Zancan has been an Associate Professor at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), Brazil, since 2007. She received her MSc in 2002 and her PhD in 2005 in biological chemistry at UFRJ Institute of Medical Biochemistry Leopoldo de Meis. In 2008, she established a novel laboratory devoted to the study of signalling in cancer biology, aimed at controlling the development of cancer cells. She had a supervisory role for masters, PhD and post-doctoral fellows, thus contributing to the training of qualified scientific personnel. At the administrative level, she acted as the Head of UFRJ Department of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology (2012–2014). She authored more than 40 scientific articles in peer-reviewed journals. In 2014 and 2015, she spent a sabbatical period at the Université Laval, Québec, Canada, where she was an Invited Professor working at projects related to molecular triggers of diabetes. In 2016, she was nominated as TWAS Young Affiliate and was elected as Co-Chair of TWAS Young Affiliates Network (TYAN).

The research area of Figueiredo is neuroscience focused in understand the pathological neuroimmune modulation that occurs in neurodegenerative diseases, aiming the development of preventive or therapeutics strategies to theses conditions. In one of her first projects as an independent researcher, she used mouse model of sepsis to study the late cognitive impairment associated to this condition. We found that a disrupted hippocampal insulin signalling is linked to memory impairment in sepsis-surviving mice, similarly to what has been described in AD models. Her research group also published important findings related to the alpha-synuclein oligomers, an important toxin associated to Parkinson’s disease. During her career, she has developed a strong and broad background in the study of the fundamental mechanisms that modulate neurodegenerative diseases. She is affiliated member of the Brazilian Academic Science and published more than 50 peer-reviewed papers on topics related to pharmacology and neuroscience. Actually she is proposing a challenging project to elucidate neuroimmune mechanisms involved in Zika Virus infection in the adult central nervous system.

I am an Associate Investigator at the Millennium Institute on Immunology and Immunotherapy (www.imii.cl; Center of Excellence) and Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Biological Sciences at the Pontifica Universidad Católica de Chile. I am a Biochemist from the same University and have a PhD in Molecular Genetics and Microbiology. I have specialized in the field of immunology and more specifically in research areas that involve the interaction between pathogenic microbes and the host's immune system. My experimental work has focused over the years on bacteria, as well as viruses, such as the human respiratory syncytial virus, metapneumovirus and herpes simplex viruses. I performed two post-doctorates, one of them at the P. Universidad Católica de Chile and the other at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York, USA. There, I trained on microbial genetics. Highlights of my research include work on a novel vaccine candidate against herpes simplex viruses and studying fundamental aspects of immunology. Some of my research studies have been published in journal such as PNAS and eLife.

Dr. Rolando A. Gittens received his Bachelor in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from the Technological University of Panama (2006), and his Master in Materials Science & Engineering (2011) and PhD in Bioengineering (2012) from the Georgia Institute of Technology. His research focuses on the role of nanostructural and electrical properties of biomaterials in cell differentiation processes for tissue regeneration, with a large body of work on nanostructured titanium implant modifications to improve the process of osseointegration. His work has resulted in two active patent applications for surface nanomodificación of titanium, more than 20 publications in high impact journals, co-authorship in a book chapter and prestigious awards such as the TWAS-ROLAC Affiliated Member recognition in 2017, being named one of Central America Innovators Under 35 by the MIT Tech Review, obtaining several Young Investigator Awards in recognized international conferences in his field, and being appointed as a Distinguished Member of the National Research System (SNI) in Panama. Currently Dr. Gittens is a Research Engineer at INDICASAT AIP in Panama where he studies biomaterials and stem cells.

Born @ Mexico City. Citizenships: Mexico, Panama and Spain. Postdoc: Max-Planck Institut für Mathematik, 2007-2009.Ph.D. and Master: Université de Rennes 1, France 2003-2007. Undergraduate: Facultad de Ciencias UNAM. 1998-2003. Hobbies: birdwatcher / stone, shell & graphic novel hoarder.