Sylvia Boj (PhD) is Chief Scientific Officer of HUB Organoids. She earned her PhD at the University of Barcelona and completed her postdoctoral training as an EMBO fellow at the Hubrecht Institute, where she contributed to pioneering the first adult stem cell–derived human organoids in the laboratory of Prof. Hans Clevers. As a founding scientist of the HUB, she led programs in cystic fibrosis and pancreatic cancer and played a central role in transforming organoid technology from an academic breakthrough into a scalable, industry validated platform. As Scientific Director and later Chief Scientific Officer, Sylvia shaped HUB’s scientific strategy, expanded its global partnerships, and guided the successful commercialization of organoid based assays for drug discovery and personalized medicine. Now part of Merck, she continues to drive innovation by integrating human relevant biological models into R&D pipelines, advancing predictive science, and accelerating the development of more effective therapies.

Mar Cóndor is Program Manager for Life Applications at imec and a leading expert in silicon-based health technologies and next-generation microphysiological systems. She leads imec’s MPS research program at the interface of biology and semiconductor engineering, focusing on sensor-integrated organ-on-chip platforms for healthcare and drug discovery.
Prior to imec, she held research positions in Europe focusing on mechanobiology, tissue engineering, and cancer research. She obtained her PhD in Biomedical Engineering, where she developed advanced microfluidic in vitro platforms and novel 3D traction force microscopy methods.

Stanley Durrleman is CEO and co-founder of Qairnel, a biotechnology company focused on translating advanced biological insights into innovative therapeutic solutions for patients. As chief executive, he leads the company’s strategic vision and development efforts, working to bridge early-stage scientific understanding with real-world clinical impact. His work reflects the growing role of integrated, forward-looking approaches in moving from cellular-level biology to patient-level biology. Stanley is also a senior researcher at Inria and the Paris Brain Institute.

Jos Joore (PhD) is co-CEO and co founder of MIMETAS, a global pioneer in organ-on-a-chip technologies. With a strong background in biotechnology leadership, he previously held senior roles at Pepscan, Skyline Diagnostics, Kreatech, and Westburg. Under his guidance, MIMETAS has become a leading innovator in creating physiologically relevant human tissue models that bring biological complexity closer to the patient. Jos is widely recognized for his commitment to advancing technologies that make drug development more predictive, efficient, and human centered.

Kinga Matula is CEO & Founder of QurieGen, a techbio company developing virtual cell models powered by a lab-in-the-loop approach, leveraging single-cell multi-omics platforms to enable more predictive and patient-relevant drug discovery. As an entrepreneur, VC analyst, and scientific leader, she works at the intersection of biology, data, and translational research, translating complex biological information into predictive insights. Through QurieGen, she brings a deep tech and virtual cell biology perspective that helps bridge early cellular models with patient-relevant outcomes.

Steven Niederer is Chair of Biochemical Engineering at Imperial College London. His research focuses on the development of computational and experimental models to understand biological systems across scales, from cells and tissues to whole organ function. By combining engineering, biology, and data driven approaches, his work aims to improve the prediction of disease progression and treatment response, supporting the translation of fundamental science into clinical and patient impact.

Ketan Patel (PhD) is Head of Products at Bioptimus, where he leads the development of next generation AI solutions that push the boundaries of virtual biology. Throughout his career, he has been a driving force at the intersection of data, artificial intelligence, and life sciences innovation. Before joining Bioptimus, Ketan served as Vice President of Product Strategy at Clarivate, shaping advanced tools that support pharmaceutical R&D and evidence based decision making. He previously held senior product leadership roles at AstraZeneca, Oracle, Pfizer, and Eli Lilly, where he helped build digital platforms designed to accelerate drug discovery and development. Ketan brings a unique blend of scientific expertise and product vision to reimagine how biology can be explored, simulated, and transformed through AI.

Evangelia Petsalaki is a computational and systems biologist whose research focuses on understanding how cells integrate environmental and intrinsic cues through dynamic signalling and regulatory networks to drive phenotypic outcomes. Her work uses data-driven and phenotype-aware network models that capture the modular and context-dependent nature of cellular regulation. She is a Group Leader at EMBL EBI, where her lab develops advanced computational approaches, including network inference and graph based models, to study how genetic and environmental contexts shape cellular responses.

Justin Scheer is Vice President, In Silico Discovery at Johnson & Johnson, where he leads efforts to advance the use of computational, data driven and predictive approaches across drug discovery and development. In this role, he focuses on integrating in silico technologies to accelerate innovation, improve decision-making , and enhance the outcomes of R&D. Justin works closely with multidisciplinary teams across the organization to translate digital and computational science into meaningful impact for patients.

Piet van der Graaf is Senior Vice President and Head of Quantitative Systems Pharmacology at Certara, and Professor of Systems Pharmacology at Leiden University as well as Professor of Paediatrics at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Centre. His career spans leadership roles in academia and industry, including serving as Director of the Leiden Academic Centre for Drug Research and holding key positions in Discovery Biology, DMPK, and Clinical Pharmacology at Pfizer. Piet is also a leading figure in scientific publishing, having served as the founding Editor in Chief of CPT: Pharmacometrics & Systems Pharmacology and later of Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics. He is internationally recognized for advancing model informed drug development and shaping the future of quantitative, systems based approaches in medicine.