Dr Akerlof is an assistant professor in George Mason University’s Department of Environmental Science and Policy. Her research focuses on the intersection between governance and science and risk communication. She explores this nexus across three areas of study: 1) communication of science with policymakers; 2) public participation in decision-making; and 3) the use of social science within government programs. She leads a science communication concentration within the department’s master’s program and teaches courses on this topic as well as evidence-informed policymaking. She was a 2016-2017 American Geophysical Union congressional fellow and is currently a co-chair of AGU’s Science & Society science policy track. Dr. Akerlof earned her M.S. (2009) and Ph.D. (2012) in environmental science and policy.

Dr Tyler is an Associate Professor in University College London’s Department of Science, Technology, Engineering and Public Policy (UCL STEaPP). His research is centered around the topic of institutionalising the use of research knowledge to improve policy makers’ decision making. He has helped establish several science advisory units and systems around the world, including in Europe, Oceania, North America and South America. Prior to joining STEaPP, Chris spent five years as Director of the UK’s Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology (POST) and before that was the first Executive Director of the Centre for Science and Policy (CSaP) at the University of Cambridge. Chris has a degree in anthropology from the University of Durham and a PhD in biological anthropology from the University of Cambridge. He sits on the Board of the International Network for Governmental Science Advice (INGSA) and the Polaris Council for the US Government Accountability Office (GAO)

Henriette Canino is a PhD candidate at University College London’s Department for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Public Policy (STEaPP). Her doctoral research uses behavioral science to model and explain engagement between researchers and policymakers. Her academic background is in Public Policy, she holds a Master of Public Policy degree from the University of California, Berkeley's Goldman School of Public Policy. Previously, she has worked on policy strategies around inclusive AI, in particular, in facial recognition and digital ID systems, implications of algorithmic bias, and sustainable innovation in the private sector (consulting for Google). She held research positions at UC Berkeley's CITRIS Policy Lab, the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, and UC San Diego and gained practical policy experience at a U.S. Senator's office and the European Parliament.

Dr Allegra is a science policy researcher and practitioner interested in understanding and shaping the interface between science, policy, and society in Europe. He currently works at the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Research & Innovation providing support and advice to senior management and coordinating the DGs activities on Science for Policy. Alessandro holds a PhD in Science, Technology and Society (STS) from University College London (UCL), where he researched scientific advice to EU policymaking. He has experience in UK, EU, and international science policy having worked at UNESCO, the Royal Society of London and the UK Royal Society of Biology, and as Fulbright-Schuman fellow at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government.

Erin Heath is the Director of Federal Relations at the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the world’s largest general scientific society and publisher of the journal Science. She co-chairs the Coalition for National Science Funding, the Engaging Scientists and Engineers in Policy Coalition, and the steering committee of the Golden Goose Award. She played a key role in the launch of the Center for Scientific Evidence in Public Issues (EPI Center) at AAAS and serves on its internal advisory committee. She is also the inaugural chair of the Governing Board of the Journal of Science Policy and Governance. Erin holds a Master of Science with Merit in Public Policy and Administration from the London School of Economics and Political Science. While in London, she served as a research assistant in Parliament. Prior to graduate school, she spent years as a journalist in Washington, most notably as a science policy reporter and columnist for the National Journal. She earned a B.A. in Journalism from the University of Maryland.

Dr Piquado is a policy researcher and government relations practitioner focused on the intersection of science, technology, and public policy. She currently serves as CEO of the National Science Policy Network. She has worked at the RAND Corporation, providing evidence-based guidance to federal, state, and local decision-makers, and has taught ethics and policy design at the Pardee RAND Graduate School. She also served as chief policy director at the California Issues Forum and as senior government relations director for western states at the Chamber of Progress, where she advised on major policy issues including housing, transportation, and public access to news. Tepring holds a Ph.D. and M.S. in neuroscience from Brandeis University and a B.S. in computer science from Georgetown University. She completed a science and technology policy fellowship with the California Council on Science and Technology, working in Sacramento to bridge the gap between science and policymaking. Her research spans topics including traumatic brain injury, emerging technologies, human-machine systems, DNA sequencing, and military workforce transitions.

Dr Hernández-Mondragón is a visiting researcher in Cinvestav. She is a chemist turned Science-Policy Interface Practitioner leading science advising efforts in Mexico. She has experience in the legislative and executive branches, and has coordinated the first program of Science-Policy Interface fellows in the region. She founded the Mexican Association for the Advancement of Science (AMEXAC). Alma completed a bachelor in Chemistry, a Master Degree in Neuropharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, a PhD in Scientific and Technological Development for Society and holds also a Bachelor in Law.  

Dr Quiroz Valenzuela, deputy director of knowledge management at the Universidad Central de Chile, holds a PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and a Master's degree in Public Policy and Management. She has specialized in science policy, scientific advice to decision-makers, science diplomacy and open science. She has served as an advisor in the public sector and She has extensive experience teaching.

Dr Sierra has over 15 years experience working in science communication and science for policy. She is the project lead for Risk Know-How, a project on how to support communities navigate risk information and assess benefits and trade-offs within their own context. As part of this work, she helped develop the Risk know-how framework that sets out what is needed to make sense of risk, explains the different concepts that underpin it and offers resources. It has been developed through discussions and interactions with communities and risk experts to facilitate those decisions. As 2nd VP of the Spanish grassroots organization, Ciencia en el Parlamento (Science in Parliament) she has conducted interviews with legislative advice bodies around the world to explore different science advice mechanisms, has helped develop a pairing scheme at a regional level in Spain and training for scientists to engage with local policymakers and serves on the advisory board of the Oficina C (the Office for Science and Technology at the Congress of Deputies in Spain). She also serves as Communications and Engagement Director for Connecting Genetics to Climate, an initiative out of Harvard to generate dialogue around biotech applications for climate change. Following her PhD in Physics at the University of Cambridge, she worked for the UK non-profit Sense About Science as International Policy Manager and then as a press officer at the University of Rochester, USA. 

