Mr. Temitayo Erogbogbo, Global Advocacy Director, MSD for Mothers (Merck Sharp & Dohme)

Ronald Tong is Senior Vice President of the Singapore Economic Development Board ( EDB - https://www.edb.gov.sg/ ) and Deputy Executive Director of the Office of Space Technology & Industry ( OSTIn - https://www.space.gov.sg/ ), Singapore’s national space office, where he leads teams of mission-driven Space champions to 1) develop and carry out Singapore’s national space strategy, 2) grow a vibrant and thriving Space industry and ecosystem, 3) promote research & development in Space technologies and translating them to commercial use 4) develop workforce and talent for Space, 5) shape international Space norms and build fruitful international relationships with public and private Space entities, and 6) create local legislation to govern Space activities. Mr. Tong has also been an officer and fighter pilot with over 1,000 flying hours on the F-16s. He joined the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) as a pilot trainee in 2003 and was subsequently awarded the President’s cum SAF Overseas Scholarship. He attended the University of California, Berkeley, and graduated (Summa cum Laude) with a Bachelors of Arts in Sociology and Economics in 2007. He also graduated from United States Air Command and Staff College in 2017 with a Master in Military Operational Art and Science, and in 2022 from Stanford Graduate School of Business with a Master of Science in Management for Experienced Leaders (MSx), also known as the Sloan Fellow program. Mr. Tong has held various command and staff appointments in the defense and diplomacy sectors. He has served Command tours at the Flight and Squadron levels with 145 Squadron, participating in various exercises such as Ex PITCH BLACK and Ex COPE TIGER, and supporting various high key Air Defense operations such as the Trump-Kim Summit. He held various staff appointments including Staff Officer (Fighter) and Head Force Development Branch (Covering) in Air Plans Department, where he oversaw the force structuring and long term strategic planning for the Air Force. He served as Director (International) in MINDEF Policy Office where he oversaw the bilateral defense relations between Singapore and the Americas, Europe, Middle East, South Asia, Commonwealth of Independent States, and Africa. He also served as Military Private Secretary to the Minister for Defense, and as Secretary to MINDEF HQ Meeting. Most recently, he served as the Group Head of Strategies and Plans in the Air Operations Department, where he oversaw current and future operations for the RSAF. 

Dr. Calvin Roberts, M.D. is Program Manager at the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) where manages for the Transplantation of Human Eye Allografts ( THEA - https://arpa-h.gov/research-and-funding/programs/thea ) program, which aims to transplant whole human eyes to restore vision in patients who are blind or visually impaired by reconnecting the nerves, muscles and blood vessels of whole donor eyes to the brain. Dr. Roberts joined ARPA-H in September 2023 from Lighthouse Guild International, where is the president and chief executive officer. Lighthouse Guild is a not-for-profit organization that provides programs and services to people who are blind or visually impaired. Previously, Dr. Roberts was the chief medical officer for the global eye care company Bausch + Lomb. For the past 40 years, Roberts has also served as a clinical professor of ophthalmology at Weill Cornell Medical Center. As a practicing ophthalmologist from 1982 to 2008, he performed more than 10,000 cataract surgeries, as well as 5,000 refractive and other corneal surgeries. He is credited with developing surgical therapies, over-the-counter products for vision care, prescription ocular therapeutics and innovative treatment regimens. He also holds patents on the wide-field specular microscope and has done extensive research on ophthalmic non-steroidals and post-operative cystoid macular edema. Dr. Roberts also hosts the podcast series “On Tech and Vision” ( https://lighthouseguild.org/technology/on-tech-and-vision-podcast/ ) – where innovators discuss how rapidly evolving assistive technology creates equity among those who are visually impaired. Dr. Roberts received his medical degree from Columbia University, completed an internship and ophthalmology residency at New York Presbyterian Hospital, and conducted cornea fellowships at Massachusetts Eye and Infirmary and the Schepens Eye Institute. 

