Organizers & Speakers

Professor Strauss is a highly accomplished pediatrician and neonatology specialist, with a wealth of experience in her field. She received her medical degree from the Rappaport Institute of Technology in Haifa, and holds an MPH from the Harvard School of Public Health. In addition, she holds a Professor degree from Tel Aviv University.

For over a decade, Professor Strauss has served as the Director of the Neonatology Department at Sheba Medical Center. In this role, she has published numerous articles and reviews in her field, and has been a member of numerous committees in her area of expertise.

In the last two years, Professor Strauss has taken on the responsibility of developing one of the first academic and clinical research centers for longevity in a public hospital. The Longevity Academic Center, which Professor Strauss leads, aims to improve our understanding of aging and longevity, and to identify opportunities for improving the quality of life and function in older age. The center focuses on the study of health and wellness from young adulthood through the centenarian age group (45-100 years old), including cutting edge diagnostic techniques, the analysis and monitoring of health biomarkers, and the study of multidisciplinary interventions.

Internal medicine and oncology University Hospital Renji of Jiaotong University,
Shanghai
Sheba Longevity Center, Tel Hashomer
Specialist in Internal Medicine, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and digital health, with
extensive experience in scientific research and clinical practice at the following
well known and highly reputable institutions. Research focus is oncology and
longevity medicine, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and digital health, precision
medicine, biogerontology, and geronto-oncology. EB published over 100 peer-
reviewed papers, is a frequent speaker at scientific and medical conferences in
Asia and Europe. Long term member of various medical societies, e.g. European
Federation of Internal Medicine, World Academy of Medical Sciences, Swiss
Society of Internal Medicine etc.
EB spent a decade practicing medicine, lecturing at medical schools and
performing clinical and translational research in New York, Shanghai and Basel,
with extensive experience in scientific research and clinical practice at the

following well-known and highly reputable institutions: University Hospital of
Basel, Fudan Cancer Institute and Hospital; Zhongshan Hospital, Renji Hospital
and Shanghai East Hospital. EB sits on several scientific and advisory boards of
biotech and longevity hubs. Currently also affiliated with the Centre of Healthy
Aging, Universität Zürich, and prev. senior attending physician of internal
medicine at the University Hospital Basel.
Swiss board certified as internal medicine specialist (FMH), trained in Europe,
USA and China (Harvard Medical School affiliated hospitals (Mass General
Hospital, Beth Israel MD, Dana Farber Institute) and Columbia University NYC;
Tongji University hospitals, Shanghai and University Hospitals of Zurich and
Basel (Switzerland).

Abigail leads the Research and Development unit at the Sheba Longevity Center. Abigail started her academic career with a BS in Molecular Biology, followed by another BS in Nutritional Science, as well as an internship as a clinical dietitian at several rehabilitation hospitals. Her master’s and Ph.D. degrees were completed at the School of Public Health in the Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine Department at Tel-Aviv University. Her main areas of research are aging epidemiology trajectories, predictors of frailty, cognitive decline, and successful aging among community-dwelling oldest-old adults. She specializes in designing large population cohorts and developing computerized prognostic models for the early detection of frailty and predicting adverse outcomes.

Director: Institute for Aging Research at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine Dr. Nir Barzilai is a preeminent leader in geroscience, demonstrating in his studies that aging has its own biology that drives age-related diseases, a process that can be targeted.

He is the Ingeborg and Ira Leon Rennert Chair of Aging Research, a professor in the Departments of Medicine and Genetics, the director of the Institute for Aging Research at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, the Director of the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) Nathan Shock Centers of Excellence in the Basic Biology of Aging, and the author of >320 papers.

He is leading an international effort to approve drugs targeting aging. Targeting Aging with Metformin (TAME) is a specific study conceived by Dr. Barzilai to prove the concept that a single drug can combat multiple diseases associated with aging and get FDA approval for targeting aging. Dr. Barzilai is a founder and the President of the Academy for Health and Lifespan Research (AHLS).

