Dr. Ashish Joshi is Dean and a Distinguished University Professor of the School of Public Health of the University of Memphis. Dr. Joshi is an innovator, entrepreneur, educator, researcher, administrator, and mentor and brings with him diverse experience of working across 12 countries, engaging community-based organizations, academic and other institutions, government agencies, policy-makers and practitioners from diverse backgrounds. He combines data-driven innovative entrepreneurial creative approaches to advance excellence in public health education, and research, and practice that can have the greatest community impact. Dr. Joshi is a population health informatics researcher who combines his academic training in clinical medicine, public health, and informatics to design and develop human-centered, technology-enabled interventions to enhance population health outcomes across diverse community settings. He has extensive experience in utilizing community and hospital-based data to implement and evaluate informatics-enabled solutions to address social, economic, and health inequities of the 21st century. He has designed and developed, standalone and internet-enabled, multi-lingual, digital health interventions such as population health dashboards, consumer health informatics, m-health interventions, and population-based surveillance tools across multiple settings to improve population health outcomes. Dr. Joshi is a prolific researcher obtaining grants and contracts nearing $25million in his academic career and continues to be an active researcher despite being in an administrative role. Dr. Joshi successfully completed more than two dozen research projects in the areas of population health informatics across multiple countries including the US, India, Nigeria, Bangladesh, Haiti, Egypt, and Brazil. Dr. Joshi emphasizes the role of higher education as a social economic agent of change towards building sustainable communities.

Prof. Ashraf El-Metwally (MD, PhD) is a professor of epidemiology and public health at King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences (KSAU-HS) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Prof. Ashraf got his PhD in Epidemiology from the University of Tampere, Finland. He earned the academic title of Docent in Finland in the year 2016. Prof. Ashraf has contributed to more than 100 publications in peer-reviewed medical journals and book chapters. Prof. El-Metwally research interests include clinical and population-based epidemiology, pharmaceutical research, pain and musculoskeletal diseases, medical questionnaire validation, systematic reviews, and meta-analysis. He was honored by some research and teaching awards, including the "Young Investigator Award" from the British Society of Rheumatology (2006), "First Prize for best research" from the British Pain Society (2007) and "President Award for Best professor researcher" from KSAU-HS (2021).

Tina D. Purnat is a Doctor of Public Health candidate and Prajna Leadership Fellow at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. With over two decades of international experience, she has led major initiatives at the World Health Organization (WHO), the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, and in academic and policy settings to modernize how public health systems use data, technology, and evidence. Tina’s work focuses on strengthening public health systems and shaping policies that are adaptive, data-informed, and grounded in a deep understanding of societal context. She has worked across academia, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the frontlines of public health organizations, consistently pushing the boundaries of health information and evidence, digital public health, AI technologies, and addressing health misinformation. Tina believes modernizing the business of public health means integrating cutting-edge technology and human-centered approaches to solving the world’s most wicked problems. She is a sought-after conference speaker and academic lecturer, especially in health misinformation and digital public health and AI.

Elisabeth is an award-winning global health expert specializing in social behavior change and public health communication. She has extensive experience in immunization, maternal and child health, and infectious diseases, having worked with organizations such as the US CDC, UNICEF, and USAID. Elisabeth has led and advised teams on emergency and outbreak responses both domestically and globally, and served as the principal investigator on implementation science research projects in multiple countries. She has co-authored over 40 publications in peer-reviewed journals and trained thousands of public health communicators and professionals in capacity-building workshops across the US and around the world. A highly sought-after speaker, trainer, writer, and strategist, Elisabeth is known for her expertise in health diplomacy, creative problem-solving, and her ability to unite diverse teams to tackle complex social, behavioral, and communication challenges in public health. She currently advises on behavior change communication, health equity, and public health and emergency response at USAID. Elisabeth is also a PhD candidate in Midwifery at the University of West Attica, where her research focuses on building competencies in midwifery practice to better leverage use of social media to improve client education and outreach.

Dr. Stephens is responsible for ensuring thee program remains alive and impactful by applying for competitive grants, supporting local harm reduction organizations and NGOs, bridging the gap between public health and public safety, and implementing strategies and activities to support the CDC's Overdose Data to Action grant and the DOJ's PDMP grant. Also manages and directs assigned Opioid & Substance Misuse Response Program staff, leads response efforts by coordinating and establishing operations and communication procedures and guidelines with all stakeholders (internal and external). Develop and implement statewide trainings, exercises, programmatic briefings, and meetings for DPH internal and external partners to ensure programmatic awareness locally, statewide, and regionally, including the Annual Public Health Analysts Conference. Act as response liaison to local public health partners to include providing technical assistance for the local Public Health Districts and other key partners of an opioid cluster/outbreak response.

