Mete Atatüre is a Professor of Physics at the University of Cambridge and the Head of the Cavendish Laboratory. He completed his PhD at Boston University Quantum Imaging Laboratory on multi-parameter entanglement and then joined ETH Zurich as a postdoctoral fellow on quantum photonics. In 2007 he took up a faculty position in Cambridge to start his research group and was promoted to full professor in 2015. His research efforts straddle multiple material platforms to develop spin-photon interfaces for quantum networks and quantum sensing applications. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Physics, the Optical Society of America, Academia Europaea, and the Turkish Science Academy. He is a co-founder and CSO of Nu Quantum Ltd. He is also the recipient of the 2020 IoP Thomas Young Medal for his contributions to quantum optics.

Dr Aristeidis Bakandritsos (1977, Greece) is the Group Leader and senior researcher at the Czech Advanced Technology and Research Institute - RCPTM of Palacky University Olomouc and at VSB-TUO, CEET, MELab in Ostrava (Czech Republic). He received his BSc in 2001 from Chemistry Dept (A.U. of Thessaloniki, Greece) and PhD in 2006 in chemistry from the NKUA & N.C.S.R. “Demokritos”, Athens Greece. He worked as a post-doctoral researcher at the University of Patras (Materials Sci. Dept.), and as a visiting scientist at the Materials Sci. Dept., Cornell University. In 2012 he was elected at the Dept. of Materials Sci., University of Patras as a lecturer and later as an assistant professor until 2015-2016, when he joined RCPTM as a senior researcher and later as the head of a research division. In 2020 he also received a senior researcher position in VŠB–Technical University of Ostrava, Czech Republic. He is mentor in several Marie Curie projects and coordinator or PI in European Horizon 2020 projects. Research interests include the functionalization of nanomaterials and their application in energy storage, catalysis, and biomedicine. Results have been published in more than 130 articles (h-index 39), in peer-review journals.

He graduated from the Faculty of Science of Palacký University Olomouc in Analytical Chemistry and Applied Physics with a focus on Instrument Physics and Metrology. He received a doctorate in Physical Chemistry in 2009 and became associate professor in the same field in 2013. Until 2020, he acted as an associate professor in the Department of Physical Chemistry and the Regional Centre of Advanced Technologies and Materials of the Faculty of Science of Palacký University. Between the years 2019 and 2020, he was a Vice-Rector for the Strategy of Science and Research of Palacký University. As of 1 January 2021, he has hold the position of the Director of the Czech Advance Technology and Research Institute. During his doctoral studies, he completed internships at SISSA—Scuola Internazionale Superiore di Studi Avanzati in Trieste (Italy) and Uppsala Biomedical Centre (Sweden), then also at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor (USA). Between the years 2006 and 2009 he was a researcher at the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences in Prague and since 2009 he has been a researcher at the Institute of Biophysics of the Czech Academy of Sciences in Brno.

Nilgun Baydogan's CV highlights various aspects of her research that align with the synthesis and application of metal-doped oxides in the context of nanotechnology for health and environmental sustainability:
Nanotechnology for Health:
Nilgun Baydogan has made significant contributions to the development of biocompatible and radiation shielding materials, including metal-doped oxides synthesized via sol-gel techniques. Her work on biocompatible optical products synthesized through sol-gel methods is directly relevant to applications in healthcare.
Sustainable Applications and SARS-CoV-2:
Her research on photocatalytic materials and radiation shielding underscores the potential to develop advanced nanocomposites that can be applied in health crises. The work she has done on improving the optical and structural properties of ZnO and other metal oxides using sol-gel processes is particularly relevant to creating antiviral surfaces.
Ionizing Radiation and Photocatalysis:
Nilgun Baydoğan's research focuses on optimizing material properties using ionizing radiation, especially in thin films. This approach is valuable for enhancing the photocatalytic activity of nanocomposites aimed at inactivating viruses.
Nilgün Baydoğan's work in nanotechnology, particularly in the synthesis of metal-doped oxides and their applications in health and sustainability, emphasizes the potential for innovative solutions to public health challenges.

Anila Bello Sc.D. is a research faculty in the Department of Public Health. She holds a Doctor of Science degree in Exposure Sciences and a Master of Science degree in Occupational Health/Hygiene from UMass Lowell, as well as a BSc in industrial chemistry. She started her career as a chemist and chemical engineer. She has more than fifteen years of research experience in quantitative exposure assessment for health and intervention research, workplace compliance monitoring, identification and evaluation of exposure controls, and promotion of safer alternatives. Her current work focuses on complex chemical exposures and their impact on health. Bello is a past recipient of The Barry Commoner Award (excellence in pollution prevention), the W. Hardie Shepard Memorial Prize, and the Harvard-NIOSH Education and Research Center (ERC) Award, among others. She has published over 20 peer-reviewed publications in leading professional journals in her field, including Environmental Health, International Journal of Hygiene and Epidemiology, Annals of Work Exposures and Health, and Environment International. Bello's broader research goals are to reduce or eliminate exposures to toxic chemicals in workplaces by promoting data-driven intervention research, greener alternatives, and better work practices.