He is also on the board of directors of the American Federation for Aging Research, where he co-leads its biomarker effort (FAST), TAME, and Super Agers initiative. He is an Executive of the Longevity Biotech Association (LBA) and serves on the council of the Healthy Longevity Medicine Society. He authored Age Later: Health Span, Life Span, and the New Science of Longevity.

James L. Kirkland, M.D., Ph.D., is Director of the Center for Advanced Gerotherapeutics atCedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles and Emeritus Professor of Medicine at Mayo Clinic,Rochester, Minnesota. Dr. Kirkland’s research is on the contribution of aging processes,particularly cellular senescence, to multiple disorders and diseases across the lifespan anddevelopment of gerotherapeutics: agents and strategies for targeting these aging mechanisms todelay, prevent, alleviate, or treat the conditions that cause the bulk of disability, mortality, andhealth expenditures across the developed and developing world. Dr. Kirkland discoveredsenolytic drugs, agents that selectively eliminate senescent cells. Dr. Kirkland and then othersdemonstrated that senolytic agents enhance healthspan and treat multiple diseases in animalmodels, human cells, and tissue explants. He published the first composite biomarkergerodiagnostic score of senescent cell burden that is sensitive to drug interventions in humansand the first clinical trials of senolytic drugs. He is preparing or conducting clinical studies ofsenolytics, including for infections, frailty, Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes/obesity, osteoporosis,cancer survivors, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, pre-eclampsia, glioblastoma, complications ofspace travel, agricultural applications, restoring function of organs from old donors to enabletheir use for transplantation, and others. He has more than 330 publications (H index: 110) andholds 24 patents.

Dr. Kirkland is Principal Investigator of the National Institutes of Health TranslationalGeroscience Network (R33 AG061456), which brings together academic institutions across theUS to translate healthspan interventions, including senolytics and other drugs that targetfundamental aging processes, from bench to bedside, and is currently involved in over 85interventional and observational clinical trials. He is President-Elect of the Healthy LongevityMedicine Society, immediate past President of the American Federation for Aging Research, apast member of the National Advisory Council on Aging of the National Institutes of Health,past chair of the Biological Sciences Section of the Gerontological Society of America, and pastmember of the Clinical Trials Advisory Panel of the National Institute on Aging. He is aboard-certified specialist in internal medicine, geriatrics, and endocrinology and metabolism.Dr. Kirkland is the 2020 recipient of the Irving S. Wright Award of Distinction from theAmerican Federation for Aging Research.

Alex Zhavoronkov, PhD, is the founder and CEO of Insilico Medicine, a leading clinical-stage biotechnology company developing next-generation generative artificial intelligence and robotics platforms for drug discovery. Since 2014, he has invented critical technologies in the field of generative artificial intelligence and reinforcement learning (RL) for the generation of novel molecular structures with the desired properties and the generation of synthetic biological and patient data. Under his leadership, Insilico raised over $400 million in multiple rounds from expert biotechnology, healthcare, and financial investors, opened R&D centers in 6 countries and regions, and partnered with multiple pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and academic institutions. Since 2021, the company nominated more than 20 preclinical candidates, started 6 human clinical trials, and entered Phase II with an AI-discovered novel target and AI-designed novel molecule.

Since 2012, he has published over 200 peer-reviewed research papers and 3 books. He serves on the advisory or editorial boards of Trends in Molecular Medicine, Aging Research Reviews, Aging, and Frontiers in Genetics, and founded and co-chairs the Annual Aging Research and Drug Discovery (11th Annual in 2024). He is the adjunct professor of artificial intelligence at the Buck Institute for Research on Aging.

• Founder and CEO of Quantum Life
• Technology Transfer Director of Hong Kong Quantum AI Lab (HKU,InnoHK)
• Managing Director of HK Longevity Medical Centre
• Venture Partner of LongeVC
• Fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine (UK)
• Fellow of the European Society of Preventive Medicine
• Vice President (Longevity) of Hong Kong Biotechnology Association
• Founding President of Asia Longevity Professionals Association（ALPA）
• Forbes China 30 Under 30 (Healthcare and Science)
• Deloitte Outstanding Female Entrepreneur
• Goldman Sachs 10000 Women

