Dr. Geetha Krishnan Gopalakrishna Pillai is Unit Head for Traditional Medicine Research, Data and Innovation at the World Health Organization (WHO), where Dr. Pillai leads work on evidence, data systems, and innovation for traditional, complementary and integrative medicine (TCIM). The work focuses on research methodologies, real-world evidence, digital data architectures, and equitable innovation linked to biodiversity and Indigenous knowledge systems. Dr. Pillai contributes to implementation of the WHO Traditional Medicine Strategy 2025–2034 and to the scientific and policy agenda of the WHO Global Traditional Medicine Centre. Dr. Pillai has contributed to global initiatives linking traditional medicine, planetary health, and sustainable development, and supports Member States in integrating TCIM into health systems through evidence-informed approaches. With a background in clinical practice and research, experience spans drug discovery and development, intellectual property, health systems, research policy, and global health strategy. Dr. Pillai holds an MD in Clinical Pharmacology.

Prof. Junshi Chen is a world renowned food safety and human nutrition scientist, currently served as the chief adviser of China National Centre for Food Safety Risk Assessment. Prof. Chen’s research interests include: food safety risk assessment & risk communication, epidemiological studies on diet, nutrition and chronic diseases and Exercise is Medicine. Recently, he was appointed as the Chief Scientist, 2nd China National Food Safety Standard Reviewing Committee; Chair, Advisory Committee, 2nd China National Food Safety Risk Assessment Expert Committee. His other social responsibilities include: Deputy-chair, Expert Committee, Food Safety Committee of China State Council; President; etc.

Tom Heilandt is a German national and holds degrees in Mathematics and Computer Science.

He has worked for 25 years in international standardization of food as:

• Secretary of the FAO/WHO Codex Alimentarius Commission (2014-2023).
• Senior Officer in the Codex Secretariat responsible for communication (2005-2014).
• Secretary of the UNECE Working Party on Agricultural Quality Standards (1998-2005).

Previous work experiences: Scientific Affairs Officer in the Secretariat of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE)(1994-1998); Software engineer for expert systems at Aion and Trinzic Corp (1992-1994) and in chemical industry at Bayer (1990-1992).

Tom is a member of the:

• Administrative Council of the Foundation « André-Levesque pour l’avenir de la relation (FAR) », in the Institut de France;
• International Advisory Board of the Chinese Centre for Food Safety Risk Assessment;
• French Order of Agricultural Merit for his contribution to the establishment of the United Nations World Food Safety Day.

Professor Bian Zhaoxiang is a leading expert in Chinese medicine clinical studies, a respected research scientist in the field of gut dysbiosis, and a relentless advocate for incorporating Chinese medicine into a holistic healthcare system. Currently, Professor Bian holds these positions in the School of Chinese Medicine at HKBU: Associate Vice-President (Clinical Chinese Medicine); Chair Professor of the Clinical Division; Director, Centre for Chinese Herbal Medicine Drug Development; Director, Chinese EQUATOR Centre; and Director, Hong Kong Chinese Medicine Clinical Study Centre. He also serves as an associate editor and editorial board member for many international peer review journals, including Trials, BMC-Complementary and Alternative Medicine, and Chinese Medicine.

Professor Bian’s academic training includes: BS (Chinese Medicine) and MPhil (Chinese Medicine), from the Nanjing University of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Beijing University of Traditional Chinese Medicine respectively, and PhD (Integrative Medicine) from Guangzhou University of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Professor Bian joined HKBU in 2001. His research focuses on digestive diseases, especially colorectal cancer, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), functional constipation (FC) and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), and on related new drug discovery.

Another thrust of his professional interests is the design, implementation and reporting of clinical trials with Chinese medicine. Realising the imperative need for conducting rigorous, accurate Chinese medicine clinical studies, Professor Bian initiated the establishment, and later became Director, of the Hong Kong Chinese Medicine Clinical Study Centre, the first and only centre focusing on Chinese medicine clinical trials in Hong Kong. Professor Bian has been instrumental in developing reporting guidelines for various aspects of Chinese medicine, from protocol development, trial registration, and outcome reporting to systematic review. Further, he has established the Chinese EQUATOR Centre, a centre devoted to enhancing the quality and transparency of health research in general and of clinical research in Chinese medicine in particular.