Dhimiter Bello, Sc.D., MSc, is the Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies in the Zuckerberg College of Health Sciences at University of Massachusetts Lowell. He is a tenured Professor of Toxicology n the Department of Biomedical and Nutritional Sciences. Bello’s research investigates the toxicology of advanced materials and chemical mixtures. For the past 12 years he has been an active member of the Harvard Center for Nanotechnology and Nanotoxicology. Prior to that he co-led the Nano EHS thrust of the NSF-funded Center for High-rate Nanomanufacturing based at UMass Lowell and Northeastern University. He has published over 100 peer-reviewed articles, five book chapters, and invited editorials and has an extended network of collaborators. For a decade he served as associate editor of Nanotoxicology and Annals of Work Exposures and Health. He has served as a reviewer for numerous peer-reviewed journals and in several grant review panels. His education background includes a BSc in chemistry from University of Tirana, an MSc in Environmental Sciences and Policy (U Manchester, UK), and an ScD in exposure sciences (UMass Lowell), followed by a post-doctoral fellowship at the Harvard School of Public Health

Gianni Ciofani is Senior Researcher Tenured at the Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia -Italian Institute of Technology, IIT- (Pontedera, Italy; since 2019), where he is Principal Investigator of the Smart Bio-Interfaces Research Unit (since 2017) and Coordinator of the Center for Materials Interfaces (since 2021). He has been Associate Professor at the Polytechnic University of Torino (Torino, Italy; 2015-2019) and Visiting Professor at Waseda University (Tokyo, Japan; 2021).
His main research interests concern smart nanomaterials for nanomedicine, microphysiological systems, and nanomedicine in altered gravity conditions. He is coordinator or unit leader of several projects: in particular, he was awarded with a Starting Grant and three Proof-of-Concept Grants by the European Research Council (ERC). Thanks to grants from the Italian Space Agency and the European Space Agency, he had the opportunity to carry out four experimental campaigns onboard the International Space Station. In 2018, his real-scale model of the blood-brain barrier was highlighted in the Annual Report on the ERC Activities and Achievements.
He is co-founder (2022) and Scientific Advisor of “Kidaria Bioscience SRL”, an IIT spin-off company dedicated to the preparation and characterization of cosmetic and nutraceutical products based on natural-derived active ingredients. He is also co-founder (2021) and member of the executive committee of “ERC in Italy APS”, a non-profit association of ERC awardees born to promote fundamental and frontier research in Italy.
Gianni Ciofani is Knight of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic, appointed by the President of the Italian Republic on December 27th, 2022.

Monica Craciun is a Professor in Nanoscience and Nanotechnology within the Engineering Department at the University of Exeter, UK. Prof Craciun has extensive expertise in the fields of Advanced Materials, Nanoscience, and Nanotechnology having authored over 250 articles in these areas, prominently featured in prestigious international journals. She gained a PhD in Applied Physics from Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands. Before joining Exeter, she was postdoctoral researcher at the University of Twente (The Netherlands) and at the University of Tokyo were she was awarded a prestigious fellowship of the Japanese Society for the Promotion of Science. Prof Craciun's research is centred on the science and engineering of two-dimensional (2D) materials, with a strategic focus on their exploitation in emerging technologies. Her pioneering work involves an interdisciplinary exploration of nanoscience, nanotechnology, electronic and optoelectronic technologies, resulting in groundbreaking contributions that bridge the gap between different scientific disciplines. She is currently conducting investigations in two primary research directions. Firstly, the engineering of 2D materials for emerging technologies, with projects ranging from embedding ultrathin energy harvesting devices such as triboelectric nanogenerators in textiles to developing flexible or conformable display and sensors technologies for the internet of things. Secondly, her group investigates the basic material science and physics of 2D materials, seeking to identify and create new materials, devices, or systems with disruptive innovation potential

Cecilia Cristea, PhD., is currently full Professor in the Analytical Chemistry Department of the Faculty of Pharmacy, “Iuliu Hațieganu” University of Medicine and Pharmacy Cluj-Napoca, Romania and Director of Department Pharmacy I. She is also the group leader of Bioelectrochemistry and Biosensors Research Group. She received training in several laboratories from France, Canada, Italy, Germany and USA. Her research interests are in the development and the implementation of advanced molecular materials for electrochemical sensing devices for biologically relevant molecules and the design of new (bio)sensors and biomimetic approaches for biomedical applications, pharmaceutical, food and environmental analysis. Her work is reflected in over 180 publications including book chapters with more than 4000 citations (H index 37).

Armond Daci, Prof, PhD, is an Associate Professor of Pharmacology at the Faculty of Medicine, Department of Pharmacy. He teaches courses within PhD programs in preclinical and clinical medicine and serves as a Science Coordinator of the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Prishtina, Hasan Prishtina, Kosovo. Areas of research interest are Cardiovascular Pharmacology, Therapeutic Drug Monitoring, Drug Delivery and Pharmacogenetics. He has gained research experience during his PhD studies at the Center for Physiology and Pharmacology, Medical University of Vienna, Department of Pharmacology and Biomolecular Science, University of Milan, University of Milan. Department of Pharmacology, Istanbul University, and recently Post Doc Fellowship at the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Michigan State University. He has contributed to national projects funded by MEST, and to international projects such as Erasmus Plus, SIGMA, TEMPUS, YTB, and Fulbright. Dr Daci has actively participated in international conferences at home and abroad. He is an author of 30 indexed scientific papers, (cited 670 times, h-index 14) and serves as a reviewer for many indexed scientific journals. He was awarded as Scientist of the Year from MEST and Kosovo Academy of Science, twice as best oral speaker and awarded for research based learning from QAINT and MEST project. He is sharing his experience by actively serving as a member of the commission established by the Ministry of Health for the evaluation of medical products at the National Agency for Medical Products and also he was a member of the Review for the First Clinical Guideline "Management and Treatment COVID-19". He is an active coordinator from UP, in the project Nanoparticles in Environment and Medical Research" - EUROPEAID/173691/DD/ACT/XK (“Increasing Research Capacities in Kosovo”).

