Over the past 3 decades, Professor Wang has made pioneering contributions to the fields of wearable sensors, microrobots and bioelectronics. Wang is a member of the US Nat’l Academy of Inventors (NIA), and a fellow of the ECS, RSC, and AIMBE. He has authored over 1300 research papers, 12 books and 70 patents. He has been a Thomson Reuters Highly Cited Researcher since 2015 (H Index 223) with nearly 200,000 citations. Wang holds Honorary Professor from 10 different universities and is the recipient of three Nat’l American Chemical Society (ACS) Awards for Analytical Chemistry, Electrochemistry and Instrumentation, of the Pittcon Award in Bioanalytical Chemistry, of the Talanta Medal, 2021, the Breyer Medal (Australia), Heyrovsky Medal (Czech Republic), the Speirs Medal (RSC), IUPAC Analytical Chemistry Medal, and the IEEE Sensor Achievement Award, 2021.

He currently serves as Senior Associate Editor of Science Advances, and as Associate Editor of npj Flexible Electronics, Biosensors and Bioelectronics, and Sensors & Diagnostics. He is a recipient of the NSF Career Award, ONR Young Investigator Award, IAMBE Early Career Award, Sloan Research Fellowship, Pittcon Achievement Award, IEEE EMBS Early Career Achievement Award, IEEE EMBS Technical Achievement Award, IEEE Sensor Council Technical Achievement Award, MIT Technology Review 35 Innovators Under 35, and the Falling Walls Breakthrough of the Year in Engineering and Technology. He is also recognized as a World Economic Forum Young Scientist, and a Highly Cited Researcher (Web of Science, every year since 2020). 

Prof. Gao is an elected Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE), the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC), and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). His research interests span wearable and implantable biosensors, digital medicine, bioelectronics, flexible electronics, additive manufacturing, and micro/nanorobotics.

For more information about his research, please visit www.gao.caltech.edu.

In this role, she leads a team dedicated to strengthening research and AI ecosystems to advance health equity across Member States. She oversees the development and dissemination of guidance, tools, and regional network on research for health and responsible AI. Before joining WHO, Mengji worked extensively on health innovation, data analytics, community engagement in diverse settings in the United States and India. She also co-founded a predictive data analytics startup and held leadership positions in digital health startups in China. Ms. Chen has a master’s degree in health science from Brandeis University and bachelor’s degree in Journalism and Communications from Tsinghua University.

She leads the Soft Robotics Lab and is the Director of the Advanced Robotics Centre. She holds a PhD in Robotics from the University of Genoa and an honorary doctorate from the University of Southern Denmark. A pioneer in soft robotics, she explores marine applications of soft robots and their use in the biomedical field, with a focus on eldercare. She has worked in humanoid and neuro-robotics, applying brain models in humanoid robots. Prof Laschi is Editor-in-Chief of Bioinspiration & Biomimetics and holds key editorial roles in top robotics journals. An IEEE Fellow and active member of various scientific societies, she founded the IEEE International Conference on Soft Robotics (RoboSoft). She also co-founded RoboTech, a spin-off company in edutainment robotics.

For more information about her research, please visit https://www.softroboticslab.info/.

His research integrates materials science, immunoengineering, and nanotechnology to develop biomaterials and nanotherapeutic platforms for tissue repair, stem cell delivery, immune modulation, and nucleic acid and protein delivery. Dr. Mao led the development of kinetically controlled nanoparticle assembly and scalable manufacturing approaches for nucleic acid therapeutics, including lipid and polymer nanoparticles for mRNA, DNA, and genome-editing delivery. He also developed injectable nanofiber–hydrogel composites and electrospun biomaterial scaffolds for regenerative medicine and immune modulation. His work has resulted in more than 250 peer-reviewed publications and more than 40 issued patents. Dr. Mao is a Fellow of the Nat’l Academy of Inventors, the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering, and the Royal Society of Chemistry.

He also serves as Director General of the Division of University Corporate Relations with oversight of startup initiatives. Recognized as an inventor of e-skins which was featured in TIME Magazine as one of the best inventions in 2005, his current research focuses on next-generation wearables with organic electronics for application to healthcare, biomedical, and robotics. He earned his doctorate in engineering from the University of Tokyo and held additional positions at Princeton, NUS, and TUM. The Fujihara Award has been added to the list of honors recognizing his achievements, alongside the 16th Leo Esaki Prize and the Commendation for Science and Technology by the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. He served as 2024 President of the Materials Research Society in the US, first to be elected to the position from Asia.

He obtained his medical degree (MBBS) from The University of Hong Kong and was awarded a PhD in Biomedical Sciences by the University of Calgary and an MD by The Chinese University of Hong Kong. From 2010 to 2017, he served as the Vice-Chancellor and President of The Chinese University of Hong Kong.
Professor Sung’s research interests include intestinal bleeding, Helicobacter pylori, peptic ulcers, hepatitis B, colorectal cancer, and other cancers of the digestive system. In recent years, his work has expanded to studies on the gut microbiome, digestive diseases, and the application of artificial intelligence in clinical medicine. He has authored over 1,000 scientific articles published in leading medical and scientific journals. His most recent book, “Artificial Intelligence in Medicine: From Ethical, Social, and Legal Perspectives”, was published in 2024.

Professor Sung has been recognized as a “Highly Cited Researcher” by Clarivate Analytics for 8 consecutive years from 2018 to 2025.

Viola Vogel made pioneering contributions to the fields of biophysics and bioengineering. She developed novel techniques for studying the mechanobiology of proteins and cells. This includes significant advancements in understanding how mechanical forces acting on proteins changes their structure-function relationships and thereby steer cellular functions, which holds significant implications for innovations in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. She started her Academic career at the University of Washington in the Department of Bioengineering (1990-2004), where she was the Founding Director of UW’s Center for Nanotechnology in 1997. She moved to ETH Zurich in 2004, where she initially joined the Department of Material Science and later the newly founded Department of Health Sciences and Technology. Her research has been recognized through numerous awards and honors, including an ERC Advance grant and her election to the US Nat’l Academy of Science and the Nat’l Academy of Engineering. Among many other services, she is a member of the Gordon Research Conference Board of Trustees and of the Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering jury.

He has worked and held senior leadership roles in Singapore and Australia, including at the Nat’l University of Singapore, SingHealth Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore Nat’l Eye Centre, and University of Melbourne.

Prof Wong is a practicing retinal specialist, with a research portfolio on retinal diseases, ocular imaging, AI and digital technology. He has published >1,700 peer-reviewed papers (H-index >230, highly cited researcher 2020-2025), given >600 invited named, plenary and symposium lectures, and received >US$100 million in grant funding. Prof Wong has been recognized with multiple international awards, including Arnall Patz Medal (Macula Society), Jose Rizal Medal (Asia Pacific Academy of Ophthalmology) and Friedenwald Award (ARVO). He has received Singapore’s President’s Science and Technology Award. He is an elected Member/Fellow of five nat’l academies: the US Nat’l Academy of Medicine, the UK Royal Society, the Singapore Nat’l Academy of Science, the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences and the US Nat’l Academy of Inventors.