Dr Thulja Trikamjee is a specialist paediatrician and one of very few fully accredited allergologists in Africa, holding a Certificate in Paediatric Allergy, a Diploma in Allergy, and the UEMS Allergy and Immunology Certificate, and currently works as a consultant at the UCT Lung Institute, where she conducts clinical research and has co-authored several international publications. She serves as Chair of the Epidemiology Section of the European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, Vice Chair of the Allergy Society of South Africa, Vice President for Partnerships, Advocacy and Sustainability in AFRICALLi, and is active in multiple World Allergy Organization and Allergy Foundation of South Africa committees, as well as international task forces on topics such as war and asthma, micro-and nano-plastics in the environment, and serves on several advisory boards.

Professor Refiloe Masekela is Dean and Head of the School of Medicine at the University of KwaZulu-Natal and a Full Professor and paediatric pulmonologist, NIHR Global Health Research Professor and NRF B-rated researcher whose work focuses on asthma epidemiology, equitable access to diagnostics and affordable medicines, and interventions to optimise lung health in children with chronic respiratory disease. She holds key leadership roles in major respiratory societies, including co-Chair of the Global Asthma Network, Immediate-Past President of the Pan African Thoracic Society, President of the South African Thoracic Society, and scientific committee member of GINA and a member of the ERS GLI network. She serves on two WHO guideline groups and as associate editor for Thorax, European Respiratory Review and the African Journal of Thoracic and Critical Care Medicine. A core part of her mission is research capacity strengthening, and she co-directs the PATS-MECO programme, which trains healthcare workers across Africa in epidemiological, clinical and operational research methods.