Massimo De Vittorio is the Director of the Center for Biomolecular Nanotechnologies of the Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia in Lecce – Italy, and a Full Professor at Università del Salento. He is currently focusing his research on nanomachined implantable probes for manipulating and recording brain activity and on piezoelectric transducers applied to wearable and skin sensors and ingestible sensors for monitoring and controlling pathophysiological signals and symptoms in real-time. He has been a consultant for high-tech corporations and founder/advisor of 5 startup companies. He is the author of about 440 manuscripts in international journals, 14 patents, 10 book chapters, and several invited/keynote talks at international conferences. He has served on several boards and committees, and for his activity, he has received recognitions and awards. He is the recipient of the 2023 Novo Nordisk Foundation Research Laureate Award and of the 2024 Fellow Award of the International Micro and Nano Engineering Society (iMNEs).

I got the Doctorate in Chemistry in 2011 in the Universidad Complutense de Madrid, to study carbon materials under pressure. I carried out secondments in the Université Lyon I (France, 2007), for high pressure experiments in graphene, and the University of Texas at Dallas (USA 2010), to perform “straintronics” in carbon nanotubes. As post-doc I first stayed in the Universidade Federal Minas Gerais (Brazil, 2012) for resonant Raman studies in new 2D materials; then I moved to the Heyrovsky Institute (Prague, 2014) for high pressure combined with Raman studies on 2D materials. In the present I hold a Ramon y Cajal tenure grant in the Catalan Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology working on the development of neural interfaces. Recently, I got a scientist position of the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC). I lead national and European research projects and have been recently granted with an ERC-Consolidator.

Nunzio Denora earned his PhD in Pharmaceutical Technology from the University of Palermo in 2004. Following a postdoctoral fellowship at the Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry at Kansas University, he was appointed as an Assistant Professor in 2006. His academic journey progressed, and in 2019, he was promoted to Associate Professor. As of July 2023, he holds the position of Full Professor in Pharmaceutical Technology and Legislation at the University of Bari, where he leads a cutting-edge research laboratory focused on advanced drug delivery systems. Throughout his career, Professor Denora has authored over 205 peer-reviewed publications and is the inventor of 10 patents. He also serves as the Coordinator of the Industrial PhD program in "Sustainable Technologies for Medicines and Diagnostics Development" and plays an active role in shaping pharmaceutical education and research. In addition, he is the Secretary of the Italian Society of Pharmaceutical Technology and Legislation (SITELF). His research is at the forefront of pharmaceutical innovation, focusing on the development of advanced drug delivery systems using state-of-the-art technologies such as 3D printing, prilling, and microfluidics.

Dr. G. Dodbiba earned his Ph.D. in materials-process engineering in 2004. He was a Postdoctoral Research Fellow from 2004 to March 2006. From 2004 to 2009, he served as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Geosystem Engineering at the University of Tokyo. He is currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Systems Innovation at the University of Tokyo's Faculty of Engineering.
Dr. Dodbiba's research focuses on the behavior of materials, minerals, solid wastes, and effluents in aqueous systems, intersecting physics, physical chemistry, and colloidal chemistry. He has authored over 120 peer-reviewed papers on the physical and chemical processing of composite materials.

Arjan Durresi is a computer science professor at the Luddy School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering at Indiana University Indianapolis. He has an extensive publication record, with over 100 journal articles, over 220 conference proceedings articles, and twelve book chapters. His research focuses on various areas, such as trust engineering, trustworthy and causal artificial intelligence, system security, AI control and alignment, network architecture, and quantum computing. Multiple sources have funded his research, including NSF, USDA, states, universities, and industry. In September 2021, he was ranked among the top 2% of scholars on Stanford's list, and this ranking was updated in 2022 and 2023.

Yasuaki Einaga received his BS (1994), MS (1996), and PhD (1999) from the University of Tokyo. After 2 years as a research associate at the University of Tokyo, he started a faculty career as an assistant professor in Keio University in 2001, where he was promoted to full professor in 2011. He has been also a research director of JST-CREST (2011-2014), JST-ACCEL (2014-2020), and NEDO (2020-). He was awarded "The Chemical Society of Japan Award for Creative Work" in 2016 for his pioneering work in diamond electrodes. His research interests include functional materials science, photochemistry, and electrochemistry

