Speakers

Dr. Aliou Abdourahmane DIA is the Director of School Health in Senegal. He is responsible for coordinating, with the support of the 14 school medical inspections, all activities aimed at promoting prevention and monitoring student care throughout the country. His work focuses on areas such as vaccination, water, hygiene, sanitation, nutrition, and the fight against neglected tropical diseases.

Haik Nikogosian, MD, PhD, DSc, Prof. has long been involved in leading roles in public and global health. He led work for innovative services and policies, counteracting major global health challenges, cutting-edge developments and international cooperation for health.

Prof. Nikogosian has been Senior Affiliate with the Global Health Centre, Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva, Switzerland since 2017. Writes, speaks and lectures on global health matters internationally. Areas of focus include global health instruments, diplomacy and governance, the interface of multilateral and multisectoral policies for health and the intersection of regional and global health. Most recently, co-author of the Guide to Global Health Diplomacy, the first systematic guide in the field, and author and co-author of a series of publications on a pandemic treaty.

In 2001-2017 worked in senior positions in the World Health Organization (WHO), including (2004-07) as Head, Noncommunicable Diseases and Lifestyles, WHO Europe and (2007-14) as founding Head (currently Head, Emeritus) of the Secretariat of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), WHO’s first global health treaty. In 1990s, before his move to international work, served as Minister of Health, and as founding Chairman of the National Institute of Health of Armenia.

Dr. Nikogosian received an MD, as well as a PhD and Professorship in medicine and health services and a Doctorate in healthcare organization and public health. Served as Faculty Chair and chair and member of several academic and expert councils and spoke at numerous international events, including at ministerial conferences, world congresses and high-level panels.

Dr. Hend Ahmed Alawadhi is a distinguished Emirati public health consultant, with over 15 years of experience in health promotion, policy development, and strategic community health initiatives.

She holds a Master’s in Public Policy from the Mohammed Bin Rashid School of Government (2020), an Arab Board Certification in Community Medicine (2013), and a Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery from Dubai Medical College (2007).

Currently serving as a Consultant and Head of Section for Health Promotion and Education at the Dubai Health Authority (DHA), Dr. Hend has led numerous national and Emirate-level programs focused on mental health, communicable diseases, and community health empowerment.
Her leadership was instrumental during the COVID-19 pandemic, where she spearheaded public awareness and vaccination campaigns in collaboration with other stakeholders.Dr. Hend is an active member of several key committees, including:

• President of the Emirates Public Health Association.

Her expertise spans project management, event leadership, strategic negotiation, and the design of public health educational content.
A frequent keynote speaker and trainer, Dr. Hend has delivered mental health sessions for government and private entities.

Beyond her leadership roles, she has published research in international journals on adolescent emotional and behavioral health, emphasizing the impact of lifestyle and social factors.

Her vision continues to drive impactful health initiatives aimed at creating a healthier, more resilient society by promoting prevention, mental wellness, and evidence-based health strategies.

Dr. Joseph Keawe’aimoku (Keawe) Kaholokula is a Professor and Chair of Native Hawaiian Health at the John A. Burns School of Medicine of the University of Hawai‘i. He is a clinical health psychologist and translational behavioral scientist who leads multiple National Institutes of Health (NIH) funded research projects to improve Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander health. He has leveraged community and cultural assets to develop culturally responsive health promotion programs to improve cardiometabolic health. His research collaborations span the Pacific and North American regions including Aotearoa New Zealand, the United States, and the Pacific Region. He also oversees the Center of Pacific Innovations, Knowledge, and Opportunities (PIKO) whose mission is to improve the health and well-being of Indigenous Pacific People and other medically underserved populations. He served on the National Advisory Council on Minority Health and Health Disparities and Chaired the Intervention Research to Improve Native American Health (IRINAH), a network of NIH-funded investigators working with American Indians, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians, and on the data disaggregation subcommittee of the White House Initiative on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders. He formerly co-chaired the Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Interest Group of the NIH Community Engagement Alliance (CEAL). In 2024, he was elected into the National Academy of Medicine for his pioneering evidence-based interventions using indigenous cultural values and practices to improve cardiovascular, diabetes, and obesity disparities for Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders.

