Prof. Luca Ragazzoni is Vice-Rector for International Affairs at the Università del Piemonte Orientale (Italy), a medical doctor, and Associate Professor of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care. He is Director of CRIMEDIM, a WHO Collaborating Centre for Disaster Medicine, Humanitarian Aid, and Global Health, and Course Director of its flagship programs: the European Master in Disaster Medicine (with Vrije Universiteit Brussel), the MSc in Disaster and Health Crisis Management, and the PhD in Global Health, Humanitarian Aid, and Disaster Medicine. He leads major EU projects, including the Horizon Europe PREPSHIELD, has authored over 150 peer-reviewed publications, and has extensive UN and field deployment experience.

Trained in medical botany at the University of Pisa, Andrea Pieroni earned his doctorate from the University of Bonn in Germany. He has worked as a Research Assistant at the University of London (2000-2003) and as a tenured Lecturer and, later, Senior Lecturer at the University of Bradford in northern England (2003-2009). From January 2009, he was an Associate Professor of Ethnobotany at Pollenzo and, from 2016, a Full Professor. Andrea Pieroni served as the Rector of his university from 2017 to 2021.

Professor Pieroni has served as Vice President and President of the International Society of Ethnobiology (2008-2010). He is the founder and Chief Editor of the Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine (Springer Nature) and sits on the boards of several international peer-reviewed journals.

His research focuses on the temporal and spatial dynamics of the use of wild plants for food and medicine in the Mediterranean, the Balkans, and the Middle East, especially across minorities, diasporas, and along cultural and geographical boundaries.

His h-index is 84 in Google Scholar and 63 in Scopus. According to a Stanford University study, he has been among the top 1% worldwide cited scientists since 2021.

Alberto Minassi graduated with honours in Chimica e Tecnologie Farmaceutiche at the Faculty of Pharmacy of the Università del Piemonte Orientale in 2000 and received his PhD in Organic Chemistry in 2003 under the supervision of Prof. Appendino. In 2006 his position was tenured, and since 2015 he has been Associate Professor in Organic Chemistry at Dipartimento di Scienze del Farmaco of the Università del Piemonte Orientale. During his PhD he spent 9 months at the CNR in Pozzuoli under the supervision of Prof. Vincenzo Di Marzo, working on the synthesis of labelled probes for the study of the endocannabionoid system. In 2008 he was visiting fellow at University of Manchester in the laboratory of Prof. Jonathan Clayden working on the asymmetric addition–rearrangement reactions of organolithiums. His research activity takes inspiration from natural products to solve problems in organic chemistry (new synthetic methodologies), cell biology (novel mechanisms of activity), and medicine (new drug leads). In particularly his research activity is focused on the discovery of new and more potent curcumin derivatives as anti-inflammatories and on the exploration of the photoreactivity of easily available natural products to identify new scaffolds with interesting bioactivities.

ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3640-2912

Francesco Moccia was awarded a B.Sc. in 1995 from the University of Pavia and a Ph.D. in Physiology in 2000 from the University of Turin, followed by Postdoctoral training at the Katholieke Universiteit of Leuven (2000-2001). He came back to Italy as Postdoctoral Associate at the Zoological Station "Anton Dohnr" in Naples. Then, he joined the University of Pavia again as Assistant Professor of Physiology at the Department of Biology and Biotechnology "Lazzaro Spallanzani", University of Pavia, Italy. In Pavia, Francesco served for five years as Coordinator of the Master's Degree in Experimental and Applied Biology. Since March 2024, he is Professor of Physiology at the University of Molise, Campobasso, where he relocated to install a Laboratory of cellular and molecular physiology and to share his long-lasting teaching experience with the Southern Italian Students of Medicine. Francesco has been Secretary first and then Vice-President of the Italian Society of Cardiovascular Research. Moreover, he serves as Associate Editor for several peer-reviewed journals, including Journal of Translational Medicine, Frontiers in Physiology and International Journal of Molecular Sciences. He has trained many excellent PhD students, who are now Postdoctoral Trainees, Lecturers, Assistant and Associate Professors in many national and international universities. Francesco is listed in the Stanford/Elsevier World's Top 2% Scientists but still believes that quality is better than quantity. His primary areas of research interest are in the vascular endothelium and calcium signaling, and his primary goal is to contribute to designing an effective strategy to exploit endothelial Ca2+ signaling to induce therapeutic angiogenesis and to understand how endothelial Ca2+ signals contribute to neurovascular coupling, which will be his topics today.