Arzum Erdem Gürsan received the PhD degree  on Analytical Chemistry in Ege University (Izmir, Turkey) in 2000. She has been working as a Full Professor since 2009 at  Analytical Chemistry department  in  the Faculty of Pharmacy of Ege University.
Prof. Dr. Arzum Erdem Gürsan who is the principal investigator at the research team @nanoBioSensLab (Ege University, Izmir, Turkey), has initiated many national and international collaborative research on development and applications of electrochemical (bio)sensors based on drugs, nucleic acids, enzymes, proteins, toxins etc. She is the Project investigator many national/international projects from 2002 up to now. In 2021, she was awarded as the one of national research leaders on health sciences of all  by TÜBİTAK. She has authored more than 216 papers in refereed SCI-expanded journals and conference proceedings, 30 invited talks in international meetings and conferences. In addition, she is the co-author of 20 book chapters and review papers. She has 8 national patents approved between 2018-2023. She has received 7851 citations according to the records on Web of Science (WoS) obtained in June 2024 with h-index: 46.
Prof. Arzum Erdem Gürsan received "Juniour Science Award" in 2006, and "Science Award" in 2015 given by The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TÜBİTAK). She was elected member of Turkish Academy of Sciences (TÜBA) since 2007, the Special Committee member of Association of Academies and Societies of Sciences in Asia (AASSA)- Women In Science and Engineering (WISE) for the period of 2017-2019, 2019-2021 and 2021-2023. She was elected as the fellow of Royal Society of Chemistry (FRSC) in December, 2017. In April 2024, she has been appointed as the Scientific Committee member representative for Türkiye by the selection of the Committee of Senior Officials in COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology).
The recent research of Prof. Arzum Erdem Gürsan is centred on the development of novel transducers and chemical and biological recognition systems by using different nanomaterials (e.g, graphenes, magnetic nanoparticles, carbon nanotubes, gold and silver nanoparticles, dendrimers, nanowires, nanorods etc.) designed for electrochemical sensing of nucleic acid (DNA, miRNA) hybridization, and also the specific interactions between drug and DNA, or protein and DNA, aptamer-protein and also the development of integrated analytical systems for environmental monitoring, food safety, industry and biomedical monitoring. More details available in web site: http://www.arzumerdem.com

Andrea C. Ferrari earned a PhD in electrical engineering from Cambridge University, after a Laurea in nuclear engineering from Politecnico di Milano, Italy. He is Professor of Nanotechnology and the Director of the Cambridge Graphene Centre and of the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Graphene Technology. He is Fellow of Pembroke College, the American Physical Society, the Institute of Physics and the Materials Research Society. His research interests include nanomaterials growth, modelling, characterization, and devices. He was awarded the Royal Society Brian Mercer Award for Innovation, the Marie Curie Excellence Award, the Philip Leverhulme Prize, The EU-40 Materials Prize, The Royal Society Wolfson Research Merit Award. He is also the Chairman of the Executive Board of the EU Graphene Flagship

Theodosis Giousis is a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Department of Chemistry, University of Ioannina. He earned his Ph.D. in Materials Science in 2023 through a joint program between the University of Groningen, Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials in the Netherlands, and the University of Ioannina, Greece. His doctoral research focused on "Germanane-Based Nanomaterials: Synthesis, Characterization, and Potential Applications." He also holds an M.Sc. in Materials Chemistry & Technology and a B.Sc. in Materials Science and Engineering, both from the University of Ioannina. Dr. Giousis specializes in the chemistry of layered materials, including germanane and silicane, as well as hybrid organic-inorganic nanocomposites, M-Xenes, and carbon nanostructures. His expertise includes solid-state chemistry, advanced synthesis techniques, and various characterization methods such as X-ray Diffraction (XRD), X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS), FTIR, Raman Spectroscopy, UV-Vis Spectroscopy, Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). Notably, he has participated in several research projects funded by Greek and EU sources. Dr. Giousis has published extensively in leading scientific journals and presented his work at numerous international conferences, including invited talks. He has also supervised undergraduate research projects and contributed to teaching in materials science and chemistry.

Dr. Firat Güder is a principal investigator in the Department of Bioengineering at Imperial College London. Firat and his team, work in the interface of material science, electronics, chemistry and biology, focusing on the development of intelligent interfaces to connect complex chemical and biological systems with machines. Firat is passionate about solving problems concerning animal and human health, agriculture and food systems. In addition to his scholarly activities, he has also co-founded multiple startups to translate his research to address real world problems. He also serves on the scientific advisory board of Movendo Capital BV, a €1.5 billion fund investing in technology start- and scale-ups.

Dr. Hemmer’s research program seeks to develop novel lanthanide-nanophosphors as multifunctional nanocarriers for near-infrared based bioimaging and energy conversion applications. Combining materials science, chemistry, physics and biological aspects, the three main areas of research are (i) the synthesis of lanthanide- nanophosphors with optimized near-infrared and upconversion emission, controlled size, crystalline phase and morphology and application-oriented surface modification, (ii) the implementation of the nanophosphors in biological systems and the assessment of nano-bio-interactions, and (iii) the design of novel optical materials for energy harvesting technologies.

Fatih Inci is an associate professor at Bilkent University, Institute of Materials Science and Nanotechnology (UNAM). Earlier, he worked as an academician and postdoctoral researcher at Stanford University School of Medicine, Harvard Medical School-Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and Harvard-MIT. His scholarly pursuits are centered around advancing microfluidics, biosensing, and microneedle technologies for biomedical applications. He has published 75+ papers, 8 book chapters (3 chapters in-press), and 3 editorials, as well as edited 3 books (2 books in-progress). He also holds a notable portfolio of 23 national and international patents, including two licensed products. His research has not only graced the covers of 12 esteemed journals but has also received acclaim from a multitude of prestigious institutions and organizations that include National Institutes of Health (NIH)–National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB), National Institute of Justice (NIJ), and Science–AAAS, as well as renowned publications including Nature Medicine, AIP, JAMA, Newsweek, and Popular Science. Actively engaged in research projects, he has played pivotal roles in securing over 50 grants, accumulating a substantial total budget exceeding $8 million USD from national and international entities. In addition, his contributions have earned him 40+ national/international awards and accolades, from organizations such as from National Science Foundation (NSF), Junior Chamber International, The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK), Turkish Academy of Sciences (TÜBA), Science Academy, European Molecular Biology Organization-European Science Foundation, Horizon 2020-European Commission, Harvard Medical School-Brigham & Women’s Hospital, American Chemical Society, METU Mustafa Parlar, Association of Science Heroes, Doktorclub, Istanbul University, and Istanbul Technical University

