Dikembe Mutombo was a beloved NBA Hall of Famer and a dedicated humanitarian who used his career as an NBA Global Ambassador to improve health and education in the Democratic Republic of the Congo through his foundation and the Biamba Marie Mutombo Hospital.
A leading expert on women’s health, Elizabeth Howell is renowned for her research on improving the quality of health care for women and reducing racial and ethnic disparities in maternal and child health.
Lydia Bourouiba is a leading expert in the fluid dynamics of disease transmission, whose groundbreaking research uses high-speed imaging to reveal how pathogens travel in sneezes and coughs, influencing public health guidelines.
Jason Shepherd is renowned for his groundbreaking discovery of the Arc gene, which is essential for long-term memory and is transported between neurons in a virus-like capsule.
Sarkis Mazmanian is a pioneer in the study of the gut microbiome and its profound influence on brain disorders, including Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases.
Emily Rothman is a leading expert on how sexually explicit media affects young people’s relationships, renowned for her research on dating violence and for creating a “pornography literacy curriculum” for teens.
Denisse Rojas Marquez is dedicated to creating a more inclusive and just healthcare system and is widely recognized for co-founding Pre-Health Dreamers, an organization that supports people with an undocumented status who want to pursue careers in healthcare.
Irene Papanicolas is an expert in health economics, renowned for her research on comparing healthcare systems worldwide to identify what makes them more efficient and sustainable.
Adam Waytz is a leading psychologist and professor, renowned for his research on how people perceive and misperceive the minds of others, particularly in the context of ethics and new technologies.
Barbara Natterson-Horowitz established the “Zoobiquity” movement, bridging human and animal medicine to advocate for a “One Health” approach by studying shared evolutionary connections across species, which she documented in her bestselling books and through co-founding species-spanning conferences.