Louise Potvin is professor of health promotion at the School of Public Health, Université de Montréal. Currently, she holds the Canada Research Chair in Community Approaches and Health Inequalities, she is the Scientific Director of the Centre de recherche en santé publique. She completed a Bachelor in Psychology (BPs, Université de Sherbrooke, 1979) a Master in Psychology (MA, Concordia University, 1983) and a Doctorate in Community Health (Université de Montréal, 1987). She is known as a founder and pioneer of Population Health Intervention Research, a domain of scientific endeavour that seeks to develop a cumulative body of knowledge on public health interventions, their planning, implementation, scaling up and sustainability. She is also a leading figure in health promotion research, more specifically through her work on the role of local environments in health inequality and local intersectoral action. She published more than 350 research articles, commentaries, editorials and book chapters. She edited 11 books among which the two volumes of the Global Handbook of Health Promotion Research. From 2014-2023, she was the Editor in Chief of the Canadian Journal of Public Health. She is a member of the Canadian Public Health Association and of the International Union for Health Promotion and Education, for which she is the current Vice-President for Capacity Building, Training and Education. She is a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences. She received the 2017 Pierre-Dansereau Award from the Association canadienne française pour l’avancement des sciences (ACFAS), the 2019 Canadian Institute of Health Research – Institute of Public and Population Health, Trailblazer Award and the 2021 R.D. Defries Award from the Canadian Public Health Association for outstanding contributions in the field of public health.

Needa Qureshi is a Research Associate at the Institute for Healthier Living Abu Dhabi, where she plays a major role in pioneering research in healthy longevity and precision lifestyle medicine. She is deeply involved in protocol development, regulatory coordination, and cross-disciplinary collaboration, having created detailed research protocols for seven major projects to date. She also serves as project coordinator for a global Scientific Advisory Board of 14 experts and works closely with regulatory and communications teams to ensure the scientific integrity and dissemination of project findings.

With around of decade of diverse experience across clinical, academic, and research settings, she brings a unique blend of evidence-based nutrition, neuroscience, and behavioral science to her work.

She holds an MSc in Nutrition and Behaviour (Distinction) from Bournemouth University and is a Registered Associate Nutritionist (AfN #27330). Her previous roles include Clinical Dietitian in a multi-specialty hospital in the UAE, where apart from clinical responsibilities, she has delivered grand rounds, workshops, and public lectures on diverse topics including pediatric nephrology, refeeding syndrome, and nutritional management in chronic disease. She also served as a Neuro-Nutritionist in the UK, where she led content creation, research projects, and a pre-clinical study on 5-HTP supplementation for menopause.

She is currently a co-investigator on seven upcoming research studies and has authored over 75 evidence-based articles, contributed to numerous public health education initiatives, and created 17 scientific presentations for national and international conferences. She is passionate about making science accessible and actionable, bridging the gap between research and real-world health outcomes.

Dr. Rahat Ghazanfar is a triple board-certified physician in Obesity Medicine, Lifestyle Medicine, and Precision Nutrition. She currently serves as a Longevity Physician at Sheikh Shakhbout Medical City.

Driven by a profound passion for personalized and longevity medicine, Dr. Ghazanfar is committed to helping individuals achieve optimal health and vitality through tailored, evidence-based interventions. Her clinical philosophy emphasizes sustainable lifestyle change, disease prevention, and individualized care strategies that empower patients on their wellness journey.

At Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, she led both the Weight Management and Lifestyle Medicine programs, where she was instrumental in designing and implementing transformative care models. She was also one of the pioneers for the Lifestyle Medicine Program for oncology and non-oncology patients, with a focus on reducing the burden of chronic disease and enhancing overall quality of life.

Dr. Ghazanfar continues to be a leading voice in holistic, patient-centered care, blending clinical innovation with compassion to shape the future of healthcare one that prioritizes longevity, vitality, and well-being.

