Prof. Shlomo Berkovsky
Keynote speech title: “Personalised AI technologies for wellbeing and nutrition management”
Shlomo Berkovsky is a computer scientist, with deep theoretical and applied expertise in areas related to human-centric applications of Artificial Intelligence. He leads the Medical AI stream at the Centre for Health Informatics, Macquarie University. The stream focusses on the use of AI methods to develop patient models and personalised predictions of diagnosis and care, and studies how sensors can be deployed to predict medical conditions, and how clinicians and patients interact with health technologies. Berkovsky has a sustained record of research leadership, evidenced by publications at prestigious journals, steadily increasing citation track, Best Paper awards, keynote talks and tutorials, and leading large-scale research activities. He is the editor-in-chief of the ACM Transactions on Interactive Intelligent Systems, has chaired international conferences, secured $28M of research funding, and led projects in excess of $6M.
Prof. William Chen
Professor William Chen received his university education (from BSc to DSc) from Université Catholique de Louvain in Belgium. He attended the Food System Leadership Institute in the US.
Prof. Chen has joined Nanyang Technological University Singapore (NTU) since 2002 and is now the Michael Fam Endowed Chair Professor and Director of Food Science & Technology Programme. He is also Director of Singapore Agrifood Innovation Lab (SAIL@NTU), Co-Director of NTU Future Ready Food Safety Hub (FRESH@NTU), and Director of F&N-NTU Joint Innovation Lab.
Prof. Chen’s food tech innovations and opinions on food security have been featured in Nature and The World Economic Forum, and extensively covered by local and international media. The ‘Going Green’ programme by CNN in 2019 described Professor Chen as a Game-Changing Leader in the green revolution of the food system.
Professor Chen is advisor/consultant to government agencies, The World Health Organization, The Asian Development Bank, The Good Food Institute APAC, SEARCA Regional Professorial Chair in Food Science, food industry, and overseas universities on matters related to food technology and food security.
Dr. Lourdes V. Alvarez
Dr. Lize V. Rivera is a respected academic and researcher in Biological Science. Since July 2024, she has been the Dean of the College of Science at the Polytechnic University of the Philippines. She has also served as the Program Chair for the Master of Science in Biology since October 2022. Over the years, she has held several leadership roles at PUP, including Chairperson of the Department of Biology (2016–2017) and Director of the Institute of Science and Technology Research (2012–2015). Dr. Rivera earned her Ph.D. in Biological Science from the University of Santo Tomas in 2003, graduating Cum Laude as a DOST-PCHRD Scholar. She also completed her M.S. in Biological Science at the same university in 1998, again with Cum Laude honors. Her research is well-recognized both in the Philippines and internationally, with multiple published studies and conference presentations. In 2024, PUP honored her with the Gawad Sipi Award. She was also a Fulbright-Philippines Visiting Scholar at the University of Florida’s Department of Plant Pathology from 2023 to 2024. That same year, she received the John & Ann Niederhauser Endowment (JANE) Research Award from the American Phytopathological Society (APS). Earlier, in 2021, she received PUP’s Gawad Tuklas Outstanding Researcher Award. She actively participates in scientific organizations such as the American Society of Microbiology, American Phytopathological Society, and the Mycological Society of the Philippines. She is also part of the Philippine Network of Microbial Culture Collection and the International Mycological Association, among others. Her dedication to research and education continues to make a significant impact on the field of Biological Science.
Prof. Pio D. Bagtilay Jr MD
Prof Pio D. Bagtilay Jr MD is currently the Vice Dean of the Isabela State University College of Medicine & Allied Health Professions, at Echague, Isabela Campus.
In the academics, he serves as a faculty member in the Department of Preventive Medicine & Public Health, Medical Physiology, and Clinical Pharmacology, while in the clinical field, he is a practicing clinician and a sought-after lecturer on lifestyle diseases especially on Diabetes.
Dr Bagtilay earned a Certificate in the Practice of Anthropology from the Global Campus of The Oxford University through a scholarship grant (2021) and currently pursuing an MS Program in Public Health. He also received a specialized training in Ambulatory & Hospital Practice of Diabetes from the Institute for Studies on Diabetes Foundation Incorporation, ISDFI (2009), received his Doctor of Medicine in Virgen Milagrosa University Foundation,VMUF (1989).
He was instrumental and one of the founding member to the establishment of the ISU College of Medicine Program, a notable Former Board of Regent of the Isabela State University representing the Private Sector for two terms (2016-2020)
As a medical doctor specializing in juvenile, adult, and gestational diabetes, his approach to diabetes care extends beyond standard pharmacologic treatments to include a range of clinically studied supportive therapies. He is deeply committed to educating fellow Filipinos-within communities, healthcare facilities, and academic institutions- on diabetes awareness and management. His advocacy emphasizes early screening, timely detection, increased awareness, and preventive measures. He also highlights the importance of selecting the right pharmacologic treatments while integrating a healthy lifestyle and proper nutrition as essential components of comprehensive diabetes care.
(To keep him updated, he attends local and national seminars organized by Diabetes Philippines (2024), and ISD/REF Conferences (2024), as well as international conventions hosted by the American Diabetes Association (2018), International Diabetes Federation (2018), and the Asean Endocrine Society of Thailand (2016)