Takeshi Kondo received the Ph.D. degree from the University of Tokyo in 2004. He became an assistant professor in 2004, a junior associate professor in 2013, an associate professor in 2019, and a professor in 2024 at Tokyo University of Science. His research interests include functionalization of diamond and application of diamond to electrochemical devices such as electrochemical sensors, electrolysis system and chemical energy devices

Dr. Filiz Kuralay has been working as a Professor at Hacettepe University, Department of Chemistry. She received her M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees from Analytical Chemistry department of the same university in 2003 and 2009, respectively. She worked as an Associate Professor at Ordu University, Department of Chemistry between 2013 and 2019, and then she was an Associate Professor at Hacettepe University, Department of Chemistry between 2019 and 2021. In 2010-2012, she was a postdoctoral fellow at University of California, San Diego. Her research interests mainly focus on (bio)sensors, electrochemistry and nano/micromotors. She was elected as the Associate Member of Turkish Academy of Sciences in 2015. She was the recipient of The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Türkiye Incentive Award in 2017.

Emmanuel Kymakis is a Full Professor at the Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering at the Hellenic Mediterranean University (HMU) and Director of the Institute of Emerging Technologies of the HMU Center for Research & Innovation. He earned his PhD in electrical engineering from the University of Cambridge in 2003. His multidisciplinary research lies at the interface between nanotechnology and electrical engineering and is centred on the development of printed optoelectronic and photovoltaic devices. He has published more than 150 research articles, which have attracted over 12.000 citations and an h-index of 58, while he has an extensive experience in the management of research and industrial projects (8,5 M€ research funding, design & implementation of 67 MWp of PV parks). Ηe is also included in the list of the top 2% of scientists in their respective fields by citation impact (PLoS Biol 17(8), e3000384). He has been an honorary lecturer at UConn and a recipient of an Isaac Newton and an EPSRC studentship. He was named as a 2014 ChemComm Emerging Investigator and has received three National Excellence Awards. He has served as a member of the founding General Assembly of the Hellenic Foundation for Research & Innovation (HFRI), a member of the Engineering sectoral scientific council of the National Council for Research & Innovation of Greece (NCRI) and the work package leader of Energy Generation of the EU FET-Flagship Initiative Graphene

Majlinda Lako graduated in Biochemistry and Genetics from Faculty of Natural Sciences in Tirana, (Albania). For her PhD studies in Human Genetics in 1993 she joined the lab of two world known geneticists, Prof. Tom Strachan and Susan Lindsay, in Newcastle, where she cloned and characterised novel genes involved in development of the brain. These led to a great interest in pluripotent stem cell biology, which she studied at Durham University. In 2003, she established her own research group at Newcastle University’s Institute of Genetic Medicine, where she pioneered the establishment of human pluripotent stem cells and development of robust methods for generation of light responsive retinal organoids for disease modelling, drug discovery and therapeutic applications. Studying the developmental biology and disease of the eye is a core activity of her research group. She is a member of the Academia Balkanica Europeana, author of more than 200 research papers and mentor of more than 75 early career researchers.

Lopedota Angela Assunta is an Associate Professor of Pharmaceutical Technology and Regulatory Affairs at the University of Bari Aldo Moro, Italy. In 2023, she achieved national habilitation as a Full Professor. Her research portfolio includes 111 peer-reviewed publications (h-index: 32; 2,684 citations), as well as national and international patents and numerous conference presentations. Her work primarily focuses on developing innovative formulations for age-related conditions, particularly addressing the needs of paediatric patients. Additionally, she specializes in enhancing the biopharmaceutical properties of drugs and the application of mucoadhesive polymers in drug delivery. Angela is also skilled in advanced techniques such as prilling, vibration spray drying, microfluidics, and 3D printing. She possesses extensive teaching experience in Pharmaceutical Technology at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels, in Italy and Albania.

Dr. Daniel Maspoch is an ICREA Research Professor and Group Leader at ICN2 (Spain). His main interests focus on reticular materials, clip-off chemistry and delivery systems. He is the author of over 210 articles, has filed 13 patents (4 of which have been licensed), has signed 4 technology transfer contracts, has developed 3 technologies that are available on the market, and is the co-founder of the spin-off company Ahead Therapeutics. In recent years, he has received prestigious ERC Consolidator and Advanced Grants, been awarded several prizes including the Rei Jaume I Award, and has been appointed as a new Corresponding Academician of the Royal Spanish Academy of Science (RAC).

