Organizing Committee

J.W. Dobrowolski

AGH University of Science and Technology, Poland

Jan Wincenty Dobrowolski had completed his Ph.D. of Jagiellonian University at age of 27 years, Sc.D. of W-M University in 1982, Professor in 2003, Distinguish Professor in 2003. In 1968, initiated common action of university youth and Life Long Learning, followed by AGH Open University, National, International Schools, Workshops for Sustainable Development, Environmental Health Biodiversity and Bio-economy in the model regions from Poland, Brazil, China during 50 years. Chairman of 15 International Conferences on Sustainable Development. Distinguish professor Jan W. DOBROWOLSKI, Ph.D., D.Sc., Dr.h.c. chairman of the International Team of Sustainable Development and Eco-innovation (as well as 15 International Conferences in this field from 1989 to 2014), the fellow of the World Academy of Arts and Science, Royal Academy of Science-Institute of Spain, Consortium of the World University, Academie Internationale des Sciences Ararat, Board of Directors of the International University of Bio-Environment and International Ansted University, professor of environmental engineering, biotechnology and human ecology of International University of Fundamental Studies, Section of Environmental Biotechnology EBS, Interuniversity Consortium of Biotechnology in Krakow, European Institute of Ecology and Cancer, the founding member of the International Union of Elementologists and Balkan Academy of Sciences and Sustainable Development, etc.

Devidas D K Belsare

Bhopal University, Nagpur, India.

He has made significant contributions to Wildlife & Biodiversity Conservation in tropical region with reference to Indian sub-continent. He was awarded Visiting Fellowship of United Nations Environmental Programme for delivering lectures on wildlife management and environment from 1980 to 1988 in various universities of Europe. During this programme, he delivered 20 lectures on tropical wildlife before the participants in Ecosystem Management Programme held at Technical University Dresden (Germany). His gene pool fragmentation hypothesis is accepted as cause of isolation of certain mammalian species like Asiatic lion & tiger which are on the brink of extinction. This theory holds good for races of other species like Barasingha and Wild Buffalo of which different races are widely isolated. Dr. Belsare is the first scientist to spread the message of environmental awareness & wildlife protection for the benefit of common man and their importance in human welfare and survival. He organized seminar/symposia/workshop from 1980 to 1985 for general awareness among the people and presented paper on wildlife conservation for ecological services.

Karim Maredia

Professor and Senior Associate to the Dean, Michigan State University,USA

Dr. Karim Maredia is a Professor and Senior Associate to the Dean in the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources at Michigan State University (MSU). He serves as the Director of the World Technology Access (WorldTAP) Program. The WorldTAP is a training, capacity building and technology transfer program in the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources at MSU. Dr. Maredia has worked in numerous international development projects funded by the USAID, USDA, UN-FAO, the World Bank, Rockefeller Foundation, Winrock International, and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Prior to joining MSU in 1989, Dr. Maredia worked with the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) in Mexico as a Research Scientist for three years. Dr. Maredia has extensively traveled to more than 50 countries around the world and has disseminated knowledge, information and new technologies widely to the global agricultural development community. He has published more than 25 papers, book chapters and co-edited five books. For his contributions to International Human Resources Development, Dr. Maredia was awarded an Honorary Doctorate Degree (Doctor Honoris Causa) by the University of Ricardo Palma in Lima, Peru in May 2009. In March 2010, Dr. Maredia received the prestigious Ralph Smuckler Award for Advancing International Studies and Programs at Michigan State University. The WorldTAP Team that Dr. Maredia directs was awarded the 2014 All-University Excellent in Diversity Award for Advancing Global Competency. In September 2016, Dr. Maredia was awarded the prestigious International Leadership Award by the Indian Council of Food and Agriculture. In April 2017, Dr. Maredia received the prestigious Globie Award from the International Students and Scholars (OISS) office at MSU for providing mentorship to international students and scholars from all over the world. Since 2017, Dr. Maredia has been serving as a Member of the African Union (AU) High Level Panel on Emerging Technologies. In December 2018, this panel received the Science Diplomacy Award at the Science Forum in South Africa.

Wen-Hsiung Li

Biodiversity Research Center, Academia Sinica, Taiwan.

Wen-Hsiung Li received his PhD from Brown University, Providence, RI. He was the James Watson Professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Chicago. He is presently Distinguished Research Fellow, Biodiversity Research Center, Academia Sinica. He is a member of National Academy of Sciences, USA. His research interests include synthetic biology, bioinformatics, genomics and molecular and genomic evolution.