Dr. Kartik Sunagar, Ph.D. is Associate Professor and Group Leader of the Evolutionary Venomics Lab ( https://www.venomicslab.com/members ) at the Centre for Ecological Sciences (CES), Indian Institute of Science (IISC), where his team investigates venomous animals and their venoms as model systems to address basic but broad questions in evolutionary biology and genetics. Dr. Sunagar is an evolutionary geneticist, and a major focus of his research has been on innovating pan-India efficacious snakebite therapies through the discovery and development of broadly neutralizing antibodies. Dr. Sunagar’s Ph.D. (University of Porto, Portugal) and postdoctoral research (Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel) provided fascinating insights into venom ecology and evolution, including the dynamics of venom evolution across large time, evolutionary origin and development of venom-producing cells, coevolutionary arms races, molecular mechanisms of venom action, the genetic basis of venom resistance, and the role of environmental and ecological factors in driving the evolution of venom. 

Dialogues In Longevity - A discussion with Dr. Aubrey de Grey & Dr. Michael Rose about the past, present and future of longevity biotechnology Host - Ira S. Pastor Special thanks to longevity advocate Eric Schulke (https://ruliaderic.wordpress.com/) for helping to organize and coordinate the episode - Dr. Aubrey de Grey, Ph.D., is President & Chief Science Officer of the Longevity Escape Velocity (LEV) Foundation ( https://www.levf.org/ ), an organization focused on proactively identifying and addressing the most challenging obstacles on the path to the widespread availability of genuinely effective treatments to prevent and reverse human age-related disease. Dr. de Grey is internationally recognized as a visionary biomedical gerontologist who devised the Strategies for Engineered Negligible Senescence: a comprehensive set of methods to rejuvenate the human body, thereby preventing age-related ill health and mortality. He has co-founded multiple non-profit organizations – including Methuselah Foundation, SENS Research Foundation, and now LEV Foundation – to specifically enable and accelerate its development and clinical translation. Dr. de Grey received his BA in Computer Science and Ph.D. in Biology from the University of Cambridge in 1985 and 2000, respectively. He is the author of 'The Mitochondrial Free Radical Theory of Aging', 'Ending Aging', and a large number of academic papers. Dr. de Grey is a Fellow of both the Gerontological Society of America and the American Aging Association, and sits on the advisory boards of numerous scientific journals and research organizations. He is a prolific speaker who regularly presents at conferences and events world-wide. Dr. Michael Rose, Ph.D. ( https://www.faculty.uci.edu/profile/?facultyId=5261 ) is the Director of the Network for Experimental Research on Evolution (NERE), and Professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of California, Irvine, where his main area of work over the years has been the evolution of aging. He received his PhD from the University of Sussex in 1978. In 1991, Dr. Rose published seminal work per his text 'Evolutionary Biology of Aging' exploring a view of the subject based on antagonistic pleiotropy, the hypothesis that aging is caused by genes that have two effects, one acting early in life and the other much later. The genes are favored by natural selection as a result of their early-life benefits, and the costs that accrue much later appear as incidental side-effects that we identify as aging. Dr. Rose’s laboratory has conducted the longest-running artificial selection experiment designed to test the theory of antagonistic pleiotropy using Fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster) bred for longevity by collecting eggs from the longest-lived flies in each generation. The experiment has run since 1981, and has produced flies with quadruple the original life span. In 1997, Dr. Rose was awarded the Busse Research Prize by the World Congress of Gerontology. He has authored 10 books, including 'The Long Tomorrow: How Advances in Evolutionary Biology Can Help Us Postpone Aging'. 

