Alia Benkahla (PhD) is a professor at the Pasteur Institute of Tunis since January 2005, where she initiated a research group in bioinformatics and biomathematics, which has since become the Laboratory of Bioinformatics, Biomathematics and Biostatistics (BIMS).
Prof. Benkhala is the Head of BIMS. Her research aims to understand the processes of regulation, interaction, and signalling mechanisms activated in response to diseases and more recently, on clinical informatics. Prof. Benkhala invested  fifteen years in capacity-building in the field of Bioinformatics in her country by: training students, co-organizing international events in Africa, and generating funding for Bioinformatics focused on Tunisia’s and Africa’s health issues. She coordinated the writing of the first survey about bioinformatics development in Africa and co-organized the first African Conference of Bioinformatics in 2007. She served as President of the African Society of Bioinformatics and Computational Biology (ASBCB) until 2019 and co-chaired the H3Africa Phenotype Harmonization Working Group and was a core member in the H3Africa Data & Biospecimen Access Committee Working Group. She also serves on the American Council on Education- Global Council. Prof. Benkhala co-authored 25 peer- reviewed bioinformatics publications, including two Nature and two Science papers.

Institut Pasteur de Tunis, Tunis, Tunisia

Murielle Bochud is a board-certified specialist in public health and prevention with a PhD in genetic epidemiology (Case University, OH, USA). Since 2015, she has been a full professor at the Faculty of Biology and Medicine (FBM). From August 2017 to December 2018, she was head of department and director of the University Institute of Social and Preventive Medicine (IUMSP, approximately 170 staff members), one of the five university institutes of public health in Switzerland. The IUMSP became the Department of Epidemiology and Health Systems (DESS) with the creation of Unisanté, a university center for general medicine and public health, on January 1, 2019. Since that date, Murielle Bochud has been head of the DESS. Her research focuses on the epidemiology of non-communicable diseases, including their genetic and nutritional determinants, with involvement in population cohorts, the national nutrition surveys menuCH and menuCH-kids, and national salt surveys. She teaches public health and epidemiology at the Faculty of Biology and Medicine of the University of Lausanne. She is the author of over 300 scientific publications in peer-reviewed journals.

Since September 2025, she has also been the academic co-director of the Swiss School of Public Health Plus (SSPH+).

Enrico Chavez is a distinguished Senior Statistician and Mathematician with over 20 years of experience translating complex theoretical frameworks into actionable, data-driven solutions. Specializing in high-dimensional data analysis and stochastic modeling, he bridges the gap between abstract mathematics and practical industrial application. His core expertise are:   Advanced Analytics: Expertise in Bayesian inference, non-linear dynamics, and predictive modelling, Algorithmic Design: Developing robust optimization protocols for large-scale computational efficiency, Strategic Leadership: Leading cross-functional teams to refine risk assessment and data integrity.

Professional Impact: Currently serving as a Senior Statistician, Dr. Chavez focuses on the intersection of computational topology and machine learning. His work is recognized for its ability to simplify intricate statistical phenomena into clear strategic insights for executive stakeholders.

Recognition: A widely published researcher in journals such as The Annals of Statistics, Dr. Chavez is also a frequent keynote speaker and a consultant for governmental agencies. He remains dedicated to the belief that mathematical precision is the key to uncovering the narratives hidden within complex global datasets.

Dr. Pierre Cosson obtained a Ph.D in Dr. J. Davoust´s laboratory, where he was working on the “Mechanisms of formation of intracellular transport vesicles”.
1990 he joined as an EMBO a post-doctoral fellow the laboratory of Dr. R. Klausner’s laboratory at the National Institute of Health, Washington, USA working on the “Transmembrane determinants for assembly and intracellular transport”.
In 1992 he moved as a Member to the Basel Institute for Immunology (Basel, Switzerland) still working the « Mechanisms of membrane sorting in the secretory pathway ». 1997 he moved as a Group leader to the University of Geneva where he was appointed in 2007 Full professor working on « Phagocytosis and host-pathogen interactions”.
He has created and runs the new Bachelor of Biomedical Science. He also created the recombinant antibody project, which provides animal-free high-quality antibodies to the scientific community.
Most recently he opened the ABCD database listing all available recombinant antibodies (>10’000 entries) and created a new open-access scientific journal (Antibody Reports) dedicated to the characterization of recombinant antibodies.

Prof. Jacques Philippe is a renowned Swiss physician-scientist and Professor Emeritus at the University of Geneva (UNIGE). For over 20 years (1998–2019), he served as the Head of the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetology, and Nutrition at the Geneva University Hospitals (HUG). His leadership extended to the UNIGE Faculty of Medicine, where he served as Vice-Dean for Research (2003–2011), and the HUG College of Department Heads, which he presided over from 2013 to 2018.

