Invited Speakers

We are pleased to introduce the invited speakers representing the 13 specialized academic sessions of EPAM 2026 Kyoto.

📌 Session 3: Invited Speaker

Prof. George N. Zaimes

Department of Natural Environment and Climate Resilience, Democritus University of Thrace, Greece

Biography: Dr. George N. Zaimes is a Professor in the Department of Natural Environment and Climate Resilience at the Democritus University of Thrace, Greece, specializing in Stream and Riparian Area Management. He earned his PhD from Iowa State University and currently serves as the Director of the GERi Lab (Geomorphology, Edaphology and Riparian Areas). With more than 20 years of international teaching experience, he has taught water-related courses in the United States, Greece, Germany, Spain, and Jordan. His research focuses on sustainable water resources management, emphasizing nature-based solutions, riparian ecosystem conservation, and the application of innovative technologies to address environmental and climate challenges. Professor Zaimes has successfully led and participated in numerous nationally and internationally funded projects, including MEST, ECOMED, WaSec, Protect-Streams-4-Sea, NbS-4-Climate, FEED4FOOD, MEXECO, and Adapt-2-CC, several of which have received recognition as “Best Projects” in environmental management. An active member of international scientific networks and editorial boards, Professor Zaimes has authored more than 150 scientific publications, including journal articles, conference papers, and book chapters. He has established collaborations with organizations in more than 30 countries across all inhabited continents, contributing significantly to advancing environmental sustainability and water resource management worldwide.

🎤 "Advancing Nature-Based Solutions to Enhance Climate Change Resilience through Innovative Research and Transformative Education"

Abstract: Climate change is intensifying pressures on natural and human systems, resulting in widespread ecosystem degradation, biodiversity loss, and increasing risks to water availability, food security, disaster resilience, and human well-being. In response to these growing challenges, the European Union has adopted the European Green Deal, a comprehensive framework aimed at achieving climate neutrality by 2050. A key mechanism for reaching this goal is the promotion and implementation of Nature-based Solutions (NbS), which involve the protection, sustainable management, and restoration of natural and modified ecosystems to address societal challenges while benefiting both nature and people. This work aims to advance the strategic use of NbS to enhance climate change resilience by integrating innovative, science-based research with transformative education approaches. The methodological framework of this work combines applied environmental research with capacity-building educational initiatives. On the research side, two targeted NbS case studies implemented by the GERi Lab are presented to demonstrate how innovative tools can improve NbS effectiveness.

📌 Session 2: Invited Speaker

Assoc. Prof. ZHE KONG

School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Suzhou University of Science and Technology, China

Biography: Dr. Zhe Kong, graduated from Tohoku University, Japan and obtained his Ph.D in 2019, is currently associate professor at School of Environmental Science and Engineering of Suzhou University of Science and Technology, China. He has long been engaged in anaerobic digestion and biological treatment of refractory pollutants in industrial wastewater. He is a special scientist of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS), and has led JSPS Scientific Research Grants, undertaken key national projects commissioned by the Ministry of the Environment of Japan, and presided over the National Natural Science Foundation of China and the Jiangsu Natural Science Foundation. He has published over 80 SCI papers and been awarded the title of "Double Innovation Doctor" of Jiangsu Province and “Suzhou Innovation and Entrepreneurship Leader” in Suzhou City. He has been included in the list of the World’s Top 2% Scientists for 2023~2025.

🎤 "Anaerobic treatment of N, N-dimethylformamide-containing industrial organic wastewater by denitrification-enhanced anaerobic digestion"

Abstract: Effective anaerobic digestion (AD) of N, N-dimethylformamide (DMF) and stable anaerobic treatment of high-strength DMF-containing wastewater was realized in this study, and verified by a lab-scale up-flow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB). Synthetic wastewater with a constant DMF concentration of approximately 2000 mg/L and an organic loading rate (OLR) of approximately 3.0 kg COD/m3/d was effectively treated during a 350-day long-term operation. The UASB initially realized a rapid start-up and maintained a high DMF removal with stable methane production for two months due to the enrichment of DMF-hydrolyzing bacteria (DHB) contained in the seed sludge. However, hydrolysis of DMF was gradually weakened due to the continuous decaying of DHB, and these DHB were unable to proliferate anaerobically. Dosing nitrate to the UASB resulted in a significant recovery of both DMF removal and methane production. Since DHB like Paracoccus are also known as denitrifying bacteria, dosage of nitrate significantly stimulated and enhanced their growth and DMF-hydrolyzing ability under the condition of simultaneous denitrification and methanogenesis (SDM), facilitating the establishment of a denitrification-enhanced anaerobic digestion: DHB hydrolyze DMF and simultaneously perform the heterotrophic denitrification to maintain the proliferation by feeding a portion of intermediates, while the rest of intermediates are directly utilized by methane-producing archaea (MPA). After long-term of adjustment, a molar ratio of approximately 1.59 for nitrate to DMF (N/D ratio) could realize an effective removal of 98.8% for the anaerobic degradation of DMF with stable methane production rate of 0.60 L/L. This study introduces a new direction to enhance the methanogenic degradation of degradation-resistant organic matters.

📌 Session 6: Invited Speaker

Asst. Prof. Dr. Vaidehi Ulaganathan

Faculty of Applied Sciences, UCSI University, Malaysia

Biography: Dr. Vaidehi Ulaganathan is an Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Applied Sciences at UCSI University, Malaysia, specializing in Clinical Nutrition with research interests in nutrigenomics, precision nutrition, food systems, and public health. She currently serves as the Head of Department of Food Science and Nutrition, overseeing the Nutrition with Wellness and Food Science with Nutrition programmes. She is a Registered Nutritionist under the Allied Health Professions Council Malaysia, a Certified Lifestyle Medicine Professional, and a Certified Culinary Medicine Practitioner. She has led and contributed to multidisciplinary projects focusing on nutrition-related non-communicable diseases, food safety and risk communication, healthy food choices, digital health innovations, nutrition literacy, and community-based health promotion. Her recent work includes developing nutrient profiling models, studying food safety perceptions and consumer decision-making, advancing AI-driven nutrition information, and exploring brain nutrition and personalized dietary approaches. Since joining academia in 2017, Dr. Vaidehi has actively contributed to scientific research, innovation, and community engagement through numerous publications, prototype developments, research grants, and outreach programs. She is also the developer of the NutriDIY mobile application, designed to support nutrition education and healthier lifestyle practices.

🎤 "Urban Food Environments, Nutrition Transition, and Precision Public Health as a One Health Strategy for Sustainable Cities"

Abstract: Rapid urbanization has reshaped food environments and dietary patterns, contributing to a growing burden of non-communicable diseases, food insecurity, environmental degradation, and health inequities in cities worldwide. These challenges are increasingly interconnected through complex relationships between food systems, population health, and environmental sustainability, necessitating integrated approaches that extend beyond conventional public health strategies. This presentation aims to develop a conceptual framework that integrates urban food environments, nutrition transition, Precision Public Health, and One Health principles to support sustainable city development. A conceptual framework was developed by synthesizing key constructs from the urban health, public health nutrition, food systems, Precision Public Health, and One Health literatures. Relationships among the constructs were systematically mapped to identify pathways linking urbanization, food environments, population health outcomes, and sustainable city development.

📌 Session 4: Invited Speaker