Xiang-Qun (Sean) Xie received his Pharmacy B. S. degree in 1982 from the Second Military Medical University in Shanghai, China; Ph.D. in Medicinal Chemistry from the School of Pharmacy, University of Connecticut, 1993; and followed by a Biophysics Post-doctoral training at MIT Francis Bitter National Magnet Laboratory. In addition, he obtained Executive MBA degree in 2003. Currently, Xie is a tenured Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Drug Discovery Institute. He is the Principal Investigator of an integrated research laboratory, consisting of CompuGroup, BioGroup and ChemGroup (www.CBLigand.org/XieLab) and also a Founding Director of Computational Chemical Genomics Screening (CCGS) Center. He was co-PI of the NIH Pittsburgh Molecular Library Screening Center. He also holds joint faculty positions at the Departments of Computational Biology and Structural Biology, and Pitt Cancer Institute MT/DD Program. Before he joined Pitt, he was an Associate Professor and a Founding Director of Pharmacoinformatics Research Center in the College of Pharmacy at University of Houston Texas.

Xie’s research interests are: 1) GPCR CB2 membrane protein structure/function studies. 2) Methods and algorithms development for knowledgebase-target identifications and structure-based drug design for multiple myeloma, osteoporosis and hematopoietic stem cell expansion by using the integrated computational chemical genomics, in-silico design and 3D database virtual screening, bioassay validation and medicinal chemistry approaches.

Obtained successively the MSc (1994) and PhD (1997) degree in pharmacology and toxicology at the Cairo University, Egypt. Was visiting scholar in 2002 at the Department of Veterinary Medicine of the Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology. In 2003 and 2005 he conducted a postdoc fellowship, respectively at the Pharamcogenetics Research Institute of the Central South University in Hunan, ChangSha, China and the Pharamcogenetics Research Center of the Inje University in Jin-Gu, Busan, Republic of Korea. Was visiting professor from 2005 to 2007 at the Natural Products Chemistry Laboratory at Chonnam National University, Gwangju, Republic of Korea, and Foreign Assistant Professor at the Department of Veterinary Pharmacology and Toxicology at the College of Veterinary Medicine, Konkuk University, Seoul, Republic of Korea. In 2009 he was appointed as full-time professor at the Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Cairo University. Presented several communications at national and international congresses, and published a variety of papers in national and international peer reviewed journals. Received in 2009 an award of the Cairo University for the best scientist in Basic Sciences, and in 2011 the National Incentive Reward for Biotechnology and Agricultural Sciences and the Publication Award from Misr El-Khair Foundation

Pharmacogenetics/Pharmacogenomics Area of Pharmacodynamic/Pharmacokinetics interaction. Disposition kinetics and Biotransformation (in vitro and in vivo)studies of drugs Xenobiotic residue analysis in food commodities and animal products Natural Products.

Kim Lawson received a BTech in pharmacology in 1981 from University of Bradford (UK) and a PhD in pharmacology in 1986 from the University of Sunderland (UK) and has an international reputation in Drug Discovery Research, gained in multinational pharmaceutical industries (France: Rhone-Poulenc Sante, Recherche Syntex France; Belgium: Sanofi-Labaz; UK: Reckitt & Colman, British Biotech) and academia. His research interests are focused on the pharmacology of potassium channels and to the identification of treatments of fibromyalgia. Kim is regularly invited as a consultant to the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries & affiliated organizations, to talk at public events & scientific conferences and to write 'expert opinion' articles for scientific and clinical journals. He is a member of Advisory Boards to the Fibromyalgia Association UK and FibroAction, in addition to being a Patron to Folly Pogs Fibromyalgia Research UK.

Dr Kim Lawson is a research pharmacologist with an international reputation in Drug Discovery Research. He has broad research experience gained in both academia and in multinational pharmaceutical industries.

Graduated in Pharmaceutical Sciences (PharmD), with a Masters (MSc) in Herbal Medicines and a PhD in Pharmacology&Pharmacotherapy at the Faculty of Pharmacy of the University of Lisbon. He is a Professor of Pharmacology&Pharmacotherapy in Pharmacy and Medicine Master Courses. Has published 16 full papers in international journals of Pharmacology, Medicine and Nutrition and has more than 60 communications at national and international congresses with focus on Pharmacology and Immunopharmacology. He is an editor and reviewer for international journals in the fields of Pharmacology and Toxicology. He also is a consultant for the Pharmaceutical Industry and National Drug Regulatory Agencies.

His major research areas are: Local and Systemic Inflammation, Critical Care and Multi-Organ Dysfunction Syndrome, Acute Lung Injury & Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome. His latest research projects focused on the study of cytoprotective mechanisms of lung injury and their pharmacological modulation using a translational research approach. His research has received several prizes awarded by Scientific Associations.

He is currently working as a professor of Gazi University Medical School Department of Pharmacology. He also serves as a consultant in pharmacoeconomics, clinical trials, pharmacovigilance, drug interactions, drug research and development

pharmacoeconomics, clinical trials, pharmacovigilance, drug interactions, drug research

He is a Doctor of Medicine in Pharmacology with 14 years experience in the specialty. He have been actively involved with pre-clinical drug research, clinical research, hospital administration and hospital logistics support system (Pharmacy management, Equipment procurement & maintenance, turnkey projects etc). In all, He have been a medical doctor for 24 years. His expertise revolves around the training of medical graduates & post graduates (inculcating interest in rational pharmacotherapeutics), so also in pre-clinical drug research involving in-vitro/in-vivo Pharmacokinetics & Pharmacodynamics. He has hands on experience in the traditional as well as the Problem Based Learning (PBL) types of medical curricula being followed in different medical schools all over the world. He has been an under-graduate and post-graduate examiner for many medical universities in India. Notably, He have initiated a mammoth toxicology & toxinology project for the Indian Armed Forces, involving the compilation & designing of a poisoning database & poisoning registry for the Indian Armed Forces Personnel & their families. On the administrative front, He has effectively controlled medical staff in 200-600 bedded hospitals.

n rational pharmacotherapeutics), so also in pre-clinical drug research involving in-vitro/in-vivo Pharmacokinetics & Pharmacodynamics.