Dr. Francisco B. Elegado is Research Professor 12 at the National Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, University of the Philippines Los Baños (BIOTECH-UPLB) and Affiliate Faculty of the Institutes of Biological Science, Food Science & Technology, Chemistry and the Chemical Engineering and Humanities Departments and the School of Environmental Science, UPLB. He served as Program Leader and Project Leader for three decades, taught Chemistry and Science, Technology and Society and currently teaches Industrial Biotechnology and Japanese Language; and was serving as thesis Adviser/Co-Adviser for undergrad and graduate students. He completed a BS in Sugar Technology, MS in Agricultural Engineering from UPLB, a Doctor of Agriculture (Food Science) at Kyushu University in Fukuoka, Japan, and postdoctoral studies at the Korea Food Research Institute. He is a Fellow of the Philippine Academy of Microbiology. He was a former President of the Philippine Society for Microbiology (PSM) and the Philippine Society for Lactic Acid Bacteria (now Philippine Society for Probiotics and Functional Foods or PhilProFF) and is the current President of the Association of Filipino Mycologists. He is a Regular Member of the National Research Council of the Philippines, serving as head of the Food and Nutrition of the Biological Division. He is a member of the Executive Board of the Asian Federation of the Societies for Lactic Acid Bacteria, served as Secretary and at present its Auditor.

He was awarded Outstanding Microbiologist of the Philippine Society for Microbiology in 2010, University of the Philippines (UP) Scientist II, UPLB Outstanding researcher in Biological Sciences in 2023 and 2025; Department of Agriculture and the National Academy of Science and Technology Outstanding Publication Awards, best oral and posters in various scientific meetings, and 3 University of the Philippines invention disclosures. He has co-authored 5 book chapters, 105 articles in refereed journals (54 SCIE or Scopus-indexed; Google Scholar H Index =16: i10 index = 24), and 120 oral and 140 poster papers in scientific meetings. He is a co-patent holder of the Salmonella DAS TM detection kit, currently used in the industry and trademarks on a DNA nanobiosensor kit (Quixens TM ) and a probiotic drink (Proculant TM ).

Jiro Nakayama received his Master’s degree from the Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo, in 1989, after which he was appointed as a Research Associate in the Faculty of Agriculture at the same university. Since his master’s program, he has devoted his research to elucidating quorum sensing mechanisms in Gram-positive bacteria and exploring drug discovery strategies targeting these systems. He earned his Ph.D. in Agriculture in 1994. From 1998 to 1999, he served as a visiting researcher at Wageningen University in the Netherlands, where he began his research on the gut microbiota. After returning to Japan, he was appointed Associate Professor in the Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Faculty of Agriculture, Kyushu University, in 2001, and was promoted to Professor in 2020, a position he continues to hold.

His research activities center on the gut microbiota, with a particular focus on the structure and function of gut microbial ecosystems as an interface between diet and health in Asian populations. To advance this line of research, he is leading the Asian Microbiome Project in close collaboration with numerous scientists within Japan and across Asia.

In academic service, he currently serves as Editor-in-Chief of Bioscience, Microbiota, Food, and Health, the joint journal of the Japanese Society for Lactic Acid Bacteria, the Japanese Society for Gut Microbiology, and the Japanese Society for Food Immunology.

Dr. Dae-Kyung Kang is a Professor of Dankook University, Rep. of Korea. He received Ph.D. from The University of Tokyo, Japan, and worked as a Post-doctorate at the National

Institutes of Health, USA. His research interests include characterization and engineering of probiotic bacteria, and modulation of gut microbiome for human and animal health. He published more than 150 papers in international peer-reviewed journals up to now, and he is also the inventor of more than 20 patents. Prof. Kang was awarded Leading Scientist Award from The Korean Society for Microbiology and Biotechnology, Science and Technology Excellence Paper Award from The Korean Federation of Science and Technology Societies, etc. He served as the President of Korean Society for Food Science of Animal Resources and Korean Society of Dairy Science and Technology, and as the Editor-in-Chief of “Food Science of Animal Resources” journal.