Verónica Montes-García obtained her PhD degree from the University of Vigo (Spain) under the supervision of Dr Isabel Pastoriza-Santos and Dr Jorge Pérez-Juste. Currently, she is working as a postdoctoral researcher in the group of Prof. Paolo Samorì in the Institut de Science et d’Ingénierie Supramoléculaires (I.S.I.S.) (France). She is the author of 37 publications on (hybrid) low-dimensional materials for diverse applications including chemical sensors, strain sensors, heterogeneous catalysis, and energy storage systems

Dr. Sergio E. Moya is at group leader at CIC biomaGUNE, San Sebastian, Spain. Sergio got a degree in Chemistry at the National University of the South Argentina, and a PhD in Physical Chemistry at the University of Potsdam, Germany, working at the Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces. He did post docts at the College de France in Paris, and at the University of Cambridge, UK. His group at CIC biomaGUNE works on soft materials for biomedical applications with a focus on physico chemical aspects, bio nano interactions and biological fate.He has published more than 270 articles in different areas of Chemistry, Soft Matter and Nanomedicine

Prof. Aitor Mugarza graduated in physics in 1997 and completed his PhD in the same field in 2002, both at the Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea (University of the Basque Country). He was awarded a Marie Curie Fellowship to work as a postdoctoral scientist at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (USA) and the Institut de Ciència de Materials de Barcelona (ICMAB). He joined the former Catalan Institute of Nanotechnology in 2007 with a Ramón y Cajal Fellowship. In 2013 he became group leader of the Atomic Manipulation and Spectroscopy Group at ICN2. He has been an ICREA Research Professor since 2015.

Yuya Oaki is a Professor of Department of Applied Chemistry, Keio University, Japan. He received his Ph. D. in 2006 from Keio University and worked at The University of Tokyo as a postdoctoral fellow. He moved back to Keio University. His current research interest is soft 2D materials (layered structures and nanosheets), conjugated polymers, and their applications, such as batteries, catalysts, and sensors. He worked as a Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) PRESTO project researcher from 2016–2019 to study machine learning. Now, his group has developed a new approach combining machine learning and chemical insight for small data.

Prof. Michal Otyepka, Ph.D. (*1975) is the Head of the CATRIN-RCPTM research division at Palacký University, Olomouc, and leads the Laboratory for Modeling of Nanotechnologies at IT4Innovations, VSB-Technical University, Ostrava. He is also a member of the Scientific Board of the Czech Grant Agency. His research focuses on the physical-chemical properties and reactivity of graphene derivatives and 2D materials, non-covalent interactions with 2D materials, and the photoluminescent properties of carbon dots (CDs). He has been advancing the chemistry of fluorographene (2D chemistry) to develop graphene derivatives for applications in (bio)sensing, catalysis, and energy storage. He also specializes in modeling biomolecules, nanomaterials, and complex molecular systems, and is involved in the development of force fields, multiscale methods, and their applications. Prof. Otyepka is the principal investigator of the ERC Consolidator Grant (2D-Chemistry, 2016-2021), three ERC Proof of Concept grants, and an EIC Transition Grant (2022-2025). He has authored or co-authored over 300 publications in international journals, three book chapters, and one book. His work has been cited over 24,000 times, and he holds an H-index of 75 (Scopus)

Sibel A. Ozkan is currently working as a Full Professor of Analytical Chemistry at Ankara University, Faculty of Pharmacy. She is the active member of European Chemical Society-DAC member on behalf of Turkish Chemical Society. She is the member of European Pharmacopoeia-EDQM- Chromatography Section. She is the member of PortASAP: - European network for the promotion of portable, affordable and simple analytical platform: Core group of Cost Action CA 16215. Working Group 4. She has published more than 385 original and review papers and Editor of 9 scientific books from HNB Publishing (2012), Springer (2015), Bentham (5 Volumes, 2018-2019), Elsevier (2019), CRC (2022) and more than 50 book chapters in different years (for Elsevier and Springer). She received Ankara University Encouragement Award (2003), Turkish Pharmacists Association-Scientific Award (2008), Supervisor of The Best PhD Thesis Award (Health Sciences) in Turkey from High Council of Education of Turkey in 2017, Ton Duc Thang University Woman in Science 2019 Award (Vietnam) and Ankara University Science Award (2021). She is the Editor of the Journal of Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Analysis (SCI) and Regional Editor (Europa) of Current Pharmaceutical Analysis (SCI). In addition, she is an Editorial Board member of Talanta (SCI), Chromatographia (SCI), Biosensors&Bioelectronics X and other journals.

Onur Parlak earned his PhD in Bioelectronics from Linköping University in 2015. He then received a Fellowship from The Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation (KAW) and started postdoctoral research at Stanford University, focusing on wearable bioelectronics. After spending three years, he turned back to Sweden and joined the Karolinska Institutet to translate his engineering skills into medical settings with a KAW starting grant. He has been recently awarded by KI Central Funding as an Assistant Professor and research group leader as a part of the KI investment program to recruit and support leading junior researchers with particularly outstanding scientific merits and future potential. Since 2021, Dr. Parlak has been acting as an Assistant Professor at the Department of Medicine, Solna, Dermatology and Venereology Unit in Karolinska Institutet where he specializes in personalized diagnostics and wearable bioelectronics.

Dr Marijana Petković is currently a Full Research Professor at the COHERENCE-Center for Light-based Research and Technologies of the Laboratory of Atomic Physics, VINČA Institute of Nuclear Sciences, National Institute of the Republic of Serbia, University of Belgrade. She holds a PhD (Dr Rer. Nat.) in Chemistry from the University of Leipzig, Faculty of Chemistry and Mineralogy, Germany, a master's thesis (formerly Magister thesis) in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Belgrade (Serbia) and a Bachelor's thesis in Biochemistry from the University of Belgrade, Faculty of Chemistry. Dr. Petković is an evaluator for project proposals, including Horizon Europe. Previously, her research focused on optimising methods for MALDI TOF mass spectrometry detection of small molecules and studying nanoparticles as substrates for this mass spectrometric method. Currently, she leads a group focused on developing nanocomposite systems for photodynamic therapy of cancer and its application in cosmetics. Dr. Petković, along with her team and international collaborators, studies the properties of nanoparticles based on metal oxide and carbon as drug carriers and photosensitisers. The group investigates the effects of nanocomposite systems on cancer cells and elucidates the interaction mechanism with target cell structures.

