Opening session

Bridging Borders: Women in Science Leading Global Science Diplomacy

Prof. Dr. Amal Amin is a full professor at the National Research Centre, Egypt, and a global leader in nanotechnology, science diplomacy, and women’s empowerment in science. She co-founded the Global Young Academy and the Egyptian Young Academy of Sciences, and established several international initiatives including Women in Science without Borders and the World Forum for Women in Science. A fellow of the International Science Council and board member of ORCID (2022–2024), she has received multiple international awards, including the 2024 Peace Leadership Award in Science and Technology, and continues to promote science for humanity and social innovation worldwide.

Prof. Yoko Shimpuku is a Professor of Global Health Nursing at Hiroshima University, leading research on maternal and child health with a strong focus on equity, care, and digital health innovation. She has conducted extensive field research in Tanzania and other countries, aiming to advance women-centered care through mobile health interventions and midwifery education. She serves as a member of the WHO STAGE Midwifery Expert Group, the International Confederation of Midwives (ICM) Regional Professional Committee for the Western Pacific, and the Science Council of Japan. She is a former Executive Committee member of the Global Young Academy and the Young Academy of Japan, and in 2020, she was recognized by WHO and the United Nations as one of the “100 Outstanding Women Nurse and Midwife Leaders.”

Haruka Ono Associate Professor, Toyohashi University of Technology/ Chair, Young Academy of Japan

Dr. Haruka Ono is Associate Professor of Architecture and Civil Engineering at Toyohashi University of Technology, Japan, specializing in inclusive urban design and planning in rapidly changing environments. Her research focuses on informal urbanism, community-based urban development, and bottom-up smart cities, based on long-term fieldwork in African and Asian cities. She is an Associate Member of the Science Council of Japan and Chair of its Young Academy, as well as a member of the Global Young Academy. She previously served as the founding Representative Director of the Japanese Association for the Advancement of Science, promoting public engagement and transdisciplinary collaboration in science.

Angela Liberatore is Science Diplomacy fellow at the European University Institute.

She previously served as Head of the Scientific Department at the European Research Council, the EU programme for frontier research in all fields of knowledge.   Before that Angela worked in the EU research programmes on environment and climate, social sciences and humanities and then international cooperation in the European Commission.

Among her ‘highlights’, she co-chaired the Social Protection group for the UN Research Roadmap for COVID-19 Recovery, contributed to the EC White Paper on European Governance and the negotiation of the Kyoto Protocol on Climate Change, and -more recently- was part of the drafting team of the European Approach to Science Diplomacy (published in February 2025).  Angela holds a PhD in Political and Social Sciences (European University Institute) and a degree in Philosophy (University of Bologna) and was Fullbright Fellow at the Kennedy School of Government of Harvard University.

Plenary Session 1

Science Diplomacy from the Perspective of Distributive Justice: Redefining Global Knowledge Cooperation

Sam Chan Siok Yee, Co-Chair of Global Young Academy, c/o School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Associate Professor

Associate Prof Dr. Chan Siok Yee is a leading researcher in pharmaceutical sciences, focusing on product development to improve patient compliance and medication effectiveness at Universiti Sains Malaysia. She holds key leadership roles, including co-Chair of the Global Young Academy, member of the Capacity Building Committee for international academic partnerships, editorial board member for UNESCO’s scientific report, Editor-in-Chief of the Malaysian Journal of Pharmacy, and President of the Clinical Ethics Committee USM-LWE. Dr. Chan has been invited to various prestigious events as a delegate and key opinion leader in SDGs, Planetary Health, women in science, and global health strategies.

