Ivana Jarić is Group Leader of the Neuroendocrinology Group at the Institute of Laboratory Animal Science at the University of Zurich.

Her research focuses on sex differences in neurobiology, with particular emphasis on female-specific vulnerability to psychiatric disorders. She investigates epigenetic mechanisms underlying these differences, including the role of ovarian hormone status and the interactions between psychiatric and female reproductive health.

In addition to her research, she is committed to advancing sex-inclusive science. She develops evidence-based guidelines for sex-inclusive preclinical research, founded a biennial SABV symposium in Switzerland, and leads a pan-European multidisciplinary network aimed at training researchers and shaping policy to ensure the appropriate integration of biological sex in early-stage health and disease research.

Thao Nguyen is CEO and Founder of EQUAL CARE AG, a Swiss company focused on advancing sex- and gender-specific precision medicine. With a background in MedTech innovation and strategic healthcare development, she works at the intersection of artificial intelligence, evidence translation, and equitable healthcare delivery.

Her work focuses on improving access to gender-specific medical evidence and making it actionable for clinicians, researchers, and industry partners. She is particularly engaged in developing scalable solutions to address gender disparities in healthcare. In addition to her entrepreneurial work, she advocates for responsible innovation and the integration of equity principles into health systems and technology development.

Noel Bairey Merz is Medical Director of the Barbra Streisand Women’s Heart Center and the Preventive & Rehabilitative Cardiac Center at the Cedars-Sinai Smidt Heart Institute, and Professor of Medicine at UCLA.

Her work focuses on coronary microvascular dysfunction, ischemic heart disease without obstructive coronary artery disease (INOCA), heart failure with preserved ejection fraction, and Takotsubo cardiomyopathy.

She is Principal Investigator of the NHLBI-sponsored Women’s Ischemia Syndrome Evaluation (WISE) studies and has led cardiovascular research and clinical trials for over 30 years.