Robyn Pennella is part of the STEMM Education and Outreach Program at St. Jude. She is responsible for managing the program evaluation and continuous improvement efforts of education and training programs across St. Jude’s Comprehensive Cancer Center and the broader institution. Pennella aims to understand what expands and contracts belongingness and sustained engagement in Biomedical careers in students spanning the PreK–16 pathway and beyond. She specializes in qualitative research methodologies, often employing post-structural theories of space, time, and emotion in her evaluation designs. Pennella holds a Bachelor of Science degree and a Master of Public Health degree from the University of Memphis and is working towards the completion of her doctorate in Educational Research and Psychology, also at the University of Memphis.

Amirah joins St. Jude Global Pediatric Medicine with 5+ years of experience in clinical trial coordination, protocol development, and multi-team management. She is adept at procuring and allocating necessary resources for projects and delivering secure, efficient, and cost-effective security solutions with a client-centric focus.
A native Memphian, Amirah graduated from the University of Tennessee-Knoxville with a Bachelor of Science degree in Microbiology. She received a Master of Public Health degree from the University of Memphis with a concentration in Epidemiology.
Amirah has a passion for research development, community service, and civic engagement. She is thrilled to be working at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, supporting the efforts of such a renowned healthcare institution.

Marlon Julius, MHA, FACHE, a native of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, has been with Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist for 6 months. In his current leadership role, he serves as the Director for Procedural & Surgical Operations with the Heart & Vascular service line. In this capacity, he provides leadership for the Cardiac Cath Lab, Electrophysiology Lab, Cardiothoracic, and Vascular Surgery. Prior to joining Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist, Mr. Julius spent 12 years with ECU Health, a health system based in eastern North Carolina. With ECU Health, Marlon held several leadership roles spanning performance improvement, project management, strategy & business development, and hospital operations.

Before beginning a career in healthcare management, Mr. Julius worked in corporate marketing and strategy for a financial services institution, First Tennessee / First Horizon Bank, headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee. Mr. Julius is a proud graduate of The University of Memphis where he earned a Bachelor of Business Administration in Marketing Management (magna cum laude) and a Masters in Health Administration (MHA).

Marlon has a passion and commitment to life-long learning and professional development. Marlon is board certified in healthcare management as a Fellow (FACHE) with the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE) and has been a participant of the ACHE Executive Development Program.

Dr. Asma Ali is an Assistant Professor a PI of the Pharmacy and Health Systems Research and Management Innovation Lab (PHRM) in the Division of Health Systems Management and Policy. A pharmacist by training and a scientist at heart, Dr. Ali brings a unique perspective to her work, drawing from her Palestinian roots and formative years in Jordan.
Dr. Ali employs qualitative, quantitative, and observational research methods to explore the intersection of health behaviors and healthcare delivery. Her research focuses on identifying factors and self-management care that influence health outcomes of individuals with chronic conditions, including the use of digital health.
As the principal investigator on competitive university-funded grants, Dr. Ali works to bridge gaps in care quality within healthcare systems, including pharmacies and primary care clinics. Her research approach is rooted in community-based participatory research, utilizing innovative methods to enhance health outcomes, healthcare quality, and health equity. She conducts mixed-methods research projects that engage and inform stakeholders at multiple levels of the healthcare system, ultimately improving health outcomes.
Dr. Ali's dedication to mentoring has enabled a diverse group of PharmD and PhD students to gain hands-on research experience and support their career aspirations. One of her notable projects, “Exploring Lived Experiences of Diabetes Self-management Behavior and Medication Use in Muslim Patients with Type 2 Diabetes,” led to the development of the patient-centered clinical assessment tool, Recognizing Access and Management Associated Diabetes Adversities in Nationwide Muslims in the US (RAMADAN) ©. This tool aims to identify diabetes self-management challenges and improve patient-provider communication across various healthcare systems.
Dr. Ali has received several accolades, including the 2024 William E. Scheckler Outstanding Research Publication Award and the 2022 Diversity Scholar Award from AcademyHealth. Nationally, she is committed to supporting women in their professional careers, having chaired the Leadership and Professional course for the Women Interprofessional Network Group at the American Diabetes Association.