Sir Peter Gluckman
Professor Sir Peter Gluckman ONZ KNZM FRSNZ FMedSci FRS trained as a paediatrician and biomedical scientist. He directs Koi Tu: Centre for Informed Futures (www.informedfutures.org) and holds a Distinguished University Professorship at the Liggins Institute of the University of Auckland. He also holds honorary chairs in University College London, University of Southampton and National University of Singapore (where he acts as chief science advisor to the Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences). He has published over 750 scientific papers in perinatal and developmental physiology, neuroscience and endocrinology, evolutionary biology and medicine. He has authored both technical and popular science books. He chaired the WHO Commission on Ending Childhood Obesity (2014-2017).
Sir Peter is President of the International Science Council (ISC). From 2014-2021 he was the inaugural Chair of the International Network of Government Science Advice (INGSA), and from 2009-2018 he was the first Chief Science Advisor to the Prime Minister of New Zealand and Science Envoy for the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. He has written and spoken extensively on science-policy and science-diplomacy and science-society interactions.
He has received the highest scientific and civilian honours in New Zealand including the Order of New Zealand restricted to 20 living New Zealanders, and numerous international scientific awards. In 2016 he received the AAAS award in Science Diplomacy. He is a Fellow of scientific academies: the Royal Society of London, the Royal Society of New Zealand, the Pacific Academy of Sciences, the International Science Council, the Academy of Medical Sciences (UK), the World Academy of Sciences and a member of the National Academy of Medicine (USA).
Sophie Howe
Described by The Guardian as ‘the Worlds First Minister of the Unborn’ Sophie Howe was the worlds first Future Generations Commissioner and for the last seven years has held a legal mandate to be the ‘guardian of the interests of the future generations of Wales.’ In this role she has led high profile interventions holding the Government to account on how they have considered future generations in their policy making and has secured fundamental changes to transport planning and education policies ensuring they are fit for the future generations.
She has served as an Adviser to two of Wales First Ministers as an adviser to the UN Secretary General on governance for intergenerational equity. She has been a significant voice in the United Nations passing the first Declaration on Future Generations and has influenced the development of similar approaches in Australia, India, Kenya, Cameroon, the EU, Scotland, Ireland and the UK. She is a TED speaker and has shared platforms with HRH Prince Williams Hollywood Superstars Michael Sheen and Chris Hemsworth as well as The Pope. She was named as no 5 the BBC Women’s Power List 2020
She runs her own advisory business supporting governments and progressive corporates to implement sustainability wellbeing and future generations thinking. She is a Global Ambassador for the Wellbeing Economics Alliance and holds roles advising on wellbeing economics and future governance with the School of International Futures and Apolitical supporting 150k public officials across the world to develop skills for 21st century governments
Miriam Zagers
Miriam Zagers, MSc, is a PhD candidate at the Center for Reproductive Medicine (Amsterdam UMC, University of Amsterdam) and the Amsterdam Reproduction and Development Research Institute. Alongside her research, she is training as a clinical embryologist at the Department of Gynecology, Leiden University Medical Center. The health of future generations starts in the earliest stages of life. As a PhD candidate, Miriam Zagers investigates how the culture environment of human embryos in in vitro fertilization (IVF) can be improved. Previous studies have shown that laboratory conditions affect both the likelihood of a live birth and the child’s health. By exploring how to better mimic the natural in vivo environment of human preimplantation embryos, she aims to support healthy development from the very beginning.
Dr. Callista Mulder
Dr. Callista Mulder is an assistant professor at the Amsterdam UMC where she focuses on fertility preservation and restoration therapies for those who do not produce sperm and cannot have a biologically own child otherwise. She focuses on stem cell-based fertility treatments, with a strong focus on Spermatogonial Stem Cells, the cells that have the capacity to develop into sperm upon puberty. Dr. Callista aims to develop safe and effective novel stem cell based fertility treatments in the laboratory through both fundamental research on spermatogenesis, pioneering work on in vitro sperm formation, and preclinical studies to assure safety for both recipient and offspring.
