Coronaviruses

Dr. Zhijan Cao is a professor at the College of Life Sciences, Wuhan University, China. He has more than 20 years of experience in the research of animal toxin peptides, involving in cDNA, genome, biological and pharmacological roles (such as anti-virus, anti-tumour, ion-channel-modulating), molecular diversity and evolution. He graduated Ph.D from the College of Life Sciences, Wuhan University, China in 2004. He was also a visiting scholar of Meharry Medical College, USA, from 2014 to 2015. Notably, he has authored over 100 manuscripts and holds 12 patents. He was an Excellent Young Scholar of the China National Science Fund in 2014 and got the Youth Science and Technology Award from the Chinese Society of Toxicology in 2016.

Dr. Ratul K. Das completed his M.Sc. in Molecular Biology and Biotechnology from Tezpur Central University, India, followed by a Ph.D. in Environmental Biotechnology from the University of Quebec, Canada. Dr. Das has expertise in the fields of nanobiotechnology and environmental biotechnology. He is currently working as an Associate Fellow at the TERI-Deakin Nanobiotechnology Centre, India, and as an Honorary Fellow at IFM, Deakin University, Australia. His research team at TDNBC focuses on developing silk protein-based nanoformulations for diverse applications. Dr. Das has published about 65 peer-reviewed international research papers (25 as first author) and holds 2 patents, along with several conference presentations to his credit. He has also contributed significantly as a core member of the scientific team in formulating the national guidelines for evaluating nano-based agri-input and food products in India.

Dr. Salvatore Giovanni De Simone holds a Bachelor's degree in Science, a Master's degree in Science, and a Doctorate in Biochemistry from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. He was a visiting researcher at the Department of Medical Parasitology, New York University (NYU), USA, and at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Heidelberg, Germany. He served as a Full Professor of Biochemistry at the Federal Fluminense University, Niterói, RJ, Brazil, and as Chief of the Laboratory of Biochemistry of Proteins and Peptides at the Oswaldo Cruz Institute (FIOCRUZ), RJ, Brazil. He is currently a Specialist in Science and Technology Production and Innovation in Health at the Center for Technological Development in Health (FIOCRUZ-CDTS) and a Researcher at the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq) of Brazil.

Dr. A.A. Rizvi pursued an MS and PhD combined degree program at the Center for Biotechnology and Drug Design, Department of Chemistry, Georgia State University (GSU), Atlanta, GA, USA. Dr. Rizvi has published over 100 peer-reviewed articles in top ranking journals, two books and four book chapters. His research interests include pharmaceutical formulations (direct compressed tablets, topical and liquid), Ionic liquid formation and co-crystallization of the pharmaceutical compounds; nano and micro-encapsulation of the drugs for targeting and controlled release, multistep synthesis of small organic molecules, pharmaceutical analysis (forensics and method development), design and synthesis of novel monomeric and polymeric surfactants for separation of chiral and achiral compounds in micellar electrokinetic chromatography (MEKC).

Dr. Robert A. Schwartz, MD, MPH, DSc (Hon), FRCP Edin, is in his third decade as Professor and Head of Dermatology at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School. He has served three terms on the Rutgers University Board of Trustees and is the Chairman of the university-wide Academic Standards, Regulations, and Admissions Committee. Professor Schwartz has previously been the Faculty President of Rutgers New Jersey Medical School and a Visiting Professor at the Rutgers School of Public Affairs and Administration. He also serves as an Overseas Regional Adviser to the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh.

Dr. Asis Bala received his Ph.D. from Jadavpur University, Kolkata, India, and completed his postdoctoral research in the Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Free State, South Africa. His research interests include the pathophysiology of communicable and non-communicable diseases, pharmacology, toxicology, free radical biology, and cellular inflammation and immunopharmacology. He has supervised several Master’s and Ph.D. students and has accumulated more than 800 Scopus citations.

Dr. Avadhesh K. Yadav is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Physics at F. A. A. Government Postgraduate College Mahmudabad, Sitapur, Uttar Pradesh, India. He completed his Ph.D. from the University of Lucknow, Lucknow, India, and conducted postdoctoral research at the Indian Institute of Technology (BHU) Varanasi, India. His research focuses on glass, glass ceramics, science communication, and the development of humidity and gas sensors. He is currently working on the impact of Coronavirus and COVID-19 on mental, psychological, and physical health. He has contributed extensively to research articles in internationally recognized journals and has also published a book on science communication, exploring its issues and challenges.