Dr. Jan Marco MÜLLER Team Leader Global Approach, Multilateral Dialogue and Science Diplomacy, European Commission, DG Research and Innovation

Following his PhD in Geography at the University of Marburg (Germany), Jan Marco Müller’s early career included management positions at environmental research centres in Germany, Italy, and the UK. After being an Assistant to the Director-General of the Joint Research Centre JRC (2009-2012), he managed the office of Dame Anne Glover, the first Chief Scientific Adviser to the President of the European Commission (2012-2015) and then helped setting up the Commission’s current Scientific Advice Mechanism. 2017-2020 he worked for the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) as Coordinator for Science Diplomacy and Acting Chief Operations Officer. 2020-2022 he served as Science & Technology Advisor of the European External Action Service (EEAS), before joining the European Commission’s DG Research and Innovation, where he coordinates the development of a European Framework for Science Diplomacy. He is a Fellow of the International Science Council and currently chairs the global Foreign Ministries Science & Technology Advice Network (FMSTAN).

Ryuma Shineha Graduate School of Media Design, Keio University Associate Professor After receiving his Ph.D from Kyoto University, he worked at SOKENDAI, Osaka University, and etc. His main research theme is “responsible governance of science and technology” with the concept of “responsible research and innovation (RRI).” He conducts an analysis of ethical, legal, and social implications (ELSI) concerning advanced science and technology with multiple analytical approaches in social science, such as media analysis, social surveys, scanning, public dialogue, observation, and policy analysis.

Professor Paul Arthur Berkman is a Fellow of the International Science Council and Fulbright Specialist 2024-2027 with the United States Department of State.  He founded the Science Diplomacy Center, Inc. (SDCI) nonprofit in the United States in 2022.  He is a Faculty Associate with the Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School and a Distinguished Visiting Professor with the International Institute of Science Diplomacy and Sustainability (IISDS) at UCSI University in Malaysia. Paul wintered in Antarctica on a SCUBA research expedition in 1981 and became a Visiting Professor at the University of California Los Angeles the following year at the age of 23, when he began his global journey with science diplomacy.

Tateo Arimoto is a fellow of ISC, Visiting Professor of GRIPS and Senior Advisor to the President of JST. He served DG of STI Policy Bureau of MEXT, Executive Research Fellow at the Cabinet Office. He has been an active role in STI policy making and promoting S&T for society with multidisciplinary approach in Japan. He is a board member of INGSA, Science Diplomacy Committee at Japan’s Foreign Ministry and UN STI Forum for SDGs. He has been co-chairing several OECD studies on scientific advice, research funding and transdisciplinary research. His recent publications are “Research Security for Actionable Science Diplomacy” and “Mission-oriented innovation policy in Japan”.

Plenary Session 2

Reframing Care: From Redistributing the Burden to Sharing Human Fulfillment—and Advancing Research Careers

Antonia Morita Iswari Saktiawati (Faculty of Medicine, Public Health, and Nursing, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Indonesia (Faculty member and clinician))　TB researcher, medical doctor, and proud mother dedicated to innovation in health while striving to balance work and family life.

Hazuki Maehara / President,Life Portfolio Co., Ltd.

In 2019,founded Life Portfolio. Has served as a lecturer for women’s career development programs at many companies. 
Specializes in career training for employees returning from parental leave.
At Life Portfolio, we provide career programs designed not just to maximize career success, but to maximize happiness.

Keiko Matsubara, M.D., Ph.D. is Chief of the Discovery and Innovation Gateway at the Integrated Center for Women’s Health (ICWH), established in 2024 at the National Center for Child Health and Development (NCCHD), Japan. She also leads the Division of Diversity Research at NCCHD. Her work spans cross-sector collaboration and innovation in women’s health, with expertise in pediatric genetics, epigenetics, and developmental endocrinology. She has advanced data-driven approaches, including a 2022 study using parenting app data to map child development, and is committed to addressing unmet needs and promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Dr. Zille Anam is a Senior Programme Manager at UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) India, where she leads international research and innovation partnerships from the British High Commission in New Delhi. A molecular medicine researcher by training, she holds a PhD focused on developing peptide‑based therapies for malaria and tuberculosis. She has previously built research communities, led international grant awareness programmes, and written extensively on women in science, research culture, and science policy in India. Her work sits at the intersection of science diplomacy, equitable partnerships, and global impact. She is deeply committed to mentoring women in science and enabling diverse career pathways.