Dr. Eduardo L. Tosado-Rodríguez is a Bioinformatician at the University of Puerto Rico's Center for Collaborative Research in Health Disparities. With a Ph.D. in microbiology and medical zoology, he has earned accolades for his work, such as the NIH AIM-AHEAD Research Fellowship. Eduardo's research spans microbiome, metabolomics, and proteomics to explore the links between microbiota and health, including work on endangered Puerto Rican plants and Caribbean sea urchins. He's published in various journals and actively contributes to health disparities and bioinformatics research, and his academic interests cover microbiology, bioinformatics, microbial interactions, and HPV research.

Ian A. Alvarado-Vélez is a Medical Student at the University of Puerto Rico Medical Sciences Campus School of Medicine. On June 2024 he will obtain his Medical Degree and will continue post-graduate studies at the University of South Florida-Morsani in Internal Medicine and Pediatrics Residency Program. His academic career has been surrounded with experiences at the medical field, previous research experiences in environmental microbiology and currently working with human microbiome. His strong connection with underserved communities led to Ian obtaining the National Health Services Corps Scholarship. He is looking forward to become a Primary Care Physician that applies an holistic approach in research and clinical services to contribute in the search of health equity.

Prof. Dr. Josefina Romaguera is a board-certified Obstetrician and Gynaecologist, currently a Professor at the University of Puerto Rico with a focus on research including mentoring to faculty and students. His research interests encompass women’s health, including the prevention of gynaecologic cancers, HPV-related conditions, and the human cervicovaginal microbiota, in addition to polycystic ovarian syndrome. His collaborators include basic scientists, epidemiologists, and physicians from the Medical Sciences Campus, as well as other national institutions such as Harvard and the University of Alabama in Augusta, Georgia, to name a few. Their studies have made important contributions to the body of knowledge, demonstrating that characterizing the vaginal ecosystem, both microbiome and metabolome, is crucial for understanding the biology of cervical neoplasia and for the development of therapeutic interventions.

Filipa Godoy is a Professor of Microbial Ecology at the University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine and the Chair of the Department of Microbiology. She developed her career studying biodiversity associated with human, animal, terrestrial, and marine microbiomes, investigating an eclectic collection of topics, including evolution, community dynamics, resilience and dysbiosis. The Godoy lab pioneered the use of integrative meta-omics to study host-microbiome symbiosis in the Caribbean region. Its mission is to translate microbial ecology to find therapeutical solutions for human health, improve ecosystem conservation, and empower education in the microbial sciences. She has trained hundreds of students at all levels, from undergraduates to postdocs as well as faculty members across Latin America. She is an Ambassador for Puerto Rico for the International Society for Microbial Ecology (ISME), a Global Ambassador for the Americas for Applied Microbiology International (AMI) and past president of the AAAS Caribbean Division.