Featured Speakers

Dr. Frances Mortimer is Medical Director at the Centre for Sustainable Healthcare in Oxford, UK, an NGO.  

Her focus is on engaging clinicians with the concept of sustainable clinical care. As part of this, she has published a framework for integrating sustainability into healthcare improvement methodology. She has led the development of the Centre’s innovative “Sustainable Specialties” programmes, which foster change within clinical communities, supported by research into the carbon footprint of alternative models of care.  

Frances studied medicine at Oxford University and at the Royal Free & University College London Medical School, graduating in 2003. In 2008, she left specialist training in renal medicine to take up her current position. 

Alonzo Mourning is a Miami Heat NBA Champion and Vice President of Player Programs and Development, Naismith Hall of Famer, Philanthropist and Community Leader.  

Alonzo enjoyed an outstanding NBA career. Known for his tenacious defense, Alonzo was crowned the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year on two occasions and made 7 All-Star game appearances during his 15-year career. In 2000, Alonzo was selected to join an elite group of NBA players to represent the United States in the Olympics in Sydney, Australia. While Team USA and Alonzo won the coveted gold medal, he was soon after diagnosed with Focal Glomerulosclerosis (FSGS), a rare genetic kidney disease. Alonzo was only side-lined for one season and returned to the Miami Heat in 2001. He underwent a successful kidney transplant in December 2003. 

As the Co-Founder of Mourning Family Foundation, a not-for-profit public fundraising foundation, Alonzo Mourning set out to inspire others through advocacy, education and enrichment services.  

From the President of the United States to the 3-year-old boy suffering from kidney failure, Alonzo Mourning can reach, empower, and inspire everyone who aspires to maximize their full potential of greatness through advocacy, education, and enrichment services. Alonzo raises awareness about the importance of becoming an organ donor and is also active with the National Kidney Foundation, educating the public on the importance of early detection. 

Indira Nath, MD, FRCPath, DSc(hc) is Former Founder Head of Department of Biotechnology at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences.  

Her research interests are in immunology of infectious diseases with seminal contributions on cellular immune responses in human leprosy. She has also mentored many students and made contributions to education, medical and science policies, and women scientists’ issues.  

After retirement she continued at AIIMS as SN Bose Professor of the Indian National Science Academy, later as Dean of Medical School of AIMST, in Malaysia, Director of the UK Lepra Research Centre in Hyderabad and Raja RAMANNA Fellow and Emeritus Professor, National Institute of Pathology (ICMR).  

She is currently Visiting Professor, Biosupport Unit of DBT, New Delhi, India. Some of Indira’s recent activities include: Chair, ICSU programme on Health and Wellbeing, IAP’s Responsible Research Conduct in Global Research Enterprise, Plenary speaker on Global Health at the UN STI Global Health Index meetings in 2017, member planning and speaker for the International workshop on ‘Assessing the Security Implications of Genome Editing Technology, Hanover, Indo US Dialogue on Biosecurity, Johns Hopkins School of Health Security, Biosecurity committees of the Nuclear Threat Initiative, and Global Health Index by Johns Hopkins, NTI and the Economist.  

She was conferred numerous awards, notably: Padmashri (India), Chevalier Ordre National du Merite, France, Silver Banner, Tuscany, Italy, L’Oreal UNESCO Award for Women in Science (Asia Pacific) (2002), SS Bhatnagar Award etc.  

Professor Hao Yan is the Milton D. Glick Distinguished Professor in Chemistry and Biochemistry and Director of the Center for Molecular Design and Biomimetics in the Biodesign Institute at Arizona State University. The theme of his research is to use nature’s design rules as inspiration to advance biomedical, energy-related, and other technological innovations using self-assembling molecules and materials.  

Hao Yan aims to create intelligent materials with better component controls at the molecular level. He is leading an interdisciplinary team to design bio-inspired molecular building blocks and program their higher order assembly into systems that will perform complex functions.  

Hao Yan has published more than 200 papers, including more than 30 papers published in journals such as Nature, Science and Nature Sister Journals. He has received honors including the Feynman Prize in Nanotechnology, Rozenberg Tulip Award in DNA Computing, Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellowship, NSF Career Award, AFOSR Young Investigator Award, the Arizona Technology Enterprise Innovator of Tomorrow Award, and the Arizona Technology Enterprise Achievement Award. He is an Elected Fellow of the American Association for Advancement of Science, Fast Company’s 100 Most Creative People in Business 2019, and Web of Science 2018, 2019 and 2020 Highly Cited Researcher in Cross-Field. He has served as president of the International Society for Nanoscale Science, Computation and Engineering and is currently serving as Associate Editor for ACS Applied Bio Materials and Academic Associate Editor for Science Advances.