Dr. Jürgen Becker is Biologist and has been scientific marketing manager at QuidelOrtho, a manufacturer of diagnostics for the central laboratory and for point-of-care testing, for 6 years. Before that, he worked for various pharmaceutical and diagnostic companies in clinical research, development and quality of medical devices, drugs and in Vitro diagnostics for 18 years. His areas of focus include prevention, diagnosis and therapy of infectious diseases, and the requirements for and benefits resulting from successful implementation of near-patient testing, on which he regularly publishes clinical studies and presents on congresses. His most recognized publication is a feasibility study on molecular MRSA screening in the critical environment of nursing homes for elderly (Becker & Diel; J Occup Med Toxicol 2017 Feb 3;12:3).

Giulia has been working on lab automation for 3 years. She began her journey during her Master's Degree internship, where she focused on automating library preparation for sequencing and validating SARS-COV-2 tests and PCRs. She graduated from Alma Mater Studiorum - University of Bologna in Medical Biotechnology in 2022, completing her Master's Degree dissertation on SARS-CoV-2 and the genomic analysis of circulating variants. Giulia characterized the distribution of mutations from the arrival of the Alpha variant in Emilia-Romagna to the onset of Omicron, tracing the rate of mutation of viral genes. Giulia volunteered as a researcher at the Great Romagna Hub Laboratory for 6 months (April 2022 - September 2022) before enrolling in the Health and Technology PhD Programme in November 2022.

Currently, she is studying an alternative diagnostic workflow to reduce the turnaround time for acquiring antibiograms in blood samples positive for bacteria. This allows the laboratory to provide a quicker response when antibiotic resistance is detected. Additionally, she is beginning to analyze bacterial genomes to gain a comprehensive understanding of the studied pathogens and delve into bioinformatic tools.

Daniele is a pediatrician with special interest in infectious diseases, in particular on planning antibiotic trials and implementing programs for judicious use of antimicrobials in neonates and children.

He studied Medicine at the University of Padua. After his pediatric residency, he started a 2-year research fellowship at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

Currently he is a PhD student at the Department for Woman and Child Health at the University of Padua, where he is working to implement an antimicrobial stewardship program. His current collaboration with the Penta Foundation involves scientific protocol writing, assisting clinical sites with study implementation and manuscript preparation for various projects.

As a Clinical Microbiologist, Uffe Vest Schneider has specialized within diagnostics and molecular microbiology. In 2016, Uffe Schneider co-authored the Danish national guidelines for implementation of Point-of-care testing in infectious diseases, and he is continually working with implementation and quality assurance of point-of-care testing for infectious diseases. In 2022, Uffe Schneider joined the Department of Virology and Special Diagnostics at Statens Serum Institut (the Danish one-health reference laboratories for infectious diseases) as a Chief Physician to set up a new section on Virus Preparedness.