Professor Nadeem Sarwar is Corporate Vice President, Co-Founder and Head, Transformational Prevention Unit, Novo Nordisk ( https://www.novonordisk.com/partnering-and-open-innovation/transformational-prevention-unit.html ), Co-Chair UK Dementia Mission (a UK Government Ministerial appointment) and Honorary Professor, University of Edinburgh Medical School. Professor Sarwar joined Novo Nordisk in June 2023 as Corporate Vice President, Co-Founder and Head of Novo Nordisk’s new Transformational Prevention Unit (TPU) whose mission is to increase obesity-free life years, so people live healthier and longer lives. To achieve this, the TPU is establishing an integrated ecosystem that will deliver science-first, empowering, and scalable commercial solutions that predict and pre-empt obesity and its consequences through innovative partnerships, with solutions intending to push the boundaries of what is possible with drugs, genomics, microbiome, digital health, and behavioral science. Professor Sarwar’s expertise stems from scientific and business models at the intersection of genomics, data sciences and digital technologies for therapeutic and health innovation and he utilizes this expertise to steer the strategy and implementation of the predictive and pre-emptive obesity solutions being developed by the TPU, spanning both R&D and commercial strategy. Professor Sarwar joins Novo Nordisk with extensive executive experience in academia (Cambridge, Edinburgh), pharma (Pfizer, Eisai, Novo Nordisk), biotech (Genetics Guided Demantia Discovery - G2D2), company incubation (Eisai Innovation Biolabs), and government (UK Dementia Mission). He has successfully built and led organizations across the UK, US, Japan, and Denmark; and contributed to delivery of therapeutics into clinical trials for cardiometabolic diseases, oncology, SLE, COVID-19 and neurodegeneration. Professor Sarwar’s research has been published in leading medical journals (eg, NEJM, Lancet, JAMA), presented at international meetings (eg, American Diabetes Association; World Dementia Council), and profiled by international media (eg, BBC, Forbes). He has provided expert insights for the UK Department of Health, the World Economic Forum, and the US National Academies of Sciences. Apart from his current position at Novo Nordisk, Professor Sarwar holds the position of Honorary Professor at the University of Edinburgh Medical School. He also currently serves on the UK Medical Research Council (MRC) Neuroscience and Mental Health Board, the UK MRC Prevention Task and Finish Group, the Health Data Industry Expert Sub-Group, and the UK Life Sciences Council. Professor Sarwar was born and raised in Aberdeen, Scotland. He trained in molecular and genetic epidemiology as a MRC scholar with Prof. John Danesh (Cambridge, UK). Reflecting his own journey, he is passionate about diversity and equality in science, and inspiring and mentoring the next generation of medicine makers. 

Dr. Robert Kristovich, Ph.D. is Director of the Joint Science and Technology Office (JSTO), at the Defense Threat Reduction Agency ( DTRA - https://www.dtra.mil/ ), an integral component of the United States Chemical and Biological Defense Program (CBDP). As Director of DTRA JSTO, Dr. Kristovich leads an office of 200 professionals including eight divisions of scientists, researchers and administrative staff. He manages the execution of over US$505 million focused on transforming science and technology (S&T) to prepare for current and emerging chemical and biological (CB) threats to better protect the Joint Force, our allies, and the nation. Prior to assuming his current position, Dr. Kristovich served as Chief of the Threat Agent Sciences Division of the U.S. Army’s Combat Capabilities Development Command Chemical Biological Center (DEVCOM CBC). In that role, Dr. Kristovich directed a team of CBC experts who evaluate emerging chemical threats facing the Joint Force and the nation. Among his responsibilities, he headed the Forensic Analytical Center, one of only two U.S. laboratories accredited by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). Dr. Kristovich previously served as a senior adviser to the Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense, Chem Bio Defense, in providing a strategic vision for how the CBDP can use science and technology to help the warfighter win in a CB-contested environment. In 2022, Dr. Kristovich was appointed as the U.S. representative of the OPCW Scientific Advisory Board (SAB), providing science and technology guidance in overseeing the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) treaty. OPCW ( https://www.opcw.org/ ) is a global body of 193 member states, including the U.S., which seeks to eliminate the production and use of chemical weapons. The SAB is a consortium of 25 preeminent experts chosen from the state parties to the CWC treaty. It provides scientific advice and support to the Director General and the state parties regarding implementation of the treaty and deterrence of chemical weapons use. Dr. Kristovich received a B.S. in Chemistry from Fairmont State University, and a PhD in Chemistry from Ohio State University. 

