Ian Jones is the R&D Scientific Product Assessment Center Vice President at Japan Tobacco International (JTI), based in Kanagawa Japan, and is responsible for leading JTI R&D’s fundamental chemical, material and biological research activities. Ian joined JTI in 2006 from the University of Bath, UK, where he was a lecturer in Developmental Neuroscience at the Department of Biology and Biochemistry. Since then, Ian has held several regulatory science-related roles in the company, including Reduced-Risk Science Vice President and R&D Principal Scientist. Ian has a particular interest in the harm reduction potential of oral tobacco- and nicotine-containing products and has participated in several cross-industry activities to develop, for example, harmonized terminology and product standards for smokeless tobacco products. Ian holds a PhD in cell physiology, completed at Imperial College, London (1995).

Carrie Wade is Senior Manager of Global Scientific Engagement at Philip Morris InternationaI (PMI). She leads her team in developing strategies to realize the company's mission of a smokefree future.

Carrie obtained a PhD in Pharmacology and Neuroscience and pursued an MA in Public Health following a postdoc at The Scripps Research Institute. Prior to her role at PMI, she worked as the Principal Scientist in Scientific Affairs at JUUL Labs, where she engaged with lawmakers and stakeholders on U.S. FDA’s regulatory processes.

Karin Jacobson is Science Engagement Director at Japan Tobacco International (JTI) and based in Geneva, Switzerland. In her role, Karin leads scientific engagement activities, develops external scientific messaging and drives understanding of tobacco and nicotine product science. Prior to joining JTI in 2017, Karin built extensive experience in pharmaceutical science. She worked as a research scientist in pharmacology at the University of Geneva and in the biotechnology company NovImmune before transitioning to the consulting company NeuroAssets, specialized in neuroscience. As a senior consultant, she provided expertise and guidance on research strategy, preclinical study design and scientific communication. Originally from Sweden, Karin holds a PhD in Pharmaceutical Science from the University of Basel, Switzerland.

Professor Marewa Glover is one of New Zealand’s leading tobacco control researchers. She has worked on reducing smoking-related harm for 31 years. She is recognized internationally for her advocacy on tobacco harm reduction; and locally was a Finalist in the New Zealander of the Year Supreme Award in 2019 recognising her contribution to reducing smoking in NZ. In 2018, Dr Glover was appointed Tobacco Section Editor for the Harm Reduction Journal. In that year she also established the Centre of Research Excellence: Indigenous Sovereignty & Smoking, an international program of research aimed at reducing smoking-related harms among Indigenous peoples globally. The Centre’s research was funded with grants from the Foundation for a Smoke-Free World, Inc. (“FSFW”), a US nonprofit 501(c)(3) private foundation.

Dr Roberto A Sussman (PhD University of London) is a full time senior researcher and lecturer at the Institute for Nuclear Sciences of the National University of Mexico. His main research areas are General Relativity and Cosmology, but he has conducted research in other areas of Physics, including peer reviewed publications on e-cigarette aerosols. He is also the founder and Director of Pro-Vapeo Mexico, an association representing Mexican consumers of noncombustible nicotine products and is a member of INNCO. He is actively advocating for an appropriate regulation of Tobacco Harm Reduction products in Mexico. He directs and supervises the effort to spread scientific information on these products, as well as advising consumers on how to counter the governmental misinformation and prejudice about them that is rampant throughout Latin America.

Dr Sudhanshu Patwardhan (“Sud”) is a licensed medical doctor and healthtech entrepreneur. Sud qualified as a doctor from India, did post graduate studies at the Keck Graduate Institute, California, USA, and holds an MBA from the London Business School, UK. For the past two decades, he has lived and worked in three continents, doing senior roles in research, strategy and policy in the pharmaceutical and tobacco industries. In 2018, Sud co-founded the Centre for Health Research and Education (CHRE), an independent healthcare company working globally in cancer prevention. CHRE has received grants from the Global Action to End Smoking for smoking cessation projects. Sud now splits time between the U.K. and South Asia on projects that address the needs of the most disadvantaged tobacco users. He also consults for companies on tobacco harm reduction. Since 2021, Sud is working with digital tech partners for innovating in oral cancer screening.