Professor Richard van Zyl-Smit is a Professor of Pulmonology, a consultant pulmonologist, and deputy head of the Division of Pulmonology, Department of Medicine at the University of Cape Town and Groote Schuur Hospital. He is a principal researcher at the UCT Lung Institute and past president of the South African Thoracic Society. His major research interests include airway diseases, with a focus on the impact of tobacco, household air pollution, and electronic cigarettes on pulmonary immune responses and the development of COPD, particularly in low-income settings. He has extensive experience in ethical discussions and has authored two books focusing on mental health and sustainability in academia and medicine.

Dr Merusha Naidoo is an epidemiologist with over a decade of academic and clinical research experience, specialising in cardiometabolic health and precision medicine. She holds a PhD in Human Genetics from the University of the Witwatersrand. Her research has centred on epigenetics, specifically examining how diet and lifestyle influence the epigenome and how menopausal status impacts epigenetic patterns associated with cardiometabolic disease risk.