Dr. Christine Yuan HUANG is the Founder and CEO of QuantumLife. Dr. Huang is also the Technology Transfer Director of Hong Kong Quantum AI Lab, and Managing Director of HK Longevity Medical Centre, focusing on providing end-to-end precision longevity medical technology solutions to improve health-span. Dr. Huang has vast experience in the biotechnology and longevity field and shares her professional insights as a Venture Partner of LongeVC. Dr. Huang was selected as one of Forbes China 2020 “30 Under 30 (Healthcare and Science)” for her development of cancer liquid biopsy technology, and she was awarded as the “Pioneer of Genome Technology ”in 2025. In 2022, she was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine in the UK, and in 2024, she became a Fellow of the European Society of Preventive Medicine. She is also a member of the Advisory Board of Wing Wah Charity Foundation Hong Kong, and a columnist of Forbes China. Dr. Huang was elected as a Fellow of Guangzhou Youth Federation in November 2022. Dr. Huang obtained Doctor of Medicine from the Southern Medical University and Master of Public Health from the University of Hong Kong, Li Ka Shing

Dr. Ira Sobel is the founder and Academic Director of Longevity Academy, a leading organization providing knowledge and professional consulting on various aspects of aging and longevity for organizations worldwide. Dr. Sobel specializes in the economic aspects of population aging, focusing on the role of technology in improving the financial well-being of older adults and their families.

Dr. Sobel is an international speaker and advisor to startups and venture capital firms worldwide. She holds a PhD in Sociology from Tel Aviv University.

Dr. Sara Bonnes, Associate Professor of Medicine, is the medical director of the Healthy Longevity Clinic at Mayo Clinic Rochester. She is board certified in internal medicine and lifestyle medicine. Before starting her medical training, she pursued undergraduate and graduate training in nutrition at Kansas State University. She completed her medical training at the University of Nebraska Medical Center before moving to Rochester, Minnesota for residency and chief residency. She has been on staff at Mayo since 2014 and continues to practice in general internal medicine, integrative medicine and nutrition clinics.

Throughout her medical career, she continues to incorporate her nutrition and lifestyle medicine expertise into care of patients with a wide variety of health concerns, and interest in preventing chronic diseases. Given increased patient interest in how to improve their health span, she is working with the multidisciplinary team- including dietitians, exercise specialists, pharmacists, resiliency experts, and researchers- to develop a Clinic that utilizes an individualized, patient centered, evidence based approach to healthy longevity.

Dr. Brian Kennedy is internationally recognized for his research in the basic biology of aging and as a visionary committed to translating research discoveries into new ways of detecting, delaying, preventing and treating human aging and associated diseases. He is a Distinguished Professor in Biochemistry and Physiology at the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine at National University Singapore and serves as Director of (1) the Centre for Healthy Longevity at the National University Health System, (2) the Healthy Longevity Translational Research Programme, and (3) the Asian Centre for Reproductive Longevity and Equality. Collectively, NUS aging research seeks to demonstrate that longevity interventions can be successfully employed in humans to extend healthspan, the disease-free and highly functional period of life.

From 2010 to 2016, Dr. Kennedy was the President and CEO of the Buck Institute for Research on Aging and he maintained a professorship there through 2020. Dr. Kennedy has an adjunct appointments at the Department of Biochemistry at the University of Washington, where he was a faculty member from 2001 to 2010. In addition, Dr. Kennedy is also actively involved with a number of Biotechnology companies. In addition, Dr. Kennedy serves as a Co-

Editor-In-Chief at Aging Cell. Finally, Dr. Kennedy has a track record of interaction in China, where he was a Visiting Professor at the Aging Research Institute at Guangdong Medical College from 2009 to 2014. His Ph.D. was performed in the laboratory of Leonard Guarente at M.I.T., where he published the first paper linking Sirtuins to aging.

Ilia Stambler, PhD, is the Chief Science Officer and Chairman of Vetek (Seniority) Association – the Movement for Longevity and Quality of Life, Israel http://www.longevityisrael.org/ and acting chairman of International Longevity Alliance (ILA) https://longevityalliance.org/. He is a fellow at the Department of Science, Technology and Society, Bar-Ilan University, Israel.His research has focused on the historical and social implications of aging and longevity research, including ethical, policy and regulatory implications. He has also been involved in mathematical modeling of aging and aging-related diseases. He is the author of the books “A History of Life- extensionism in the Twentieth Century” and “Longevity Promotion: Multidisciplinary Perspectives” and over 70 academic papers (journal articles and book chapters) https://www.longevityhistory.com/.