Ruth Mbabazi

Michigan State University,USA

Dr. Ruth Mbabazi is a Research Assistant Professor with the World Technology Access Program (WorldTAP) in the Department of Entomology in the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources at Michigan State University (MSU). The WorldTAP is an international capacity building and technology transfer program. Dr. Mbabazi is also a core faculty with the African Studies Centre, Asian Studies Centre, and Latin America and Caribbean Studies Center at MSU. In 2018, she was appointed on the Advisory Board of the MSU African Studies Center. Dr. Mbabazi’s research focuses on the policy and regulatory aspects of agricultural biotechnology and biosafety as they related to technology transfer and commercialization. She is working with several countries in Africa to enhance policies and regulatory frameworks governing biotechnology and seed systems. She brings more than 12 years of experience in agriculture policy, regulations and technology transfer as it relates to applications of modern biotechnology tools to enhance food and nutritional security and economic growth in developing countries. Dr. Mbabazi received her Ph.D degree in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from the Queensland University of Technology in Australia. She has technical expertise in biotechnology research and development, product stewardship, intellectual property management and biosafety systems towards the implementation of Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety (CPB) of the Convention of the Biological Diversity (CBD). Dr. Mbabazi is a member of the biosafety regulatory team of the water efficient maize for Africa (WEMA) project in Uganda. She actively interacts with policy makers and other stakeholders from more than 20 national governments in Africa to support collaborative research, outreach and capacity building initiatives in the area of biosafety, biotechnology, technology transfer and commercialization. For her exemplary contributions, in March 2018, Dr. Mbabazi received the prestigious John K. Hudzik Emerging Leader Award in Advancing International Studies and Programs at MSU.

José Osvaldo Beserra Carioca

The Federal University of Ceará, Brazil.

The chemical engineer José Osvaldo Beserra Carioca was still young in fundamental research for scientific development. He was one of the authors of the state's first biotechnology plan. He devoted himself passionately to research on biomass for the country's development process. Recognized even abroad, his work has served as a beacon for changes in the energy field. Born in Maranguape in 1944, José Osvaldo Carioca Beserra lived a life dedicated to studies and research. In 1950, he moved to Fortaleza. Later, he joined the first class of Chemical Engineering at the UFC. Before graduating, he started teaching at the same university. Then, he passed first in the doctorate of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. Next, he married Lucia Vale, with whom he has three children: Christiane, Francisco and Luciano. Soon he was invited to work at Petrobras. He preferred to return to Fortaleza. In 2008, in the positions of Professor of the Department of Food Technology of UFC and leader of the movement for the implementation of the National Network of Researches on Green Chemistry. Until 2008, author of 15 books and more than 200 scientific works. For the teacher, the Golden Mermaid is the most important commendation for Cearenses. "It's an honor to receive you."

Kenji Suzuki

Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, USA.

Dr. Suzuki worked in Research and Development Center, Hitachi Medical Co, Japan, from 1993 to 1997. From 1997 to 2001, he worked in Faculty of Information Science and Technology, Aichi Prefectural University, Japan, as a faculty member. In 2001, he joined Department of Radiology, University of Chicago, as Research Associate. He was promoted to Assistant Professor of Radiology, Graduate Program in Medical Physics, and Cancer Research Center in 2006. Since 2014, he has been Associate Professor in Medical Imaging Research Center and Department of Electric and Computer Engineering, Illinois Institute of Technology. He published more than 230 papers (including 97 peer-reviewed journal papers) and 75 refereed abstracts. His papers were cited more than 5,000 times by other researchers, and he has an h-index of 34. He is inventor on 30 patents (including 11 granted patents), which were licensed to several companies and commercialized. He published 9 books and 19 book chapters, and edited 6 journal special issues. He was awarded/co-awarded 45 grants including NIH R01. He received 33 awards for his research and teaching, including Paul Hodges Award, 3 Certificate of Merit Awards from RSNA, IEEE Outstanding Member Award from IEEE, Cancer Research Foundation Young Investigator Award, Kurt Rossmann Award for Excellence in Teaching from University of Chicago, and IEICE Best Paper Award. He served as a grant reviewer for funding agencies, including National Science Foundation (NSF), National Institutes of Health (NIH), U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command (USAMRMC), U.S. Department of State, and American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). He served as the Editor-in-Chief/Associate Editor of 34 leading international journals, including Medical Physics, Academic Radiology, and International Journal of Biomedical Imaging. He served as a referee for 70 international journals, an organizer of 18 international conferences, and a program committee member of 120 international conferences. He supervised more than 50 graduate/undergraduate/medical students and 7 postdocs/computer scientists, and accepted 14 visiting professors in his laboratory from foreign countries, supported by grants/scholarships from their governments/institutions. He has been a Senior Member of IEEE since 2004.

