Rob Beynon received his BSc and PhD at the University of Wales, Cardiff. His career played out at the University of Liverpool (1977-1993), the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (1993-1999) and again, the University of Liverpool (1999-2020). He is a Fellow of the Learned Society of Wales, and from 2024, will be the Vice-President with particular responsibility for STEMM. He describes himself as a technologically over-stimulated biochemist (genus)/protein chemist (species).

He has always been inspired by collaboration with biologists, where his sophisticated methods of protein analysis can be given biological meaning. Since 1993, he has collaborated with Jane Hurst on the role of proteins in the mediation and delivery of chemical signals, leading to the discovery of the role of darcin, the characterisation of scent mediated proteins and the relationship between protein expression and their cognate gene clusters, predominantly in rodents. Now retired, he maintains a personal website (phbuffers.org), photographs the world's avifauna, grows vegetables and is trying to acquire skills in stained glass.

Simon Baeckens is an evolutionary ecologist fascinated by the macro- and micro-evolutionary processes shaping complex organismal traits. A significant aspect of his research involves investigating the factors driving chemical signal diversity in lizards, employing a combination of experimental and (phylogenetic) comparative observational approaches. Following positions at Harvard University (USA) and Macquarie University (Australia), Simon is currently affiliated with both Ghent University and the University of Antwerp in Belgium

Leanne Grieves

Dr Leanne Grieves received their BSc from the University of Winnipeg, MSc from McMaster University, and PhD from Western University in Canada. Now a Rose Postdoctoral Fellow at Cornell University, Dr. Grieves' multidisciplinary work focuses on chemical signaling and microbial ecology in birds, overturning 'common knowledge' by establishing that chemical signatures of preen oil convey information about species, sex, reproductive status, disease exposure, and immune genotype. Importantly, Grieves' work also shows that birds respond to this chemical information. Grieves is a past recipient of some of Canada's most prestigious awards, including a Vanier scholarship, Gilles Brassard Prize for Interdisciplinary Research, Royal Society of Canada Alice Wilson Award, and a Banting fellowship. Currently, Leanne is investigating multimodal communication in songbirds, with the goal of determining how important odour cues are in avian mate choice, relative to vocal and visual signals.