Mamas (Mamantos) Prodromidis is a full Professor of Analytical Chemistry in the Department of Chemistry (University of Ioannina, Greece). His research is focused on the development of electrochemical (bio)sensors, the generation of nanoparticles with spark discharge, the development of diagnostic devices for point-of-care applications, the design & fabrication of screen-printing integrated electrochemical cells and bipolar electrochemistry. He has co-authored more than 130 articles, reviews, book chapters and he has given several invited lectures in international meetings and seminars. Since 2020, he is Editor in Chief of Microchimica Acta.

Javier Rodríguez-Viejo is Full Professor of Applied Physics at the Autonomous University of Barcelona (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, UAB) and leads the Group of Thermal Properties of Nanoscale Materials at the UAB and the ICN2. He performed the experimental part of his doctoral thesis at the Institut des Materiaux et Procedés CNRS, France and received his PhD in Physics from UAB in 1992. He continued his studies as a postdoctoral researcher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, working with Prof. Klavs F. Jensen (Chemical Eng. and Material Science Dep.) and Prof. M.G. Bawendi (Chemistry Dep.) on the synthesis of highly-luminescent CdSe(ZnS) quantum dots and the deposition of thin film quantum dot composites by electrospray organometallic chemical vapor deposition. His research in this field resulted in several patents and papers, one of which is among the most highly cited papers in semiconductor nanoparticles. In May 1997 he was appointed Associate Professor of Applied Physics at the Physics Department of UAB and in 2011 became Full Professor at the same university. He has been visiting scientist at Air Products in Allentown, US (July-August 2008) and Harvard University (May-September 2016).

Konstantinos Rogdakis is an Assistant Professor in Nanoelectronics at the Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering at the Hellenic Mediterranean University (HMU). He has more than 15 years research experience in the academic sector working on nanoelectronics, spintronics and optoelectronics. He possesses extensive hands-on experience on emerging low dimensional electronic systems including nanowire transistors, GaAs single spin quantum-bits, as well emerging phenomena in functional oxide and superconductive/ferromagnetic interfaces towards beyond-CMOS technologies. He has served at various academic research positions in high reputation European institutions including the Foundation of Research and Technology in Greece, the Institut Néel CNRS in France and the London centre for Nanotechnology – University College of London in United Kingdom. Prof. Konstantinos Rogdakis received his undergraduate degree in Applied Mathematics and Physical Sciences and his master’s degree in Microsystems and Nanodevices both from National Technical University of Athens, Greece in 2005 and 2006, respectively. He obtained his PhD in Nanoelectronics from Grenoble Institute of Technology in France, in 2009. He is a member of Technical Chamber of Greece. He is currently the team leader of innovative printed electronics at the Nanomaterials for Emerging Devices research group in HMU. His current research interests include 2D materials engineering in various printed device concepts including high performing solar cells, functional sensors and thin film memristors/transistors for neuromorphic computing towards energy efficient, intelligent Internet of Things and wearables

Prof. Robert S. Marks is a Full Professor at the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel, at the Department of Biotechnology Engineering, where he created the interdisciplinary Biosensors Laboratory. He was the Chair of the Department. In his PhD he worked on an oral vaccine candidate to cholera under the guidance of Prof. Michael Sela and David Mirelman. He was previously Visiting Adjunct Professor in the NTU-MSE, and a program co-founder and coordinator of the multidisciplinary Singapore NRF CREATE program “Nanomaterials for Water and Energy Management”. Robert has co-founded, and is the originator of the technologies, for several startups, including Life Matters Ltd, Polyrizon Ltd (Israel), and Biosensorix Pte Ltd (Singapore). His research includes chemiluminescent-based optical immunosensors to pathogen-elicited antibodies (Ebola virus, West Nile virus, Rift Valley fever, Dengue, Hepatitis C, Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic Fever), amperometric immunosensors, Electrolateral flow immunosensor, capture flow immunoassay, stackpad immunoassay, luminescent primed neutrophil diagnostics, monitoring water pollution via fiber-optic probes glowing in the presence of toxicants through their associated luminescent bacteria (water on-line monitoring and air toxicity monitoring). His group participated in developing biochips enzyme nanolithography, nanofluidics, light-sensitive tissue sutures for surgery, and anti-biofilm materials. He is the Editor-in-Chief of a 2007 2-volume Wiley Handbook in Biosensors and Biochips, edited 5 other books, and founded the Pan Stanford book series ‘the high-tech of biotech’. His is the author of 230+ papers, not counting book chapters. He has 8 issued patents, as well as, a dozen filed. Most of his developed biosensors were published and validated with real life samples

Zdeněk Sofer has been a Full Professor at the University of Chemistry and Technology Prague, Czech Republic, since 2019. He also received his Ph.D. at the University of Chemistry and Technology Prague in 2008. During his Ph.D., he spent one year at Forschungszentrum Julich (Peter Grünberg Institute, Germany), followed by postdoctoral experience in University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany. His research interests include semiconductors and 2D materials, their synthesis, crystal growth, chemical modifications and functinalization. He is particularly focused on various applications of two-dimensional materials including energy storage and conversion. He has published more than 350 papers, received more than 13,000 citations, and has the h-index of 56. He was the recipient of the Rector award for young researcher in 2013 and 2016 as well as the Neuron Impulse award in 2016 and the award of the Czech Science Foundation President and the UCT Prague rector award in 2019.