He is actively involved in advocacy for aging and longevity research, serving on the boards of several national and international organizations for healthy longevity research and advocacy, including ISOAD, BGRF, GHPI, ESAAM. He has initiated, organized or played an active part in several national and international advocacy and educational campaigns for healthy longevity, such as the “International Longevity Day and Month” campaign, the campaign for “Enhancing research, development and education for healthy longevity and prevention of aging-related diseases” in Israel, the successful campaign for the inclusion of aging into the WHO work program, and others.

Gastroenterologist at the Department of Gastroenterology and Liver Diseases, Tel-Aviv Sourasky Medical Center;
Primary Investigator at the Research Center for Digestive Tract & Liver Diseases, Tel-Aviv Sourasky Medical Center;
Consultant at the Elinav Lab, Immunology Department, Weizmann Institute of Science.

Director of Product Management, Health AI 

Leor is the Product Management Director for Google’s Health AI group, focused on catalyzing the adoption and impact of human-centric AI in health. Previously, Leor served as Head of Device Soware at Fitbit. He co-lead the acquisition of Fitbit by Google and previously held leadership roles in Google's wearables and digital health group since it acquired his wearable soware company, Cronologics Corporation, in 2016. Prior to founding Cronolgoics, Leor worked at a startup called IFTTT, and spent 10 years at Google building and launching new products, services, and operations, including launching Google's Israel oce. Leor also helped found Niantic Labs, which later spun out and launched the hit game, Pokemon Go.

Elena Bonfiglioli Global Business Leader VP Healthcare, Pharma and Life Sciences Microsoft

Elena is Microsoft’s Global Business Leader for Healthcare, Pharma Life Sciences. In this capacity she is responsible for go-to-market, commercial, and partnerships, enabling AI transformation initiatives in health providers, payors and Life Sciences’ organizations globally. In 2023 Elena was elected as Member of the DIA Europe, Middle East & Africa Regional Advisory Council. Elena was selected twice as one of the top 50 AI Innovators by Intelligent Health in 2020 and in 2023. She is one of the founding members of the Holomedicine Association; and Vice Chair of the DIGITALEUROPE Executive Council for Healthcare since it’s creation in 2021. She recently joined the Board of The Movement Health Foundation, an organization founded by Roche, Siemens Healthineers, Microsoft and CIFS to build strong and sustainable healthcare systems. A signature outcome of her work – together with engineering and research - was the design of the AI partnership with Novartis in 2019, and the AI for Leprosy initiative with Novartis Foundation and Fiocruz published in The Lancet/Elsevier. In 2021 Elena spearheaded an innovation project for the prevention of gastric cancer with data and AI, leading to the largest EU working with StratejAI and international health providers. Elena co-chaired the Health Cloud Council from 2015-2019 leading work on secondary use of data and the creation of the first global data collaborative in cardiovascular population health. In 2017, she was elected to the HIMSS Europe Governing Council. Elena has been working in the health sector for 20+ years, starting in health policy at EU level, as leader for Microsoft’s public sector healthcare in EMEA. She is an active advocate and public speaker representing Microsoft Healthcare and Life Sciences’ AI strategy, and how “Data help save Lives”. She supported the creation of the Healthcare Data Innovation Council, a partnership of healthcare actors to progress regulatory frameworks for data sharing in health and life sciences. Elena championed the transformational impact of meditation in personal and professional development, working with the Centre for Evolutionary Learning. She promotes empowerment of women in leadership as founding member of WiL Network and as champion for Diversity and Inclusion at Microsoft.

Shai Shen-Orr is a Professor at the Faculty of Medicine at the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, where he heads the Systems Immunology & Precision Medicine laboratory since 2012. Prof. Shen-Orr is an expert in Systems Immunology and his lab is focused on the development of novel analytics for studying the immune system—tools which he applies to study the drivers of immune variation, particularly in the context of aging, and to further Immune-based Precision Medicine.