Susan Ferensic is Assistant Director of the Weapons of Mass Destruction Directorate (WMDD) at FBI Headquarters where her unit leads the FBI’s efforts to mitigate threats from chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and explosive weapons. The FBI or Federal Bureau of Investigation is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency (https://www.fbi.gov/). Ms. Ferensic most recently served as the special agent in charge of the Columbia Field Office in South Carolina. Ms. Ferensic joined the FBI in 1997 as a computer forensic examiner in the Laboratory Division and was selected for new agent training in 2000, and then as a new agent, she was assigned to investigate criminal and national security computer intrusion matters in the Washington Field Office. In 2007, Ms. Ferensic was promoted to supervisory special agent in the Cyber Division at FBI Headquarters, where she was a program manager for criminal computer intrusion investigations. She then transferred to the Albuquerque Field Office in New Mexico in 2009 to lead the cyber and technically trained agent squad, and later she served and supervised Albuquerque's Joint Terrorism Task Force which included oversight of WMD coordinators and bomb technicians. Ms. Ferensic was promoted in 2014 to special assistant to the executive assistant director of the Science and Technology Branch at FBI Headquarters, providing advice on broad program management and administrative matters. In 2016, she was promoted to assistant special agent in charge of the Criminal Branch of the Sacramento Field Office in California. In 2018, Ms. Ferensic became section chief of the Digital Forensics and Analytics Section in the Operational Technology Division at FBI Headquarters. The next year, she was promoted to chief of staff of the Criminal, Cyber, Response, and Services Branch at FBI Headquarters. She was named special agent in charge of the Columbia Field Office in 2020. Ms. Ferensic earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from the University of Maryland. Prior to working at the FBI, she was a computer scientist at the Department of Defense. Important Episode Links - Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) - https://www.ic3.gov/ FBI Electronic Tip Form - https://tips.fbi.gov/ 

Ambassador Dr. Bonnie Jenkins, PhD, ( https://www.state.gov/biographies/bonnie-denise-jenkins/ ) has served as the Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security since July 22, 2021. As Under Secretary, Ambassador Jenkins leads three bureaus: the Arms Control, Deterrence and Stability Bureau; the International Security and Nonproliferation Bureau; and the Political-Military Affairs Bureau. In addition, as of May 2023, Secretary of State Antony Blinken named Under Secretary Jenkins as the senior official to lead the Department’s efforts on AUKUS implementation. U/S Jenkins previously served in the Obama Administration as Special Envoy and Coordinator for Threat Reduction Programs in the Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation (ISN) from July 2009 until January 2017. Ambassador Jenkins coordinated U.S. efforts on threat reduction globally and U.S. government programs in chemical, biological, nuclear, and radiological (CBRN) security. She was the State Department lead for all four of the Nuclear Security Summits held from 2010 to 2016, as well as the U.S. Representative to the G7 Global Partnership Against the Spread of Weapons and Materials of Mass Destruction. Before serving as Coordinator, she was a Legal Adviser to the U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency where she provided advice to U.S. ambassadors and delegations negotiating arms control and nonproliferation treaties. Ambassador Jenkins also provided legal advice to treaty implementation bodies including the Chemical Weapons Convention, the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, the Open Skies Treaty, the Conventional Forces in Europe Treaty, and the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC). She has worked with international institutions such as the International Atomic Energy Agency, the World Health Organization, the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, the Office of Security and Cooperation in Europe, the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization, Interpol, and the BWC Implementation Support Unit. From 2014 to 2017, Ambassador Jenkins led diplomatic efforts to promote the Global Health Security Agenda, a group of 70 countries, international organizations, non-government organizations, and private sector companies that builds countries’ capacity to prevent, detect, and respond to infectious disease threats like Ebola and Zika.  She was the lead staff member conducting research, interviews, and preparing commission reports on counterterrorism policies in the Office of the Secretary of Defense and on U.S. military plans targeting al Qaeda before 9/11. Ambassador Jenkins served as General Counsel to the U.S. Commission to Assess the Organization of the Federal Government to Combat the Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction and worked at Rand Corporation focusing on Middle East weapons of mass destruction issues. From its inception in 2017 until April 2021, Ambassador Jenkins was the Founder, Executive Director, and Board Chair of Women of Color Advancing Peace and Security ( WCAPS - https://www.wcaps.org/ ), a leading advocacy organization supporting women of color in the security and peace-building sector that believes global issues are best approached from a variety of perspectives. Ambassador Jenkins has a Ph.D. in International Relations from the University of Virginia; an LL.M. in International and Comparative Law from the Georgetown University Law Center; an M.P.A. from the State University of New York at Albany; a J.D. from Albany Law School; and a B.A. from Amherst College. She also attended The Hague Academy for International Law. Jenkins is a retired U.S. Naval Reserve Officer and received numerous awards for her military service. She is a member of the New York State Bar. 