His scientific career is marked by over 340 publications focused on the molecular mechanisms of metabolic diseases. He is particularly recognized for his research on insulin and glucagon gene regulation, the genetics of diabetes (MODY), and advancements in pancreatic islet transplantation. A key figure in Swiss medicine, he was a co-founder and President of the Swiss Society of Endocrinology and Diabetology (SGED/SSED) and was instrumental in establishing the unified FMH medical specialty in Switzerland. Today, he remains active as a consultant in private

Dr. Etienne Jean Pruvot is a renowned Swiss cardiologist specializing in cardiac electrophysiology. He graduated from medical school in Switzerland in 1989 and obtained his FMH (Swiss Medical Association) specialist certification in cardiology in 2003.

His career was primarily built at the Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV). After several years as a senior resident and attending physician, he served as head of the cardiology and cardiac electrophysiology department from 2018 to 2025. His clinical expertise was further enhanced by a two-year research period in fundamental cardiac electrophysiology at Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) in Cleveland, USA (2001-2003).

Starting in November 2025, Dr. Pruvot will embark on a new chapter in his career by opening an independent practice in Lausanne, where he will practice as an interventional cardiac electrophysiologist.

Dr. Michelle Rossier received an M.D. from the University of Lausanne (Switzerland) and completed an MD doctorate in the Department of Physiology of the University of Geneva. After a postdoctoral research fellowship, she held an assistant research physiologist position at the Department of Physiology, University of California, San Francisco. She then returned to the Institute of Pharmacology at the University of Lausanne, where she became a « maître assistant ». From 1977 to 2006 she was Director of the clinical laboratories of Hematology, Clinical Chemistry and Microbiology at the Hospital of Morges, Switzerland. In 2001 she held the same position with Viollier Inc., one of the largest private clinical laboratories in Switzerland. She joined the HSeT core team in February 2006 to become a project coordinator for several HSeT projects.

Bernard Thorens, Professor, received his PhD from the University of Geneva. He did a postdoctoral fellowship at the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research in Cambridge (USA) in the laboratory of Harvey F. Lodish. He came back to Switzerland to take a Career Development award from the Swiss National Science Foundation and to establish his laboratory at the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology of the UNIL.  He joined the Center for Integrative Genomics in 2005. His work on the molecular physiology of energy homeostasis has been recognized by several awards, including the Max Cloëtta Award, the Albert Renold award and the Claude Bernard award of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes. His work has been supported by several Swiss and European grants, including European Research Council Advanced Research Grants; he coordinates Innovative Medicine Initiative Grants from the EU. He seats on the Research Council of the Swiss National Science Foundation. He retired in 2024 and is presently Prof em of the University of Lausanne.

Peter Vollenweider, MD, is a Swiss physician-scientist currently serving as Full Professor at the University of Lausanne and Chairman of the Service of Internal Medicine at the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois (CHUV). Born in Bogotá, Colombia, in 1966, Dr. Vollenweider earned his medical degree and doctorate from the University of Lausanne. He achieved Swiss Board certification in Internal Medicine in 2002 and was appointed Full Professor in 2013. Dr. Vollenweider is a prominent figure in epidemiological and clinical research, with a particular focus on the intersection of cardiovascular health, obesity, and psychiatric disorders. His work often bridges the gap between metabolic signalling and population health. Throughout his career, Dr. Vollenweider has received numerous prestigious accolades, reflecting his contributions to both basic and clinical science, including the Leenards Foundation Prize (2014). The Pfizer Prize for Clinical Research (Cardiovascular), the Swiss Society of Internal Medicine Prize, and the Swiss Diabetes Foundation Prize. Dr. Vollenweider continues to lead large-scale cohort studies that shape the understanding of chronic disease associations within the general population.

Walter Wahli, Professor emeritus, received his PhD from the University of Berne. He did postdoctoral research at the Department of Embryology, Carnegie Institution of Washington in Baltimore (USA). He was a visiting fellow and associate at the National Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda (USA). He is the former founding director of the Center for Integrative Genomics, and former Vice-rector for Research and Continuing Education of the University of Lausanne. He was also a Professor of metabolic disease at the Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. He is a former member of the Swiss National Science Foundation research council and presided over the Biology and Medicine Division. The contributions of Walter Wahli and collaborators over the last 40 years unfold logically in a series of discoveries that contributed to advancing our understanding of the molecular mode of action of steroid hormones, fatty acids, and derivatives. Notably, he has worked on the nuclear receptors Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptors (PPARs), which are involved in energy metabolism, and explored their potential as drug targets in metabolic diseases. He is the recipient of numerous awards and an elected member of EMBO, the Swiss Academy of Medical Sciences, the Institut Jurassien des Sciences, des Lettres et des Arts, and a Foreign Correspondent of the Académie des Sciences, Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres of Toulouse, established in 1746 by King Louis XV.