneur First and Ada Ventures. Hana holds degrees in Biology and Biochemical Engineering from Imperial College London and University College London and has worked in the field to develop patented microbiome optimisation methodologies. Under her leadership, Juno Bio ran one of the world’s largest IRB approved studies of  the vaginal microbiome, launched a pioneering vaginal microbiome test and treat service and has helped 10, 000+ women and people with vaginas get answers to their intractable vaginal microbiome journeys.

Carlotta Ronda

Dr. Carlotta Ronda recently joined the Innovative Genomics Institute (IGI) at UC Berkeley as a Principal Investigator. Her lab focuses on mapping the human microbiome interactome and developing microbiome-based therapeutics. Utilizing cutting-edge tools including hESC-derived organoids, CRISPR technologies, and microbiome engineering platforms, her team conducts in vivo studies with genetic mouse models, co-cultures human gut organoids with microbial communities, and develops new methods to engineer the microbiome. As a Simons Junior Fellow at Columbia University, she pioneered a platform for editing microbial communities in vivo, integrating CRISPR technology to pave the way for future microbiome-based therapies. Dr. Ronda holds a Ph.D. in Systems Biology and an M.S. in Engineering from the Technical University of Denmark (DTU). Originally from northern Italy, she earned her BSc from Padua University.

Stephanie Fraley

Malcolm Kendall

Malcolm Kendall is a co-founder and CEO of Microbiome Insights, Inc., a leading global provider of end-to-end services for microbiome DNA sequencing, including state-of-the-art bioinformatic analysis. With over 30 years of operational management, entrepreneurial, venture capital investment and leadership experience, he has focused his professional career on company creation and building value in technology and biotechnology companies. Before founding Microbiome Insights, he was the co-founder and CEO of Indel Therapeutics Inc., a biopharmaceutical company dedicated to developing new drugs to address the global health crisis caused by antibiotic resistance. Prior to this, Malcolm was an investment professional with life science venture capital firms MDS Capital (now Lumira Capital), BioVista Capital (now Hatteras Venture Partners) and Intersouth Partners. Before entering business, he served in the U.S. Army as an Infantry and Special Forces officer. Malcolm has been an advisor and board member to numerous companies and organizations and is currently a member of the board of directors of SemiosBio Technologies, a mentor for the entrepreneurship@UBC program and an adjunct professor at the MBA program at Simon Fraser University. He earned his undergraduate degree from Washington and Lee University and an M.B.A. from the Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina.

Paul Carlson

Elsa Jungman

Noel Mueller

Ethan Thai

Larry Weiss

Alex Martinez

Bruno Balen

Dan Brownell

Dan Brownell is the Senior Director of Research and Development at AOBiome Therapeutics, responsible for leading their preclinical and R&D programs since joining in 2018. Dan brings 20 years of scientific experience, with a focus on the use of microorganisms to achieve positive outcomes. At AOBiome, Dan leads a high-performing team of scientists responsible for better understanding the mechanisms of action of Ammonia Oxidizing Bacteria and their use as a treatment for inflammatory disease. Prior to AOBiome, Dan held diverse roles within the biotech community, including in the fields of rapid diagnostics, synthetic biology, and biofuels.

Johanna Maukonen

Johanna focuses on developing scientifically sound translation of customer and market needs to R&D strategy and projects, being a key link for Health R&D to customers and external scientific communities. At 2017-2022 she led Global Health and Nutrition Science group, which has over 40 scientists and technicians, and conducts and coordinates in vitro, pre-clinical and clinical studies on IFFs ingredients, mainly in relation to probiotic research. Before joining IFF, Johanna spent over 20y at VTT Technical Research Centre, the Nordics leading research and technology company. She has extensive R&D experience in understanding the gut microbiota and its impact on health, especially on the influence of probiotics, nutrition and fibers. She has DSc(Tech) on characterization of predominant human fecal microbiota.

Oliver Worsley

Oliver is the co-founder and CEO of Sequential. A pioneer in the microbiome testing world, having initially launched the world’s first at-home skin microbiome test in 2019, and with over 4 years of R&D into the human microbiome have developed out their B2B testing platform. They are backed by the global leaders such as Innovate UK, Enterprise SG, A*STAR, Genome Institute of Singapore, SOSV, Metaplanet, Scrum Ventures, Corundum Systems Biology, and operate three independent labs in London, Singapore and NYC.

Oliver completed his PhD in molecular genetics as a scholar at the Genome Institute of Singapore from 2014-2018, and has won multiple awards including the P&G Young Entrepreneurship Scheme, presented at the Royal Society in London in 2017; and the top prize at the L’Oréal Innovation Runway 2018. Oliver has previously founded Anya Consulting, a healthcare communications company that has published >150 articles and has produced several technical whitepapers for clients like Fierce Health. Prior, Oliver completed his BSc at Edinburgh University, including six months at Leiden University Medical Centre through the Erasmus Programme.

Sanjay Jain

Claire Derlot

Dr Derlot received her Master in Bioprocess engineering from the renowned INSA school in Toulouse France in 2012 she then went on to complete her PhD in Industrial Biotechnology at AgroParisTech in 2015.
Claire began working at Biose Industrie in 2015 as an R&D Process Engineer since then she has grown within the company as a pioneer of our CDMO business model for LBPs.
After 4 years spent working as a Program Leader for a number of different customers in the US, Europe and Korea Claire was promoted to Head of Programs with a team of 12 Program Managers and Program Leaders reporting to her for over 35 LBP clinical programs.
She is experienced in Process & analytical methods development, Regulatory and manufacturing to be a scientific and Business interlocutor for any Programs, from Strain isolation to Drug Product delivery.

Adrien Nivoliez

Dr. Adrien NIVOLIEZ (PhD) serves as the Chief Executive Officer of biose® industrie, a leading Contract Development & Manufacturing Organization specializing in GMP pharmaceuticals for Live Biotherapeutic Products.

Driven by a passion for microbiome and microbiota sciences, biose® industrie offers a wide range of services, including:
• Product development encompassing fermentation, drying processes, and customized drug product solutions (such as capsules and tablets).
• Analytical development to meet international requirements (USP, PE, ICH, etc.).
• GMP Scale-up Platform for clinical batch production.
• GMP Industrial Platform for large-scale manufacturing, capable of handling volumes up to 5,000 liters.
• Expertise in global quality and regulatory affairs.

Alex Sakatos

Adam Perlman