Pasquale Linciano is an Associate Professor of Medicinal Chemistry at the Department of Drug Sciences, University of Pavia. He obtained his Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Sciences from the University of Chieti-Pescara in 2014 and carried out postdoctoral research at the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia. His research focuses on medicinal chemistry and drug discovery, with an emphasis on the identification of innovative small-molecule therapeutics for infectious diseases, cancer, and neurodegenerative disorders. A major component of his work is devoted to the development of novel strategies to combat bacterial antimicrobial resistance, particularly through the modulation of non-classical and antivirulence targets.

Prof. Marco Racchi has a degree in Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Technology and a doctorate in Biotechnology and Pharmacology. He is currently Professor of Pharmacology at the Department of Drug Sciences at the University of Pavia. He also has a role as Rector's Delegate of International Affairs - Region Asia/Oceania.

Teaching duties are in Pharmacognosy and Phytotherapy in the Pharmacy courses and Drugs and diseases - Experimental approach for the master course in Medical and Pharmaceutical Biotechnologies.

Experimental research activities include studies on aging and mechanisms of signal tranduction in aging and age related diseases. The laboratory at the University of Pavia investigates the role of hormones (glucocorticoids and DHEA) in the modulation of signal transduction systems and the role of RACK1 and its signalling partners in immunosenescence, cancer and neurodegeneration. These activities resulted in more than 150 peer reviewed articles.

Other activities include expertise in discussing and defining the mechanism of substance based medical devices in the context of the new medical device regulation with particular emphasis on those devices including substances of herbal origin.

Stefano Saluzzo is Associate Professor of International Law at the University of Piemonte Orientale and holds a PhD in International and EU law from the University of Palermo. He has been visiting researcher at the Max Planck Institute for International Procedural Law in Luxembourg and visiting lecturer at the Brussels School of International Studies of the Kent University (Belgium), the Universidad Nacional del Litoral (Argentina) and the Federal University of Santa Catarina (Brazil). He is the author of numerous publications in the field of international organizations law, international economic law and the law of armed conflicts. He is also lecturer of international humanitarian law for the High Studies Defence Centre in Rome (CASD) and has recently formed part in the Group of Experts for the Italian Manual of International Law Applicable to Military Operations.

Clizia Ranghino holds a Bachelor's in Communication Studies (Università degli Studi di Torino) and a Master's in Publishing (Oxford Brookes University). She gained experience as a writer and editor before joining Università del Piemonte Orientale. She first managed international students and the EMJM EMOTION program at the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, then moved to central administration in Vercelli- Università del Piemonte Orientale, handling international relations, Erasmus+, and visiting scholars. She is also involved in international cooperation projects like UNICORE. Skilled in public speaking and negotiation, she effectively communicates complex information to diverse audiences.

Dr. Muhammed A. Ibrahim joined the Department of Electrical Engineering at Salahaddin University-Erbil, Iraq in 1992 as an Engineer. Later he was appointed as an Assistant Lecturer, next as a Lecturer and later as an Assistant Professor in the same department in 1999, 2004 and 2008, respectively. Since 2014 he is a Full Professor in the department. Dr. Ibrahim earned his MSc & PhD in Electronics & Communication Engineering from Istanbul Technical University, Turkey in 1999 & 2004, respectively. His research interests focus meanly on electronic circuit analysis, design and applications. Dr. Ibrahim is a reviewer in many scientific journals.

Ayad Kokha is a Full Professor of International Law at Salahaddin University– Erbil and a Visiting Scholar at the Max Planck Institute for Comparative and International Private Law, Hamburg, within the awarded scholarship of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation for Experienced Researchers. He received a DAAD Scholarship for Research Stays for University Academics and Scientists at Georg-August University Göttingen (2018). He got a Junior Thyssen Fellowship at the Institute for Advanced Study: Central European University, Budapest Campus (2022). Obtained a PhD in International Law at Cairo University (2015). Got LL.M. from Salahaddin University-Erbil, Kurdistan Region-Iraq (2008) and MPhil Degree in International Law from the International Colleges of Islamic Sciences, London (2004). Obtained LL.B. from Salahaddin University-Erbil, Kurdistan Region-Iraq (2000).

