Dr. Bhavneet Bajaj is an experienced scientist working at the intersection of science and policy in the Food Systems space. She has led and managed an extensive portfolio of projects including on food and feed safety, biosafety, innovative technologies in agriculture, crop composition, and food and nutrition. In her current position at the Agriculture & Food Systems Institute (AFSI), she uses her expertise to lead international training workshops for risk assessors and regulators in South and Southeast Asia. She has worked on international development projects in South Asia for regulatory harmonization of safety assessment of genetically modified foods and enabling environment for genome editing policies in Bangladesh and the Republic of Korea. She serves as part of the AFSI delegation to the OECD Working Party on the Safety of Novel Foods and Feeds. She has expertise working as a developer utilizing biotechnology for creation of improved plant varieties at (the then) DuPont Agricultural Biotechnology, expression analysis of carotenoid biosynthesis pathway in tomatoes at USDA Agricultural Research Service and metabolic profiling of secondary metabolites in medicinal plants at the Institute for Bioscience and Biotechnology Research, University of Maryland. Dr. Bajaj is certified as a Project Management Professional by the Project Management Institute.

SSium Ahmed is a development professional and an early career researcher who loves science and cares for humans, animals and the environment. He works as the Deputy Manager of the South Asia Biosafety Program (SABP) in Bangladesh to facilitate the implementation of transparent, efficient, and responsive regulatory frameworks for products of modern biotechnology that meet national goals as regards the safety of novel foods and feeds, and environmental protection. In his role, Sium has been responsible for working with the Program Lead and the Country Coordinator in implementing SABP programs and providing support directly to the Government of Bangladesh, at their request. He has been involved in preparing scientific and technical documents, organizing SABP conferences, workshops, capacity building training programs and outreach seminars. He oversees researchers in the Biosafety Research in Bangladesh Grants Program (BRBGP) and is also responsible for the management and updating of the Bangladesh Biosafety Portal, the only consolidated repository of documents that inform biosafety regulation in Bangladesh. Sium regularly writes article for the SABP newsletter introducing topical current developments in biotechnology and biosafety. Sium received BSc and MS in Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering from Jahangirnagar University (JU), Bangladesh. His research interests include plant biotechnology, biosafety, and bioinformatics. Sium has published 10 peer reviewed journal articles, and 20 discourses. Apart from his professional activities, Sium has been involved voluntarily with several initiatives. He leads the research wing of the Science Porter Bangladesh, a science communication platform; contributes as an adjunct researcher and collaborator to the Cell Genetics and Plants Biotechnology Laboratory, JU; and acts as an executive committee member (office secretary) for the Bangladesh Association of Biotechnology Graduate.