Prof. Lee Yuan Kun is a University Fellow of the National University of Singapore, Yong Loo

Lin School of Medicine. He Served as President for the Singapore Society of Microbiology

and Biotechnology (SSMB), Asian Federation of Society for Lactic Acid Bacteria (AFSLAB),

and International Union of Microbiological Societies (IUMS). His research interests involve crosstalk between gastrointestinal microbiome and the host, and microbial fermentation processes in production of food and pharmaceuticals. He received research grants from national research foundations and private agencies, supervised 36 PhD graduates. He was awarded the Republic of Singapore National Day Long Excellent Service award in 2012. Prof. Lee published 322 papers in international peer reviewed journals, delivered 122 conference papers, contributed 52 chapters in books, and authored and edited 14 monographs, with 14,787 citations and a D-index of 63 in Clarivate 2024. Prof. Lee received his Ph.D. from the University of London (Queen Elizabeth College), United Kingdom in 1979.

Prof Patricia Conway is Visiting Professor of the Singapore Centre for Environmental Life Sciences Engineering (SCELSE), Singapore and CEO of PC Biome Pte Ltd. She was Professor at the School of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering and in the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) Food Technology Centre, NTU. She has extensive research and industry R&D experience, including authorship on over 100 scientific papers in international journals, monographs or book chapters, and numerous plenary or keynote lectures at international meetings. She is inventor on over 20 patent applications and Principal Investigator on grants in Sweden, Australia and Singapore. Prof Conway’s research interests are gastrointestinal microbiology, functional foods including probiotics and prebiotics. She has a particular focus on bacterial colonization of the gastrointestinal tract and mechanisms of bacterial adhesion, pathogen inhibition and immune modulation in animals and humans in order to develop ways of modulating the microbiome for health.

Professor Ying-Chieh Tsai is a Distinguished Professor in the Institute of Biochemistry

and Molecular Biology at National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taiwan. A pioneer in probiotic and microbiome research in Asia, he founded the Taiwan Association of Lactic Acid Bacteria in 2002 and served as its President from 2002 to 2006. He also co-founded the Asian Federation of Societies for Lactic Acid Bacteria (AFSLAB), serving as its President from 2005 to 2009. During his tenure, he played a leading role in strengthening regional scientific networks and promoting the development of probiotic and microbiome research across Asia. Professor Tsai has played a pivotal role in translating scientific discoveries into commercial innovations. He founded several biotechnology companies, including Yangsen Biotechnology Co., Kei-Sei-Ken Biotechnology Co., and Bened Biomedical Co., and has served as Chief Advisor to all three organizations. His current research focuses on psychobiotics and gerobiotics, with particular emphasis on the microbiota–gut–brain axis and its applications in human health. Through his pioneering work, he continues to advance our understanding of how the gut microbiome influences neurological function, healthy aging, and overall well-being, while exploring opportunities for the development of innovative microbiome-based products and therapeutics.

(e-mail address: tsaiyc66@gmail.com)

Dr. Chao-Wei Huang's research expertise lies in monogastric animal physiology, animal nutrition, nutritional metabolism, and gut health. His recent research focuses on the interactive effects of nutritional modulation on the gut microbiota, secondary metabolites, and host physiological responses, extending to animal growth efficiency and meat quality performance. His methodological approach integrates nutritional metabolomics with gut microbiota analysis to systematically investigate the derived applications of feed ingredients and agricultural materials, including the mechanisms by which probiotics, postbiotics, and functional additives act on the intestinal environment and metabolic signaling. He also published 24 papers in international peer-reviewed journals. His research centers on the application of different types of probiotics in monogastric animals to improve intestinal health, growth efficiency, and meat quality, integrating nutritional metabolism and gut microbiota analysis to advance data-driven precision nutrition strategies for sustainable livestock and poultry production. In recent years, he has been dedicated to establishing data-driven precision nutrition strategies for application in the health management and sustainable production of livestock and poultry. Dr. Huang received his Ph.D. from the National Taiwan University, Taiwan (R.O.C.) in 2016. 

TEL:(08)7703202#6328 | Email Address: cwhuang@mail.npust.edu.tw