Prof. Shen-Orr is the founding director of TechAI.BioMed, Technion’s center for AI in life science research and medicine and heads the Zimin Institute for AI solutions for healthcare and the Technion Healthy Aging Institute.

Prof. Shen-Orr is founder and Chief Scientist of CytoReason, a PharmaAI company set on developing the human-machine interfaces needed to tackle biomedical research in the 21st century. In collaboration with world-leading pharma companies, CytoReason’s computational disease models are closing the data-insight gap in drug development.

Dr. Michael Ringel is Chief Operating Officer at Life Biosciences, a company focused on cellular rejuvenation therapies for diseases of aging. Prior to joining Life Bio, Michael was Managing Director and Senior Partner at BCG, where he worked for 25 years. He is on the Board of Hevolution Foundation US, the charitable organization focused on extending healthy aging for the benefit of all humanity, the Board of AFAR, one of the oldest organizations supporting healthy aging through biomedical research, and on the Executive Board of the Sheba Longevity Center, a clinic devoted to healthy aging at one of the world's best hospitals. Dr. Ringel holds a B.A. summa cum laude in biology from Princeton University, a Ph.D. in biology from Imperial College, and a J.D. cum laude from Harvard Law School. 

Life Sciences, Bar Ilan University

Prof. Okun completed his B.Sc., M.Sc., and Ph.D. at the Faculty of Life Sciences, Bar-Ilan University.  He conducted his postdoctoral studies with Dr. Mark P. Mattson at the National Institute on Aging (NIH) in Baltimore, MD, where he explored how innate immune pathways influence cognitive learning and memory. 

In 2012, Prof. Okun established the Paul Feder Laboratory for Alzheimer’s Disease Research at the Mina and Everard Goodman Faculty of Life Sciences, Bar-Ilan University. He currently serves as a Full Professor and Vice Dean for Infrastructure and Research Development.

Prof. Okun's research focuses on basic and translational neuroimmunology. His work examines the role of B-cells, a subset of adaptive immune cells known for antibody production, in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and Down syndrome (DS)-related cognitive decline. This includes investigating sex-based differences to understand why women are twice as likely to develop AD as men. Another research focus is identifying novel targets for vaccination strategies to delay AD and DS-related cognitive decline. Additionally, his lab explores the mechanisms of fetomaternal transfer contributing to maternal cognitive decline following pregnancies with a fetus affected by Down syndrome.

Dr. Lauren Petrick is the Director of the Center for Metabolomics and Molecular Phenotyping at the Sheba Medical Center, Israel and Professor in the Department of Environmental Medicine and Climate

Science at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, NYC, USA. She is an analytical chemist and exposure biologist. Dr. Petrick’s research group develops untargeted chemical assays using high resolution mass spectrometry and applies them to discover biomarkers across disease contexts. She is the Principal Investigator (PI) of several NIH grants, and now applies her methods to unravel the biology and risk factors of women’s health outcomes in midlife.

Partner, Head of Insurance and Fintech KPMG Israel

Ilanit joined KPMG in 1998 and was appointed a partner in 2007. She leads the Insurance and Fintech sectors at KPMG Israel and co-leads global AI initiatives in insurance. Ilanit has extensive experience in insurance, pension funds, fintech, and insurtech, focusing on AI projects, IT implementations, operational and financial risk management, and other advisory projects. Under her management, projects span various areas, including IFRS 17 implementation, core system conversions, data and AI projects, and information systems audits for banking, insurance, provident, and pension companies. Ilanit is also deeply involved in the Fintech and Insurtech industry in Israel.

Dr. Collin Y. Ewald is a molecular biologist with over 20 years of research on the underlying mechanisms of aging. At institutions such as FMI, CUNY, Harvard, and ETH Zürich, Dr. Ewald has made scientific contributions to understanding the underlying molecular mechanisms of healthy aging and interventions slowing or preventing age-related pathologies.
 