Professor Bian has been, and is a long-time advocate for the establishment of a Chinese medicine hospital (CMH) in Hong Kong.  In June 2021, HKBU was selected by the HKSAR Government as the contractor for the service deed of Hong Kong’s first CMH. Professor Bian will continue his efforts to make this historical project a big success.

As of August 2021, Professor Bian has registered 72 patents, and presented and/or published over 500 papers in journals, books and conferences. In collaboration with researchers at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, he led a research team that developed a new herbal medicine for IBS.  In 2014, the NMPA of China granted a clinical trial license for the drug; in 2016 the formula was licensed to a drug company. For his outstanding research, Professor Bian has received local, national and international awards including second prize in the National Science and Technology Advancement Award of China.

Member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Co-Chairman of the Board of Director of the ChinaSCINet (www.chinascinet.org ), and Editor-in-Chief of Neural Regeneration Research (www.nrronline.org ). Received PhD degree from MIT. He is one of the pioneers in the field of axonal regeneration in visual system. He was the first to show lengthy regeneration of retinal ganglion cells in adult mammals with peripheral nerve graft. He is currently using multiple approaches to promote axonal regeneration after injury in the optic nerve and spinal cord. His team identifies neuroprotective and regenerative factors including: exercise, wolfberry, trophic factors, peptide nanofiber scaffold, and environmental manipulation. 1995 obtained the Natural Science Award of the National Natural Science Foundation of China. 1999 was elected Member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. 2015 was elected FNAI, US National Academy of Inventors, Fellow.

Prof. Amie Steel is a Professor in Public Health and Director of the Australian Research Consortium in Complementary and Integrative Medicine at Southern Cross University. She is also an Australian Research Council Future Fellow and currently serves as the research lead for the World Health Organization’s Global Research Priority Setting Exercise in Traditional, Complementary and Integrative Medicine (TCIM). With over 300 scholarly publications, her research explores the integration, regulation, and practice of traditional medicine within contemporary health systems. Her work spans women’s health—particularly fertility, pregnancy, and preconception care—as well as the interface between evidence-based medicine and traditional health practices. Methodologically, she specializes in mixed methods research, implementation science, knowledge mobilisation, and pragmatic clinical trials within applied health services research.

Professor Myeong Soo Lee is a Principal Researcher at the Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine (KIOM), South Korea. He received his PhD in Oriental Medicine from Wonkwang University in 2004 and completed research training in evidence-based complementary medicine at the Peninsula Medical School, University of Exeter, UK. He has held academic appointments at Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Lanzhou University, the Affiliated TCM Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, and Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. He is also a Research Affiliate at the Osher Center for Integrative Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School. He leads Cochrane Complementary Medicine Korea. In 2026, he was appointed to the WHO Strategic and Technical Advisory Group on Traditional, Complementary and Integrative Medicine (WHO STAG-TM). He has published over 600 SCIE articles, serves on 30+ journal editorial boards, and ranks among Stanford’s top 2% scientists.

Professor Zhang is currently a Chair Professor and Associate Dean at the School of Chinese Medicine, Hong Kong Baptist University. He obtained his Ph.D. in phytochemistry, and became a faculty member at the Kunming Institute of Botany, the Chinese Academy of Sciences until 2002. From 2003 to 2011, he was a research faculty member at the College of Pharmacy, University of Illinois Chicago. Professor Zhang specializes in the identification, analysis, synthesis, and biological evaluation of small molecules. Professor Zhang’s research focuses on drug discovery and development from natural resources, as well as the formulation of botanical dietary supplements from herbal medicines. He is particularly interested in identifying natural lead compounds from plants native to the Lingnan region of China and translating them into health products for humans and animals. Target indications include cancer, viruses such as HIV, coronaviruses, flaviviruses, influenza viruses and Ebola viruses, dental pathogens, fungal infections, and malarial.