Mamokoena Kuali was born and raised in Mthatha, a small city in the Eastern Cape Province in South Africa. Her love for Biology began in high school as well as her desire to help people. She has always taken an interest in HIV, and HIV work has always sparked an investigative interest in her. Thus, prior to working on HIV, she decided to work on the opportunistic pathogens which cause illness and even death in immunocompromised patients. She pursued a Master of Science degree which entailed purifying and identifying of anti-Pseudomonas aeruginosa from a N. luteum extract. The purified extract was identified Dilactone 3 (3a,10b-Dimethyl-1,2,3,3a,5a,7,10b,10c-oc-tahydro-5,8-dioxa-acephenanthrylene-4,9-dione) or CJ-14445. HIV should be targeted from all directions; this includes the treatment and cure of opportunistic pathogens. Currently, her research entails determining the effect of female sex hormone levels on the reservoir size and reactivation potential in women living with HIV in Durban, South Africa.

Shreyal Maikoo has a firm foundation in the biomedical sciences and has devoted her academic journey to understanding the complexities of the HIV virus and unravelling potential pathways towards a cure. She achieved her Honours degree in Medical Sciences Cum Laude in 2017 and is currently pursuing her PhD in Medicine (Virology) at the HIV Pathogenesis Programme (HPP) at the Nelson R. Mandela School of Medicine based at University of KwaZulu-Natal. Driven by a sense of purpose and compassion, Shreyal has undertaken her research project aimed at shedding light on the underlying mechanisms of HIV infection and latency development. Shreyal is deeply committed to making a positive impact in the lives of those affected by HIV and embraces the promise of a future where HIV is no longer a global burden.

Kieran Jacoby is a Masters student in Medical Microbiology at the Nelson Mandela School of Medicine (South Africa), investigating the methylome of clinical Tuberculosis strains, which is funded by the European & Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP) programme. His Honors in Microbiology was completed at the University of Kwa-Zulu Natal (South Africa) with a focus on biosurfactant-producing sea sponge-associated bacteria and their potential antimicrobial activity. With a particular interest in utilizing novel technologies and avenues of research, he aims to gain insight into new methods to combat emerging antimicrobial resistance (AMR). He believes in continuous learning to expand his knowledge and understanding of the field as well as to remain up to date on the latest scientific advancements.

Dianne E Godar is currently retired after working as a research chemist for 32 years at the FDA. She graduated with a BS in Chemistry and Microbiology from the University of Georgia and obtained her PhD in Chemistry with Biochemistry thesis from Georgetown University. Her post doctorates include Immunology at Georgetown University, Pharmacology at Walter Reed, and UV research at the FDA as an NRC associate, which led to a permeant career at the FDA. Her major accomplishments in the field of UV research include discovering UVA-triggered immediate and UVB and UVC radiations delayed apoptotic mechanisms.  She pivoted to analyzing outdoor UV exposures of Americans to do risk assessments of indoor tanning devices. She also analyzed melanoma rates in countries all over the world to uncover all the initiators and HPV was among them, which ultimately led to untangling the cause of Autism. 

Shreya Dayanand is a Bachelor of Science Honours student majoring in Microbiology at The University of KwaZulu Natal in Durban, South Africa. She has pursued research in her honour’s year covering the prevalence of pathogenic protozoan and helminth parasites in treated and untreated wastewater samples. She completed her undergraduate studies achieving a Bachelor of Science in Microbiology and Biochemistry where most of the basic concepts and theory were evaluated, however, she believe that theory becomes the most valuable when applied to reality and this was she utilized during her honours research project and is shown through her enhanced practical skill set. The science community is one in which she is grateful to be a part of and will strive to remain in to make contributions to science for the betterment of health, the environment, and people.

Panagiota Xaplanteri has graduated from Medical School, Patras University in 1999 and acquired the medical specialty of Biopathology (Laboratory Medicine) in 2007. She has completed her PhD in 2008 from Medical School, Patras University, Greece and her MSc in Health Care Management, Hellenic Open University in 2018. She has worked in the following positions: Senior Assistant, Department of Microbiology, University General Hospital of Patras, Greece, 2015-today,  Part time Assistant Professor, School of Rehabilitation Sciences, University of Patras, Greece, 2019-today , Part time Lecturer/Assistant Professor, School of Sciences of Health and Care, Technological Educational Institute of Western Greece, Patras,  2007-2019. She has published more than 20 papers.

Chanda Siddoo-Atwal, completed her B.Sc. in Biochemistry from the University of London.    Her Ph.D. was taken in Applied Sciences from Simon Fraser University in Burnaby (her research conducted at the BC Cancer Research Centre) and she did a Post-doctoral fellowship in the Biochemistry Department at the Medical College of Wisconsin. Cancer is her subject of specialization and started with research on Ataxia-telangiectasia (AT) patients, who are genetically prone to lymphomas. Since then, she has focussed mainly on mechanisms of carcinogenesis in various models including the AT disease state and ionizing radiation-induced cancer, mycotoxin-induced and chemically-induced cancers, nuclear radiation and microwave-induced cancers, and ultraviolet radiation-induced skin cancer. She is the President and Primary Biochemist of Moondust Cosmetics Ltd. (moondustcosmetics.com) and her current research activity includes the formulation of a novel sunscreen to combat apoptotic sunburn that has been associated with skin cancer and other natural suncare products for the repair of skin damage related to sun exposure (Moondust Skin Protector Plus was named Best Sun Protection Product 2020 by Luxlife magazine). She has been invited to present her research papers at conferences around the world and is the author of a recent book called, “A New Approach to Cancer Risk Assessment: An Overview” published by Lambert Academic Publishing. In addition, she has been asked to contribute chapters to textbooks by various international publishers including Springer and INTECH and co-authored clinical oncology medical texts. Recently, she received a Drishti Award in recognition of her scientific contribution and commitment to education in the sunscreen industry. She also has a Facebook page where she presents her research in a popular way to the public and espouses world-peace as an essential step in solving the climate crisis due to the contribution of nuclear weapons to climate change (www.facebook.com/DrMoondust/).