Sarah de Rijcke is Professor of Science, Technology and Innovation Studies and Scientific Director at CWTS, Leiden University, and Co-Chair of the Research on Research Institute (RoRI). Sarah specializes in social studies of research evaluation, which she considers in relation to epistemic cultures, knowledge infrastructures, valuation processes, and roles of research in and for society. She has a strong international public academic presence with global outreach activities in science policy, speaking frequently on the topic of research evaluation and metrics uses. She recurrently acts as expert advisor in European and global science policy initiatives.

Manuel Franco, Social and Urban Epidemiologist, is an associate faculty at the University of Alcalá and adjunct faculty in two institutions in the USA: Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and the City University of New York CUNY Graduate School of Public Health. He was the Principal Investigator of the European Research Council Starting Grant Heart Healthy Hoods (http://www.hhhproject.es) studying urban characteristics in relation to eating patterns, physical activity levels, smoking and alcohol consumption. He was also the PI of the Participatory Project on food in the cities: Photovoice Villaverde (https://youtu.be/VIiFggKzVas)

I am a passionate molecular biologist dedicated to developing cutting-edge biological cancer therapeutics. Currently, I am a Marie Curie fellow, working on a project that brings together the Institute for Protein Design at the University of Washington, Seattle, and the Cancer Research centre at University College Cork, Ireland. Being a native Honduran, I possess a deep understanding of the unique challenges faced by scientists from low-income countries. This awareness drives my unwavering commitment to promoting diversity and inclusion within academia. To effect meaningful change, I actively leverage my roles as a member of the Executive Committee of the Global Young Academy (GYA), a steering board member of the Coalition for Advancing Research Assessment (CoARA), and an active member of the Young Academy of Ireland (YAI). Through these affiliations, I engage in transdisciplinary research aimed at identifying and overcoming barriers that hinder a diverse and equitable research culture. I also actively participate in science policy and science communication initiatives, advocating for research assessment practices that foster diversity, inclusion, and fair evaluation, with a particular emphasis on early career researchers worldwide. Through these esteemed affiliations, I engage in transdisciplinary research endeavours that aim to identify and overcome barriers hindering the establishment of a diverse and equitable research culture. Additionally, I am actively involved in science policy and science communication initiatives, where I advocate for research assessment practices that foster diversity, inclusion, and equality. With a specific emphasis on early career researchers worldwide, my goal is to create an environment that provides equal opportunities for all researchers to thrive. One notable achievement includes coordinating the publication of a comprehensive study on research assessment practices, encompassing 141 institutions from 56 countries across 6 continents (https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-3011208/v1).

Pablo Vommaro. Post-Doctor in Social Sciences, Childhood and Youth (Catholic University of Sao Paulo, University of Manizales, CINDE, National University of Lanús and CLACSO). PhD in Social Sciences at the University of Buenos Aires (UBA). Independent Researcher at CONICET, Professor of History at UBA and Co-coordinator of the Policy and Youth Studies Group (GEPoJu, IIGG/UBA). Research Director of the Latin American Council of Social Sciences (CLACSO) and the Latin American Forum for Scientific Assessment (FOLEC-CLACSO).