She has received her Ph.D. degree in Biochemistry at Ege University in 2001. She is currently a full-time Professor in the Department of Biochemistry, at the same University. Her research is focused on the integration of biomolecules and other species with micro and nanoplatforms to create novel functional bio-based surfaces.

Mai Tomisaki is an Assistant Professor at International Institute for Carbon-Neutral Energy Research, Kyushu University, Japan from 2022. She received B.S. and M.S. degrees in science from Keio University, Japan in 2017 and 2018, respectively. She received a Ph.D. degree in science from Keio University in 2021 under the supervision of Professor Yasuaki Einaga. Her research interests include electrosynthesis of useful compounds, fine bubbles, and carbon-based electrode materials

Prof. Francesco Trotta has more than thirty years of teaching activity at the University of Turin, at the Turin Polytechnic, the University of Calabria and, as visiting professor, at the Jan Dlugosz University in Czestochowa. He is author and co-author of 272 scientific publications, 20 industrial patents, 2 books, 7 book chapters, 2 items of the Encyclopedia of Membrane and more than 250 communications to national and international conferences. He has 10,113 citations and h-index 58. He is in the top 3% in World Scientist Ranking by the Stanford University AD Scientific Index 2024. He is considered the godfather of the cyclodextrin-based polymer nanosponges, a material world-wide recognized by the carbohydrate community.

Takashi Uemura obtained his PhD at Department of Polymer Chemistry, Kyoto University in 2002. He then began his academic career as Assistant Professor and Associate Professor at Department of Synthetic Chemistry and Biological Chemistry in Kyoto University. In 2018, he moved to the University of Tokyo where he holds the position of Professor. During the last five years, he has delivered >70 invited lectures at conferences and symposia. He has received a number of awards, including the Chemical Society of Japan (CSJ) Award for Young Chemists, Kao Research Initiative Award, JSPS Prize, CSJ Award for Creative Works, and Inoue Prize for Science. He has been appointed as Associate Editor of several international journals, such as Dalton Trans. (RSC), Chem. Lett. (CSJ), and Bull. Chem. Soc. Jpn. (CSJ). He also joined the Advisory Board of Chem. Sci. (RSC) in 2019. His research interest focuses on the preparation of synergistic nanohybrids between porous coordination compounds and polymeric materials, in particular, polymer chemistry in confined nanospaces

Driton is currently a Reader at King’s College London. He is a registered pharmacist and gained his PhD at the University of Nottingham. Prior to joining King’s, Driton contributed towards the establishment of a new School of Pharmacy (University of Lincoln). Driton’s research interests centre around understanding and overcoming the biological barriers to improve drug delivery, with a key focus on enabling injection-free administration of biotherapeutic drugs (peptides, proteins, nucleic acids). As part of this, he has specific interests in drug delivery systems, including nanomedicines and exosomes, that potentially enable injection-free delivery. He is also interested in drug delivery for diseases of, or linked to, the gut. Finally, aspects of Driton’s research relate to the creation of improved (more predictive) in vitro models for use in medicines development, including organoids. Driton routinely collaborates with the pharmaceutical industry and his research has been funded by different UK Research and Innovation councils, charities and the pharmaceutical industry. He is currently leading the EU-funded ‘Nanoparticles in Environment and Medical Research’ (NanoKos) project. The overarching aim of Driton’s activity is to improve patient outcomes and access to medicines through translational drug delivery research.

After receiving his PhD degree in 2000, Radek Zbořil stayed at several universities, for example, the University of Delaware or the University of Tokyo. Since 2010, he has been a Professor at Palacký University Olomouc. He was a Founding Director (2010–2020) of the Regional Centre of Advanced Technologies and Materials (RCPTM) at Palacký University Olomouc. Since 2018, he has been a guest scientist at Friedrich–Alexander University Erlangen–Nürnberg, Germany. Currently, he acts as the Scientific Director of the RCPTM division of the Czech Advanced Technology and Research Institute (CATRIN). He is also a vice-director of Nanotechnology Centre and leads the Materials-Envi Lab at the Centre for Energy and Environmental Technologies (CEET) at VSB-Technical University Ostrava.

Dr. Erhan Zor is an Associate Professor at Necmettin Erbakan University, Turkey. He received his Ph.D. in chemistry from Selçuk University in the topic of electrochemical chiral discrimination based on graphene-related materials. During his Masters and Ph.D., he had worked as visiting researcher at European research centers in the field of nano(bio)sensors; at Nanotechnas-Nanotechnology and Material Research Center at Vilnius University in Vilnius, Lithuania, and at the Catalan Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (ICN2) in Barcelona, Spain. Dr. Zor has published more than 40 SCI papers, book chapters and, review articles relevant to his scientific research field. His current research interest is focused on graphene, nanocellulose, chiral sensors, (nano)biosensors, optical sensors, electrochemical sensors, paper-based diagnostics, biomedical diagnostics.