Mark Tyndall MD, ScD, FRCPC is a Professor at the University of British Columbia, Canada. He was formerly the Executive Director of the BC Centre for Disease Control and the Deputy Provincial Health Officer. He received his medical degree from McMaster University, his infectious diseases training at the University of Manitoba, and his doctoral degree in public health from Harvard University. He has over three decades of community-based research and advocacy experience with a focus on global health, drug use, HIV, and harm reduction. He has authored over 250 peer-reviewed publications, presented a 2017 TEDMED talk on harm reduction, and is releasing a new book; “Vaping: Behind the Smoke and Fears” at this year’s GFN. His current research and advocacy efforts are focused on innovative programs to reduce drug overdose/poisoning through safe drug supply programs and accelerating the global transition away from combustible cigarettes to vaping and other safer nicotine products.

Harry Shapiro is Director of DrugWise – an online drug information service - and Managing Editor of DS Daily - the daily online drug, alcohol and tobacco news service. He has worked in the drugs field for over 40 years, first with the Institute for the Study of Drug Dependence and then from 2000 with DrugScope where he was Director of Communications until the charity folded in 2015. Since 2015, he has been working with Knowledge-Action-Change promoting public health through harm reduction. He is the author and Executive Editor of the Global State of Tobacco Harm Reduction report, contributes a blog to Nicotine Science and Policy and is one of KAC’s media spokespeople.