Dr. Martijn Finken
Dr. Martijn Finken studied both Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at Leiden University. He obtained both master degrees in 1998 and his medical degree in 2000 (cum laude). In 2001 he was awarded an NWO/AGIKO stipend, which allowed him to combine his PhD with his training in paediatrics at the Leiden University Medical Center (promotors: Prof.dr. J.M. Wit and Prof.dr. J.A. Romijn). This stipend resulted in a thesis, entitled "Preterm birth, early growth and adult metabolic health", that was defended in 2007 (cum laude). After being registered as a paediatrician in 2009, Martijn proceeded with a fellowship in paediatric endocrinology at the VU University Medical Center, which he completed in 2012.
As a paediatric endocrinologist, Martijn specialized in neonatal endocrinology. His research focuses on the long-term impact on development of abberrations in hormonal systems, in paricular the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis, in early life. He is co-promotor of 4 PhD students working on this topic. In addition to his clinical and scientific work, Martijn is vice-charmain of the institutional review board and chairman of the biobank review committee of location VUmc.
Prof. dr. Birit Broekman
Prof. dr. Birit Broekman is a specialist in Hospital Psychiatry at Amsterdam UMC and OLVG. Her research addresses the interplay between somatic, psychiatric and contextual factors on mental health. In Singapore, she investigated the influence of maternal mental health on offspring development in a large birth cohort study. After returning to the Netherlands in 2016, she established a research group on mental health during hormonal transitions as a Veni laureate. Recently, with the Menopause Consortium, she launched an intervention study investigating hormonal support therapy and sleep interventions for menopausal complaints. Birit collaborates internationally, currently (co-)supervising 12 PhDs and 3 postdocs across national and international studies. She works on development of sex-sensitive care across the lifespan to reduce health inequalities, inspired by her clinical work in integrated clinics for women experiencing psychiatric disorders during pregnancy and menopause.
Dr. Malon van den Hof
Dr. Malon van den Hof, as a youth health physician and researcher, focuses on early-life prevention to contribute to better health outcomes later in life. Her work centers on the first thousand days of life and the national action program “Kansrijke Start” (Promising Start). Her activities range from utilizing registry data at Statistics Netherlands (CBS) to evaluating local interventions at the Public Health Service (GGD) of Amsterdam — all with the aim of making a positive impact on future public health. In addition, she advocates for improved national access to valuable health data in public health and serves as a board member of the national association of youth doctors (AJN).
Dr. Wieger Voskuijl
Dr. Wieger P. Voskuijl (born 1974, Amsterdam) is a consultant general paediatrician at Amsterdam UMC/Emma Children’s Hospital (since 2016), University of Amsterdam, where he serves as Principal Investigator in Global Child Health (since 2020). His research focuses primarily on the clinical management and risk prediction of children with an acute illness and forms of undernutrition (including Severe Acute Malnutrition).
After earning his MD and PhD, Wieger lived and worked in Blantyre, Malawi for three years (2012-2015). He maintains strong ties with Malawi, serving as an honorary Senior Lecturer in Paediatrics and Child Health at Kamuzu University for Health Sciences (KUHeS) since 2012, and spending approximately three months annually in Blantyre combining clinical, research and educational responsibilities. Since 2023, he leads the Project Group Global Health Education at Amsterdam UMC, coordinating international collaborations between Amsterdam UMC, KUHeS in Malawi, and the University of Ghana.
Dr Voskuijl serves as the Malawi site Principal Investigator for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation-funded Childhood Acute Illness and Nutrition (CHAIN) network since 2015. Through this role, he collaborates with prominent global health institutions including Wellcome Trust/KEMRI Kilifi, ICDDR-B, Kilimanjaro Christian Research Institute, SickKids Hospital, Oxford University, and Johns Hopkins University.
His recent endeavours include participation in- and contribution to the SPRINGS consortium (Supporting Policy Regulations and Interventions to Negate aggravated Global diarrhoeal disease due to future climate Shocks), which secured €6 million in European Union funding in August 2023. His scientific contributions include co-authorship of 76 peer-reviewed publications.