Eugene S Mananga

New York University, USA.

Eugene Stephane Mananga is a Faculty Member in the Physics and Chemistry Doctorate Program at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. He is an Assistant Professor of Physics and Nuclear Medicine at BCC of CUNY, and an Adjunct Professor of Applied Physics at New York University. Eugene completed his PhD in Physics from the Graduate Center of the University of New York, and holds 6 additional graduate degrees and training from various institutions including Harvard University, Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), and City College of New York. Eugene did his postdoctoral studies in the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory of USA, Harvard Medical School, and Massachusetts General Hospital. Prior to joining Harvard - MGH, Eugene Mananga was an “Ingenieur de Recherche” in the French Atomic Energy Commission and Alternative Energies (CEA-SACLAY).

Sivakumar Ganapathy

University of Houston, USA.

Ganapathy Sivakumar has extensively studied the plant-based small molecules pathway biochemistry, synthetic biotechnology and metabolic and bioprocess engineering. His research is primarily focused on Biomanufacturing and Biotech implications of Biopharmaceuticals. He is internationally recognized in the field of Biopharmaceuticals and a pioneer in Biomanufacturing of biorhizome-based colchicine. He has over 45 publications. He is also on the editorial board of several journals. He serves as an expert of grant proposals as well as numerous scientific journals. His laboratory focuses on metabolic and bioprocess engineering of colchicine pathway and developing potential anticancer medicine.

Leticia M. Estevinho

Professor at Polytechnic Institute of Bragança (ESA-IPB), Portugal.

Maria Leticia Miranda FernandesEstevinho received the Zootechnical Engineering degree (summa cum laude) in 1985 and the M.S. degree in biotechnology (with merit) in 1989. In 1995, she finished the Ph.D. degree in science, given by Minho University, Braga, Portugal. In 2009, she has passed with merit the proofs of Agregacao, which is the last step in the academic career in Portugal. Estevinho has worked in Agricultural College of Braganca, Braganca, Portugal, since 1986 and has a huge experience in students’ coordination (14 Doctoral students 23 post Doc students). She has published more than 120 articles in indexed international journals, has written book chapters, and has presented more 160 oral and written communications all over the world, and she was the principal investigator of more than 25 scientific projects (totally financed). She is an expert on microbiology, chemistry, and toxicology. She is the Head of the Microbiology Laboratory since 1986. She is chief editors of 3 Journal and is part of the editorial board of 17 Journals and has revised more than 300 articles of indexed journals. Nowadays, Estevinho serves as a Coordinator Professor with Agregação in the Polytechnic Institute of Braganca, Braganca, Portugal.

Ramesh C. Gupta

Vice Chancellor, Radha Govind University, India.

Prof. Ramesh C. Gupta is the Pro Vice Chancellor in the Nagaland University, India. He has recived his degree of M.Sc and Ph.D Chemistry from Lucknow University. He has the experience of 40 yrs and is Professor since 2000. He has delivered inaugural & keynote lecture, plenary & invited talks, chaired technical sessions and is the editorial board member of many journals.

Mohamed A. El-Esawi

Tanta University, Egypt.

Dr. Mohamed El-Esawi is an Associate Professor of Molecular Biology and Genetics at Botany Department of Faculty of Science at Tanta University in Egypt. He has received his B.Sc. and M.Sc. from Tanta University in Egypt, and his PhD in Genetics and Molecular Biology from Dublin Institute of Technology, Technological University Dublin (TU Dublin) in Ireland. Afterwards, Dr. El-Esawi joined the University of Warwick in the United Kingdom as a Visiting Research Fellow. Then, he joined the University of Sorbonne (Pierre and Marie Curie-UPMC) in France as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow. Following those positions, Dr. El-Esawi joined the Division of Crop Biotechnics of KU Leuven in Belgium as a Research Fellow. Then, he joined the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom as a Visiting Research Fellow. Dr. El-Esawi is very interested in Genetics, Genomics, Transcriptomics, Proteomics, Metabolomics, Molecular Plant Physiology, Developmental Biology, Plant-Microbe Interaction, Molecular Biology and Bioinformatics. He has given numerous talks and participated at more than 55 conferences, meetings, and workshops in highly regarded institutions nationally and internationally. He has received several awards and grants from international organizations including DAFF, ASRT, IRO, COST.