Full professor of strategy, Escola de Administração de Empresas de São Paulo da Fundação Getúlio Vargas (FGV/EAESP) Dr. Olivier Bertrand is a full professor of Strategy at Fundação Getúlio Vargas (FGV) - EBAPE. His research interests center on international strategic issues related to mergers and acquisitions, multinationals, international trade, emerging countries (in particular Brazil and Russia), or for instance innovation. His articles have been published in leading journals in management (such as Academy of Management Journal, Global Strategy Journal, Harvard Business Review, International Business Review, Journal of International Business Studies, Long Range Planning, Organization Studies, Research Policy, or Strategic Management Journal) and economics (such as the Canadian Journal of Economics, International Journal of Industrial Organization, Journal of Comparative Economics or Journal of Economics and Management Strategy). Among others, he got (with co-authors) the International Management Division Best Paper Award at the Academy of Management in 2014 and the Best Reviewer Award from the Academy of Management Journal in 2019. He is (or was) a member of the editorial review board of journals such as the Academy of Management Journal, Global Strategy Journal, or Journal of International Business Studies. He is (or was) part of the research advisory board, among others, of Rennes School of Business and IAE Aix-CERGAM (Aix-Marseille University). He is also a member of the expert network at the World Economic Forum.
Professor of Politics, Royal Holloway University of London Oliver Heath is Professor of Politics and co-director of the Democracy and Elections Centre. He holds a BA (Hons) in Social Anthropology from the University of Sussex and an MA in Political Behavior from the University of Essex, where he also received his PhD. He joined the Department in 2008, having previously held a British Academy Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of Essex and an ESRC Postdoctoral Fellowship at the LSE. He has also worked at the University of Strathclyde and held visiting positions at the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS) in India, Universidad Simon Bolivar in Venezuela, and the Centre for the Study of Political Change (CiRCap) in Italy. Oliver's main research interests include elections and voting behaviour, public opinion, and survey design and analysis. He has a particular interest in both UK elections and Indian elections. He is the author of Political Research: Methods and Practical Skills (with Sandra Halperin) and has published his work in the Journal of Politics, British Journal of Political Science, European Journal of Political Research, Electoral Studies, Political Behavior, and Political Studies among others. He has received funding for his research from the ESRC, British Academy, and Nuffield Foundation, and has written commissioned reports for the Home Office on voluntary participation, citizenship and ethnic diversity and for the Joseph Rowntree Foundation on Brexit and low income voters.
PhD Candidate in English, City, University of London Olumayokun Ogunde is a doctoral researcher in English at City, University of London, specialising in representations of memory, migration, and intergenerational trauma in British-Nigerian communities. Her research particularly focuses on the experiences of British-Nigerian women, exploring themes of motherhood and daughterhood. This project takes a critical and creative approach, with each aspect informing the other. As part of her research, she is writing a novel that draws from the experiences of 1st, 2nd, and 3rd generation Nigerian immigrants in Britain.
Associate professor, Università di Bologna I am Associate Professor of Contemporary History at the University of Bologna, Italy, and Visiting Fellow at the Robert Schulman Centre, European University Institute, Florence. My work focuses on the history of international thought in the twentieth century. I am especially interested in the history of ideas about world order. My books include the award-winning The Emergence of Globalism: Visions of World Order in Britain and the United States, 1939-1950 (Princeton 2017), and more recently, Air and Love: A story of family, food and belonging (Picador 2024).
Professor of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, University of Southern California Dr. Akbari obtained his Ph.D. from Brigitta Stockinger’s laboratory in the Division of Molecular Immunology at the National Institute for Medical Research in UK. He performed postdoctoral work at Stanford University and in 2004 became Assistant Professor of Allergy and Immunology at Harvard Medical School. In 2008, Dr. Akbari joined the Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, USC Keck School of Medicine, where he is currently Professor of Immunology. Dr Akbari’s research is focused on understanding the molecular and cellular mechanisms orchestrating the differentiation and function of innate and adaptive immune responses. Major areas of interest include: the molecular and cellular mechanisms governing the differentiation and function of regulatory T cells, dendritic cells and innate lymphoid cells and the potential roles these cells play in vaccination, autoimmunity, inflammation, cancer and infection. Dr. Akbari is a recipient of several national and international grants and awards such as: American Lung Association fellowship award, the American Lung Association Research Grant, The Pharmacia award for the best research in the field of Immunology, Henning Loewenstein Research award for the excellent research in the field of Immunology. He is also a recipient of the Eleanor and Miles Shore prestigious grant from Harvard Medical School and several other grants from the National Institute of Health. He is currently serves as Associate Editor of several journals and also serves as a reviewer for several NIH and non-NIH study sections.
Assistant Professor, University of Florida Orlando Laitano, PhD is an Assistant Professor (tenure-track) in the Department of Applied Physiology and Kinesiology where he directs the Laboratory of Muscle and Environmental Physiology. Dr. Laitano conducts research on the mechanisms underlying sepsis-induced myopathy with disuse in aging and on the pathophysiology of exertional heat stroke. His lab uses pre-clinical models designed to address the complexities of clinical settings with the goal of improving human health. Dr. Laitano’s research has been funded by the National Institutes of Health and the Department of Defense. In addition, Dr Laitano has extensive practical experience assessing fluid balance and sweat test in elite athletes.
