Introducing our esteemed keynote speakers, poised to enrich the ACPE 2026 conference program with their unparalleled insights and expertise.
Prof Dame Juliet Gerrard
The University of Auckland
Professor Dame Juliet A. Gerrard DNZM, HonFRSC(UK)
Dame Juliet Gerrard trained at Oxford and moved to New Zealand in 1993. Her research career has been broad and interdisciplinary, centred on protein science. She is currently a professor at the University of Auckland (based across the Faculties of Science and Engineering). From 2018-2024 Juliet served as the Prime Minister’s Chief Science Advisor to three Prime Ministers (Jacinda Ardern, Chris Hipkins, Chris Luxon) during a tumultuous time. She provided science advice on a broad range of topics, including plastics, cannabis, AI in healthcare, and food waste. She also had a front row seat during three emergencies - the Christchurch mosque shooting, the volcanic eruption of Whakaari | White Island, and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Brian L. Strom served for 12 years as Inaugural Chancellor of Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences and Executive Vice President for Health Affairs at Rutgers University. Before that, he was the Executive Vice Dean for Institutional Affairs, Founding Chair of the Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, Founding Director of the Center for Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, at the Perelman School of Medicine of the University of Pennsylvania. He earned his BS from Yale University, MD from Johns Hopkins University, completed his residency at the University of California, San Francisco, and obtained his MPH from the University of California, Berkeley.
Dr. Strom is internationally recognised as one of the founders of pharmacoepidemiology, pioneering the use of large automated databases in epidemiological research. His work has significantly influenced medical policy, including changing long-standing recommendations.
He has authored 18 books and more than 650 papers and serves as Editor-in-Chief of Pharmacoepidemiology and Drug Safety. He has mentored generations of clinical epidemiologists. He has also served on major national and international advisory committees and received numerous prestigious awards for his contributions to research, education, and public health.