The Undiagnosed Diseases Network Foundation ( https://udnf.org/ ) is a patient-led nonprofit organization founded in 2023 committed to improving access to diagnosis, research, and care for all with undiagnosed and ultra-rare diseases, with a focus on fostering collaboration among patients, clinicians, and scientists to enhance the quality of life of undiagnosed and ultra-rare disease patients and their families. Michele Herndon, MSN, RN, is the Program Director of the UDNF’s Patient Navigation Program. For the past two decades, she has served as a pediatric nurse, leader, and manager in an academic hospital setting. Michele is also the mother to Mitchell who enrolled in the UDN in 2017 after five years of symptoms. After genetic sequencing and a model organism study using fruit flies, his gene mutation was identified by the UDN. Mitchell died in 2019 from the ultra-rare disease that was ultimately named after him, Mitchell Syndrome. Michele and her family started the Mitchell & Friends Foundation to support families and raise both awareness and money for research into Mitchell Syndrome. Michele lives in St. Louis, MO and is currently working to complete her Doctorate in Nursing Practice at the University of Missouri-Columbia. ​ Dr. F. Sessions Cole, MD is Board Secretary of UDNF and Professor of Pediatrics, Washington University School of Medicine. Dr. Cole is a neonatologist who began studying rare diseases with genomic methods during his fellowship in the laboratory of the late Harvey R. Colten, M.D. and has participated in the discovery of new genetic causes of structural birth defects and of respiratory failure in full-term infants, expanded phenotypes of known genetic diseases, and suggested novel therapeutic strategies. His research has been continuously supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) as a Principal Investigator for more than 25 years. Most recently, he led the NIH-funded Undiagnosed Diseases Network (UDN) Clinical Site at Washington University from 2018-2021. He currently co-chairs the UDN’s Sustainability Working Group and is leading the UDN’s Therapeutic Matching Committee aimed at identifying therapies for rare disease patients. 

Dr. Ha Hong, Ph.D. ( http://hahong.org/ ), is Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer at Medtronic Endoscopy ( https://www.medtronic.com/covidien/en-us/clinical-solutions/gastrointestinal-health.html ) where he oversees AI R&D and strategy, emphasizing building responsible AI solutions for patient care, and has a track record of inventing and delivering breakthrough technologies in the medical device field ( https://www.medtronic.com/covidien/en-us/products/gastrointestinal-artificial-intelligence/gi-genius-intelligent-endoscopy.html ). Before joining Medtronic, Dr. Hong was a founding team member and the Chief Architect at Caption Health, which GE HealthCare acquired, where he led the R&D, including the development of the first commercially available AI navigation system for cardiac ultrasound examination. Dr. Hong has a Ph.D. in Medical Engineering and Medical Physics from the Harvard-MIT Health Sciences and Technology Program and a BS in Physics from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology. Medtronic Edonscopy is part of Medtronic plc (https://www.medtronic.com/us-en/index.html), the world’s largest medical device company, which operates in more than 150 countries and employs over 90,000 people. Important Episode Links Medtronic GI Genius™ Intelligent Endoscopy Module - https://www.medtronic.com/covidien/en-us/products/gastrointestinal-artificial-intelligence/gi-genius-intelligent-endoscopy.html Medtronic Artificial Intelligence (AI) Compass for responsible use of AI - https://www.medtronic.com/content/dam/medtronic-wide/public/brand-corporate-assets/resources/medtronic-ai-compass.pdf Dr. Ha Hong Linkedin Profile - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ha-hong/