Dr. Tomei is the Miami Engineering Career Development Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Microbiology and Immunology, and Surgery, and the director of the Islet Immunoengineering Laboratory at the Diabetes Research Institute (DRI) at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. She holds a MS in Materials Engineering from the Politecnico of Milan (Italy) and a PhD in Bioengineering and Biotechnology from the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL, Switzerland).

Dr. Tomei is applying her unique background in bioengineering and immunology to develop novel immunoengineering platforms to prevent rejection after islet transplantation and to promote antigen-specific tolerance for a cure of type-1 diabetes.

Dr. Tomei has secured and successfully administered grants from the NIH, JDRF, Johnson & Johnson, Semma Therapeutics and Sernova Corp. She serves as a standing member for the NIH BMBI study section and as a member of the CIRM grant working group. She is a CTRMS councilor and member of the IPITA education committee. She was awarded the Marc S. Goodman Prize to an Outstanding Young Scientist, the JDRF career development award, the Eliahu I. Jury Early Career Research Award, the Johnson A. Edosomwan Researcher of the Year Award, the CMBE Young Innovator, and the Alexander Orr Excellence in Teaching Award.

Professor Anthony (Tony) Weiss AM PhD FTSE FRSN FRSC FRACI CChem FAIMBE FNAI FBSE FTERM is the global President of TERMIS. He is the McCaughey Chair in Biochemistry, NHMRC Leadership Fellow, and Professor of Biochemistry & Molecular Biotechnology, and leader of Tissue Engineering & Regenerative Medicine in the Charles Perkins Centre at the University of Sydney. He is the only recipient of all the major national innovation prizes. He is on 12 Editorial Boards, authored >300 publications, and is inventor on 167 awarded international patents in 22 patent families covering human tropoelastin, which gives tissue its elasticity and enhances the repair of scars and wounds. He founded the clinical stage company Elastagen Pty Ltd which was acquired by AbbVie.

Jacques Galipeau, M.D. FRCP(C) is the Don and Marilyn Anderson Professor of Oncology within the Department of Medicine and UW Carbone Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, and is Associate Dean for Therapeutics Development at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine & Public Health. He is the director of the University of Wisconsin Advanced Cell Therapy Program whose mission is to develop personalized cell therapies for immune and malignant disorders and to promote and deploy first-in-human clinical trials of UW cell therapy innovations to improve outcomes for children and adults. Dr. Galipeau leads a research program in the study and use of mesenchymal stromal cells as an immunotherapy of catastrophic illnesses including cancer and immune disease. He has also developed the field of fusion engineered cytokines known as fusokines, as a novel pharmaceutical means of treating immune disorders and cancer. He is an internationally recognized expert in translational development of cellular pharmaceuticals and the sponsor of a series of FDA-sanctioned clinical trials examining the use of personalized cell therapies. Dr. Galipeau is President of the ISCT (International Society for Cell Therapy) 2022-2024