Nabaz Nawzad is an Assistant Professor of Public Management with extensive academic and leadership experience in higher education in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. He holds a Ph.D. in Public Management from Universiti Utara Malaysia, where his doctoral research examined public participation in the public budgeting process in Kurdistan. He also earned a Master's degree in Public Management with distinction and a Bachelor's degree in Politics and International Relations from University of Kurdistan-Hewler.

Nabaz currently serves as Dean of the College of Administration and Economics at the Lebanese French University and is the Director of the Center of Pedagogy and Academic Development. His academic career includes visiting and adjunct appointments at several leading universities, where he has taught and supervised undergraduate and postgraduate students. He has supervised master's and doctoral research in areas such as human resource management, leadership, brand equity, employee behavior, and technology adoption.

His research interests span public management, leadership, entrepreneurship, human resource management and marketing. Dr. Nawzad has published widely in reputable international journals indexed in SSCI, SCIE, Scopus, and ESCI. He is also actively involved in academic training, pedagogical development, and quality assurance initiatives aligned with international higher education standards, including the Bologna Process.

Dr. Pawan Sirwan Faris Dizaye is an Assistant Professor at the University of Pavia, Italy, and Vice Director of the Research Center at Tishk International University, Erbil. She holds a PhD in Molecular Physiology and an MSc in Blood Physiology and Biology and completed postdoctoral research at the Department of Biology and Biotechnology at the University of Pavia. She received the BBRF Young Investigator Grant in 2025 and the MAECI Research Grant in 2018. She has authored more than 75 peer-reviewed scientific publications and has extensive editorial and peer-review experience with high-impact international journals. She teaches in the Bachelor's program in Artificial Intelligence and in Master's courses in Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience at the University of Pavia and collaborates with the University of Milan. Her expertise includes animal models, cellular and two-photon imaging, pharmacological manipulation, electrophysiology, and molecular analysis. She is a member of the Italian Society of Pharmacology, the Society for Neuroscience, and the European Association for Cancer Research. She has contributed to major European projects, including LIONHEARTED Horizon 2020 and MNESYS PNRR, and she serves as President of the Kurdistan Italy Friendship Association.

My name is Yaseen Galali and graduated from college of Agriculture in 2007-2008. I was appointed in 2009 and worked as lab assistant and food Technology department. In 2011 I obtained a scholarship from KRG government to complete master's degree in Nutrition (Functional foods) at the School of Biomedical and Biological sciences- Plymouth University-UK. I finished the study in 2014 and return as assistant lecturer. I promoted to lecturer in 2017. In 2021 I was promoted to assistant Prof. I have over 60 articles published in national and international journals and serve as external reviewer for more than 10 international journals in Nutrition and food quality. My area of interest include Nutrition (functional food) nutritional epidemiology and food quality.

Javed Ahamad is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Tishk International University, Erbil, Iraq. He received his Doctorate in Pharmacognosy & Phytochemistry from the School of Pharmaceutical Education and Research, Jamia Hamdard, New Delhi (India) in 2015. After his PhD, he joined Mettu University, Mettu, Ethiopia as an Assistant Professor and after that he joined TIU, in 2018. He has more than 13 years of experience in academia and industry. He has worked as a Junior Research Fellow (JRF) and Senior Research Fellow (SRF). He has published 99 high-quality research and reviewed articles in peer-reviewed journals of international repute. He is the author/editor of 6 books (Bioactive Phytochemicals: Drug Discovery to Product Development, Bentham Science Publisher, UAE, 2021; Text Book of Advanced Pharmacognosy and Natural Products. 1st Edition, 2021; Mahi Publication, Ahmedabad, India; Analysis of Food Spices: Identification and Authentication, CRC Press, Taylor & Francis Group, USA, 2023; Bioactive Compounds of Edible Oils and Fats: Health Benefits, Risks, and Analysis, CRC Press, Taylor & Francis Group, USA, 2024; and Bioactive Compounds of Edible Fruits and Berries: Health Benefits, Nutritional Importance, and Analysis, CRC Press, Taylor & Francis Group, USA, 2025; Bioactive Cucurbitacins: Therapeutic Benefits, Toxicity, and Analysis. CRS Press, Taylor & Francis Group, USA, 2026) and authored 77 book chapters for edited books and book series. His current h-index is 22 and i10-index 49 with the total number of citations of his publications >1800. He is a reviewer of many peer-reviewed journals of international repute. His current research interest lies in quality control, phytochemistry, ethnomedicine, and natural products.

Title of presentation:
Ethnomedicinal Plants of Kurdistan: Source of Bioactive Compounds for Human Health.