Currently, Dr. Ewald serves as an Associate Director of Diseases of Aging and Regenerative Medicine (DARe) at the Novartis Biomedical Research. His research focuses on elucidating and target the molecular mechanisms underlying diseases of aging to develop regenerative pharmacological interventions for patients.
 
Dr. Ewald is the founder and president of the Swiss Society for Aging Research and the vice president of the German Society for Aging Research. He also holds a Lecturer/Docent position at ETH Zürich. His work has earned him numerous awards, including the NYAS Future Entrepreneur award from the New York Academy of Sciences. He is recognized as one of the top 1000 Longevity Leaders worldwide and one of Switzerland's Top 15 Longevity Influencers. For more information, please visit his [Wikipedia page](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collin_Y._Ewald), [Google Scholar] (https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=UKHh5uAAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao), [Interview/Portrait-inspiring people] (https://69inspiringpeople.ch/en/people/dr-collin-ewald/), and [LinkedIn profile](www.linkedin.com/in/collin-ewald-b014a019).

With a career spanning 20 years, Dr. Sirotin is an award winning physician, thought leader and international speaker in Precision Lifestyle Medicine with a passion for building innovative programs. She serves as the Chief Executive Officer at the Institute of Healthy Living Abu Dhabi (IHLAD). Through a patient-centered approach, she aims to inspire both patients and professionals alike to embrace healthier, more fulfilling lives.

As CEO, Dr. Sirotin has built partnerships with academic, public and private entities to help develop the field of Healthy Longevity Medicine.  The Institute for Healthier Living Abu Dhabi supports the UAE's vision for excellence in life sciences, healthcare and innovation. As the world's first regulated longevity medicine facility, it aims to establish new global standards in Healthy Longevity Medicine, with the hope of building a future where optimal health and enhanced longevity become a global standard of living.

Prior to IHLAD, for 10 years Dr. Sirotin served as Department Chair at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi developing the Executive Health Program, Lifestyle Medicine in the Cancer Center and the clinical team for the Office of Facilitated Access.

Dr. Sirotin is a Clinical Assistant Professor at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine and previously held faculty positions at Weill Cornell Medical College and Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Her training included Primary Care Internal Medine Residency at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), and a research fellowship in Global Public Health at the University of California, San Diego. Dr. Sirotin’s awards include the UCSF Exceptional Physician Award and the Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi Women’s Professional Staff Association’s Physician of the Year Award. Dr. Sirotin also serves as the Council Secretary of the Healthy Longevity Medicine Society.
 

Dr. Shmouni is the Co-Founder and Group CEO of NU, the multi-omics operating system for the longevity economy. His work is dedicated to shaping the future of proactive, personalized healthcare through cutting-edge bioinformatics, multiomics, and digital twin technology that enable individuals to live longer, healthier lives.

A physician-investor with expertise in clinical endocrinology, hypertension, and genomic medicine, Dr. Shmouni operates at the intersection of clinical practice, venture investment, and technological innovation. His research spans multi-omics, precision medicine, and AI-driven health optimization, contributing to over 100 peer-reviewed publications in leading medical and scientific journals.

Beyond his role at NU, Dr. Shmouni is a Professor of Medicine at the University of British Columbia and a Faculty Lecturer at the Geneva College of Longevity Science, where he focuses on personalized medicine, systems biology, exposomes and smart home health technologies. His academic contributions extend to advisory roles in regulatory policy, digital health frameworks, and the integration of AI in clinical decision-making.

As Managing Partner of FHS Capital, he has backed and advised numerous deep tech and health tech startups, including Flyby, Eli Health, Science & Humans, Supernatural, Jung+, AI Nexus, Staque, ZOIME, Geneseq Marketplace, and Healthspan Digital - companies at the forefront of cost-effective, personalized healthcare.

Dr. Shmouni is driven by the mission to build the foundational infrastructure for longevity-focused healthcare. Through the integration of multiomics, digital health, and artificial intelligence, NU is pioneering a global shift toward data-driven, precision-based longevity care, setting new standards for healthspan optimization and preventive medicine
 

Adjunct Prof. of Hong Kong University of Science and Technology

Partner of Shanghai Healthcare Capital

Dr. Bao is a physician-scientist and an accomplished executive with extensive expertise in venture capital and global clinical trials, including capacity building, network development, leadership, and infrastructure. With over 30 years of experience in FDA drug regulation, technology transfer, and international collaborations, she has a proven track record of successfully leading organizations, driving results, and fostering global partnerships. Her strong business acumen and leadership skills have consistently contributed to impactful outcomes in the healthcare and life sciences sectors.

