Assistant Professor & Core Member, Offord Centre for Child Studies, Department of Psychiatry & Behavioural Neurosciences, McMaster University Melissa Kimber, Ph.D., M.S.W., R.S.W., is an Assistant Professor and Core Member of the Offord Centre for Child Studies within the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences at McMaster University, Canada. She is also Registered Social Worker that continues to provide mental health assessment, advocacy, and psychotherapy in a private practice in Hamilton (Ontario) to children and adolescents (< 17 years) living with mental health challenges. Dr. Kimber received her PhD (2015) in Health Research Methodology from the Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact (formerly known as the Department of Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics) at McMaster University and completed her CIHR-funded postdoctoral fellowship at the Offord Centre for Child Studies (2018). Her research reflects her personal and professional commitment to improve the lives of children (< 17 years old) who experience family violence (i.e., child maltreatment and intimate partner violence) and mental health challenges, as well as the lives of the health professionals that care for them. For these populations, Dr. Kimber and her team utilize qualitative, quantitative and mixed method research designs to: (a) characterize the prevalence, determinants, and impacts of family violence and mental health challenges; (b) identify and evaluate strategies to improve the efficiency with which individuals receive empirically-supported interventions to mitigate their suffering; as well as (c) identify and evaluate new clinical and educational interventions that can assist in reducing the impacts of family violence and mental health challenges, locally and globally.
Researcher, Rhodes University Dr Maureen Bilinga Tendwa is a researcher at Rhodes University, a senior scientific researcher at the Global Health Catalyst and an expert evaluator of Complementary Medicine with the South African Health Product Regulatory Authority. She also serves as a moderator at the University of Johannesburg's Department of Medicine and practices Clinical Phytomedicine. Dr Tendwa focuses on addressing health disparities and promoting sustainable health systems in Africa. She holds a PhD in Bioinformatics with a specialization in Pharmacogenomics in Oncology from Rhodes University, an MSc in Medical BioSciences, and a Post-graduate Certificate in Globalization and Health from the University of Western Cape. Additionally, she has extensive experience as a researcher with the Human Heredity and Health in Africa consortium and is a mediator and arbitrator in medical negligence cases. Dr Tendwa has numerous publications on Afrocentric oncology studies in reputable journals.
Professor, European University Institute and John Hopkins University, European University Institute Prof Mehari is currently a Part-time Professor at the School of Transnational Governance and Academic Coordinator of the Young African Leaders Programme (YALP) at the European University Institute in Florence, as well as an Adjunct Professor at Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies, Bologna. With over 23 years of experience in teaching, research, and professional roles in intergovernmental negotiations and leadership in multilateral governance bodies, think tanks, and universities, Prof Mehari has developed a unique blend of skills and expertise in strategic thinking, and management, transnational and national policy, law-making, multilateral relations, applied cross-border research, and academic excellence. This is complemented by his in-depth knowledge of multilateral forums and partnerships, particularly those between the African Union (AU), the United Nations (UN), and the European Union (EU). He teaches and works on research topics that focus on new frontiers in transnational governance and law, leadership and management of partnerships, geopolitics and African agency, peace and security, migration, and mobility, as well as human rights and humanitarian law. He also runs innovative core courses for master's and executive training modules for specialists, and creative deliberative platforms for policy makers, leaders drawn from transnational governance institutions and diplomatic communities such as the UN, the AU, EU delegations, RECs, and other transboundary regulatory bodies. Previously, as a high-level professional staff member, Prof Mehari served as Legal Expert at the Office of the Legal Counsel of the AU and Programme Coordinator for Migration at the AUC. He also served as Chief Strategist, Lead Migration Expert, and Legal Drafter for the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) and the AU High-level Advisory Group. Additionally, he was an expert at the Mercator Dialogue on Asylum and Migration and a Fellow at the United Nations University Institute on Comparative Regional Integration Studies (UNU-CRIS) in Bruges, Belgium. He was also Programme Head at the Institute for Security Studies and Director at Addis Ababa University. He served as a Visiting Professor and was a Senior Fellow at the NATO Defense College (Rome), the Geneva Centre for Security Policy, the Nigerian Defence College (Abuja), the Nigerian Armed Forces Command and Staff College (Jaji), and the UN Institute for Economic Development and Planning (Dakar). Prof Mehari is a graduate of Harvard and Oxford universities and has held fellowships in prestigious academic programmes at various think tanks and institutions of higher learning. These include the Robert Schuman Centre, the Nation Building Institute, the Future Studies Institute, George Mason University, Royal Dutch Shell, the NATO Partnership for Peace, Max Planck Institute, and the NATO Defense College. Prof Mehari holds a PhD in Legal Sciences from JL Giessen University, Germany, an MPA from Harvard, an MSc from the University of Oxford, and an LLB from Addis Ababa University.
Associate Professor of Psychology, University of Victoria I am a native of Medellin, Colombia. After completing my bachelor’s degree in psychology at the University of Antioquia, I relocated to Georgia (US), where I obtained my Master’s (2005) and PhD (2008) in Psychology (School Psychology/Developmental Neuropsychology emphasis) at the University of Georgia. I am now an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Victoria (BC, Canada), which I joined in 2008. At UVic, I created the CORTEX lab [www.cortex.uvic.ca], a research lab specialized in the study of the neural and behavioural foundations of executive functioning. I am now the Associate Dean Research and Graduate Studies for the Faculty of Social Sciences. I also serve as Associate Editor of the APA journal Psychological Assessment and I am the past President of the Latin American Association of Neuropsychology (2018-2021). My research focuses on the study of executive functioning, our ability to problem-solve, make decisions, and organize cognitive processes towards achieving a goal. I have a particular interest in the psychometric assessment of executive function, but most of my research focuses on clinical events or environmental variables that may modify the lifespan development of this self-regulatory capacity, such as the effects of positive life experiences ranging from sports participation and leadership-based employment to negative experiences such as brain injury (e.g., sports concussions, hypoxic/anoxic brain damage associated with synthetic drug overdose), the experience of war, and the intersections between brain injury, mental health, and addictions.
Associate senior lecturer, Lund University I teach and do research on social movements and ideas about democracy. I’m currently examining practices of listening and care in contentious politics. I also do research on how corporate interest groups, involved in conservative and far-right politics, affect discourses on the environment and immigration.
Senior Lecturer in Sport Management, Manchester Metropolitan University I am a Senior Lecturer in the Sport Policy Unit at Manchester Metropolitan University. I serve as the Programme Leader of the BSc Sport Business Management and BSc Sport Marketing Management undergraduate courses. My main research interests reside around sports economics and sports management. The research I conduct covers various aspects of women’s football, including competitive balance, uncertainty of outcome and countries’ international sporting success. I have collaborated with UEFA and national football associations to help inform their decision-making regarding the long-term sustainability of the women’s game.