Prof. K. Srinath Reddy, a cardiologist and epidemiologist by training, is the founder past President of the Public Health Foundation of India (2006-2022), presently serving as an Honorary Distinguished Professor of PHFI. He was earlier Head of Cardiology at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences. Prof. Reddy was the first Bernard Lown Visiting Professor of Global Cardiovascular Health at Harvard (2009-13) and is presently an Adjunct Professor at Harvard, Emory, Sydney and Pennsylvania universities. He serves on the Advisory Boards of the School of Population and Global Health at McGill University and the Centre for Global Health Equity, University of Michigan.

He is an International Member of the US National Academy of Medicine. He was President of the World Heart Federation (2013-14) and is co-chair of the Health Thematic Group of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network. He served on a several WHO expert panels and Technical Advisory Groups. He chaired the High-Level Expert Group on Universal Health Coverage constituted by the Planning Commission of India (2010-11). He is a member of the Global Panel on Agriculture and Food Systems for Nutrition. He served as Advisor on Health to the state governments of Odisha and Andhra Pradesh, with a cabinet rank.

Tanguy BOGNON is a Senior Public Health Specialist with over 17 years of extensive expertise in health promotion, health program management, and health system strengthening. He has strong experience in coordinating scientific meetings, training, and research departments. Tanguy previously worked at the Ministry of Defense, specifically at the National Military Teaching Hospital, where he led the Center of Excellence in Paediatric AIDS Global Care. He currently serves as Senior Technical Advisor to the Director General of the Hospital for health information and strategic innovation.

As the coordinator of international conference reporting for the Society for AIDS in Africa for over ten years, he developed several innovative tools for conference reporting and participated as a speaker in 15 international conferences.

Tanguy has a multidisciplinary background in medical and social sciences, public health, health promotion, health communication, and environmental management. He is currently a PhD candidate in Environmental Management and has completed over 300 certificates in various fields, including community health, health in all policies, cluster coordination, advocacy, health impact assessment, emergency preparedness/response, infodemic management, and research ethics. He is fluent in both French and English and possesses multifaceted skills that make him an asset to any organization.

As an activist with more than 20 years of experience in public policy analysis, social inequality assessment, and the fight against social exclusion, Tanguy is dedicated to impactful and sustainable health interventions. He is particularly passionate about the social determinants of health, health inequalities, and climate change.

Tara Chen is a PhD Candidate in the Department of Geography and Environmental Management at the University of Waterloo. She is part of the Geographies of Health in Place (GoHelP) lab under the supervision of Dr. Susan Elliott. She identifies as a young public health professional working to strengthen health systems with the motto, “everything & everywhere is public health”. Her various research interests currently include nature-based social prescriptions, health literacy, climate change, planetary health, wellbeing, and cross-sectoral collaborations.

Tara holds a BHSc from Western University and a dual MPH (Europubhealth+) in Governance and Health Economics from the University of Sheffield, Jagiellonian University and EHESP. Her masters’s thesis focused on health literacy action plans, with a practicum in water governance. Tara previously lived in Jamaica, England, Poland, Sweden, France and Taiwan, working on her studies and multi-stakeholder projects involving SDGs, health system governance, public health, hospitals, and local communities across the globe.

Tara is also a strong advocate for amplifying young voices in dialogue, research and practice. She is an active member of the university committee and across various groups in public health. Most recently, she was the Climate-Health Fellow with the Association of Schools of Public Health in the European Region (ASPHER), working on advocating for climate-health competencies in public health curriculum. She was also the Chair for the Health Literacy Explorers, International Health Literacy Association, focused on developing a network of young/early career professionals through activities such as journal clubs and Hot Topic Seminars.

Dr. Vidya Velagapudi is a Senior Vice President of Precision Medicine and Academy of Education and Research at the Corporate Medical Office, Global Patient Care, M42 Health, Abu Dhabi. She has an interdisciplinary educational background and a strong R&D background in metabolic disorders, biomarker discovery, translational science, and precision medicine. She has been working in cross-functional life sciences areas in various domains such as Academia, CRO, Pharma and Health Tech industries for over 20 years. She has obtained significant awards, fellowships, and competitive grants. She has published over 75 scientific articles in reputed journals. She is an invited expert evaluator for the European Commission and other national funding bodies.  She is also an invited speaker at various international scientific events, panel discussions and conferences.