Samantha Filby, is an Economics PhD candidate at University of Cape Town (South Africa) and is sponsored by a Fulbright Scholarship to visit the Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education. She serves as a member of the research team at the Research Unit on the Economics of Excisable Products, based at her home university.

Joshua Miller is a political scientist that focuses on the intersection of public health policy and vulnerable populations. Joshua received his Ph.D. from The Catholic University of America in Politics.

J. Alton Croker III, PhD, received his doctorate in Health Services & Policy focusing on cannabis policy, health outcomes, and health disparities. He graduated from the University of Iowa in 2021, where he served as a research investigator for the Cannabis and End-of-Life Study, along with research associate roles within the RUPRI Center. He previously worked in public affairs at GLAD (GLBTQ Advocates & Defenders), an impact litigation firm focusing on social equity for LGBTQ persons, people living with HIV/AIDS, and their families.

Poonam Rao, MD, graduated as a MBBS from Pt. B.D Sharma Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Rohtak, India in 2016. After graduation, she worked for some time as a General Physician in rural India. She moved to the United States in 2017 to pursue higher education as a physician-scientist, and complete clinical observerships in Jackson Health System, Miami, and Cleveland Clinic, Florida. As she wants to stay at the boundary between research and clinical practice in the long term, after some clinical training, she pivoted towards research.

Neil Sircar, JD, LLM is a human rights lawyer specializing in global and public health, global governance, and health in humanitarian crises. He recently concluded a Fogarty Global Health Fellowship with the National Institutes for Health through the Northern Pacific Global Health Consortium at the University of Washington. He is principal investigator on a study for assessing the implementation of human rights-based approaches to HIV testing and notification in Kenya with the prominent Kenyan non-governmental organization Kenya Legal and Ethical Issues Network.

Shannon Kozlovich, PhD, has a doctorate in Pharmaceutical Sciences from Washington State University where her research focused on the impact of genotype and menthol on tobacco toxicity and carcinogenic effects. The work with menthol opened her eyes to the impact scientific evidence has on public policy, or rather, the impact it should have.

Amit Yadav, PhD, received his Doctorate in Law with a focus on Public Health, Tobacco and International Trade and Investment Treaties from the National Law School of India University Bangalore, India. He has also completed MPhil and LLM from the National Law School of India University, Bangalore. Other Research and Leadership Trainings Completed by him include, Dissemination and Implementation Training for Waterpipe Research from the U.S.