Dr Washbourne is an interdisciplinary researcher, practitioner and educator at the interface of physical and social sciences and public policy. Her work seeks to understand and improve decision-making and planning at local levels, focussing on urban environment and sustainability issues. She completed an MSc in Engineering Geology and PhD in Geosciences (Newcastle University). She chairs the UN-Habitat Global Urban Observatory Network Steering Committee and is a Research Associate at the Gauteng City-Region Observatory (GCRO) in Johannesburg, South Africa. She previously worked in the UK Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology as a Physical Sciences, IT and Communications Adviser.

Ronald Munatsi is the Director of the Zimbabwe Evidence Informed Policy Network (ZeipNET), a civil society organization working to interface evidence and policy. He is also a doctoral researcher in development studies at the University of Johannesburg through the Pan African Collective for Evidence. He has an MPhil in Librarianship from Aberystwyth University, Wales. Ronald possesses more than fifteen years of experience in evidence informed decision making and knowledge management. He has effectively led a number of initiatives, including Building Capacity to Use research Evidence (BCURE) supported by UKAID, Strengthening Research and Knowledge Systems supported by the International Network for Advancing Science and Embedding Rapid Reviews in Health Systems Decision Making in Zimbabwe (ERAZ), supported by the World Health Organisation. Presently, he is leading the Distilling and Availing Research Evidence for Parliament of Zimbabwe (DARE PoZ) project, which is funded by IDinsight. The goal of this project is to enhance the institutional procedures and research staff capacity to support the legislative process through the provision of high-quality evidence in an accountable and transparent manner.

Dr Tan is the Chair of the International Network for Governmental Science Advice (INGSA) - Asia. He is also a professor of creative media and the Deputy Director of the International Institute of Science Diplomacy and Sustainability (IISDS) in UCSI University, Malaysia. Dr Tan received a PhD in Education, specializing in game-based learning from University of Warwick. He was a Visiting Faculty at SUTD Game Lab, Singapore (2017), a Hubert H. Humphrey Fellow at the Penn State College of Education (FY 2017/2018), a Visiting Research Scientist at the Play2Prevent Lab, Yale Center for Health and Learning Games (2018), and the ASEAN Talented Young Scientist in Guangxi, China (FY 2023/2024). He is also an honorary lecturer of Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), and appointed as an adjunct professor in UNITAR International University and Sichuan University of Culture and Arts, and a visiting professor of the Guilin University of Electronic University. His research interests spread across various fields in creative multimedia and inventive problem solving.

Dr Michalek currently serves as Head of Unit for Research Infrastructures at the Ministry of Education, Research, Development and Youth of the Slovak Republic where he is responsible for coordination of activities of the Slovak Republic within the European Strategic Forum on Research Infrastructures. His previous roles include project officer at the Government Office of the Slovak Republic, research manager at the Slovak Academy of Sciences, project manager at the Technology Centre Prague and contractor for the Danish Board of Technology. Among other things, Tomáš was responsible for several European projects in Slovakia, such as the Science meets Parliaments, CIMULACT (Citizens and Multi-Actor Consultation on H2020) and PACITA (Parliaments and Civil Society in Technology Assessment). In addition, he has served as an evaluation expert for the European Commission's framework programmes Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe. Tomáš has a degree in international relations from the Charles University in Prague and a PhD in European studies and public policy from the Comenius University in Bratislava. His research focus is on the transaction of understanding at the science-policy interface.

Maricarmen Climént specializes in improving risk communication in healthcare and the media. She is currently a Research and Editorial Officer at the Risk know-how initiative within Sense about Science, where she co-developed a framework to improve risk understanding and built a global library of resources. She previously served as a lead for risk communication at the MHRA. Before that, she spent four years at the Winton Centre for Risk and Evidence Communication at the University of Cambridge, developing tools and courses to optimize risk communication. Throughout her career, she has trained around 2,000 journalists, healthcare professionals and policy makers in the complexities of risk communication. Maricarmen also has a decade of experience as a science journalist on TV, radio and podcasts. Academically, she holds a degree in Veterinary Medicine and an MSc in Animal Health from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), with research focused on breast cancer. Additionally, she earned an MSc in Science Communication from the University of Sheffield.

Dr Motala-Timol is a quality assurance practitioner from Mauritius. She is the Head of Academic and Quality Enhancement at Middlesex University Mauritius since August 2023. Prior to that, she was heading the Regulatory Affairs and Accreditation Division of the Higher Education Commission, Mauritius. Her current research focuses on the challenges and opportunities of cross border higher education, examining the impact of internationalization policies in Mauritius. She has served as quality assurance reviewer and consultant for several international and governmental higher education regulatory bodies.

Dr. Shaheen Motala-Timol holds a PhD in Polymer Chemistry. She was a Hubert H Humphrey Fellow at Pennsylvania State University in 2016/17 and a Visiting Scholar at the Center for International Higher Education, Boston College. She is an alumna, and 2018/19 member of the Executive Committee, of the Global Young Academy. She is the Chair of the African Chapter of the International Network for Governmental Science Advice (INGSA-Africa) since May 2024.