Dr. Bao spent 16 years at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), where she managed and directed over 20 global multi-center clinical trial projects and IND applications with the FDA. She also has conducted cancer research with a breakthrough work highlighted by Nature Reviews as one of the year’s most important findings. She has published extensively in leading scientific journals and has delivered over 100 presentations in more than 20 countries. She served as Chief Medical Officer for several large pharmaceutical and biotech companies, overseeing a diversified product pipeline development. Currently Dr. Bao is a Partner at Shanghai HealthCare Capital (SHC), which manages a $7 billion USD fund investing in life science technologies worldwide. She serves on the board of three biotech companies in the U.S. and Israel.

Currently Dr. Bao is an adjunct professor at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology where she lectures on drug safety and clinical trials for the Master Degree students of “Drug Regulatory Pathways.” Recently she has made presentations to the UST’s life science faculty on “The Global Biotech Investment Landscape: Insights from the US NIH & FDA, and Implications for Hong Kong’s Prospects” and “The Miracle of Science: Lessons Learned from the COVID Vaccine Development”. Deeply committed to nurturing the next generation, Dr. Bao is also a published author of “My 2000 Days in Israel” and “Wild Cactus” both promoting cross-cultural communication and women’s leadership. She has served as the Washington DC Chapter Chair for American Women for International Understanding and is a member of the Asian American Government Executives Network (AAGEN).

Dr. Bao’ career has spanned China, Israel, and the United States, earning her numerous awards, including the NIH Director’s Merit Award and recognition from the Henry Jackson Foundation for her role in fostering international collaborations in science and technology. She is also the 2025 Sino-Phil Asia Peace Prize Laureate. Dr. Bao earned a Ph.D. from the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel, mentored by Yosef Yarden, and M.D. from Southeastern University Medical School in China.

Co-Founder and CEO of Quris-AI

Isaac Bentwich M.D., is the Founder and CEO of Quris-AI, an artificial intelligence innovator that is disrupting the drug development process, allowing pharma companies to develop safer drugs, faster. Bentwich is a physician and entrepreneur, who has previously founded and led two bio-AI technology companies that led revolutions in medicine and genomics. Bentwich’s passion is leading inter-disciplinary teams of scientists and technologists to tackle impactful challenges in the intersection between machine-learning and life-sciences, and to leverage and commercialize these solutions. One of the companies that Bentwich founded was Rosetta Genomics (NASDAQ:ROSG), which under his leadership analyzed the human genome, discovering hundreds of novel genes, more so than all the universities in the world combined, and delivered novel cancer diagnostics based on these genes. Its subsidiary, Rosetta Green (TASE:RSTG), was acquired by Monsanto for $35M.

Prof. David Tanne is a Professor of Neurology at the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, where he holds the André Ballard Chair in Neurology. 

He serves as Director of the Stroke and Cognition Institute at Rambam Health Care Campus.

He is the President of the Israeli Society for Cognitive Neurology and the immediate past President of the Israeli Neurological Association.

Prof. Tanne graduated magna cum laude from the Sackler Faculty of Medicine, completed his residency in Neurology at Sheba Medical Center, and subsequently pursued a fellowship in stroke and cerebrovascular diseases at the Henry Ford Hospital and Health Sciences Center, Detroit Campus of Case Western Reserve University, USA.

A staunch advocate for brain health and preventive neurology, Prof. Tanne actively promotes the advancement and application of Israeli neurotechnology. He serves as a consultant to several Israeli brain-tech companies, is the Medical Director of QuantalX Neuroscience, and leads the Brain Health Clinic.

His research contributions include over 300 peer-reviewed scientific publications, spanning topics such as brain health, innovative technologies and biomarkers, stroke prevention & treatment, cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s disease.