Bio
Assistant professor of physiology at the University of Bari; his research topics include physiological and pathophysiological mechanisms of metabolic diseases and gut microbiota modulation, focusing on the bio-nutraceutical, molecular, and clinical aspects of Mediterranean plant products. Previously, Dr. Khalil earned a Ph.D. in Environmental and Territorial Sciences from the University of Genoa and the Lebanese University, and a second Ph.D. from the University of Bari Aldo Moro, where he investigated the clinical, physiological, and bio-functional effects of medicinal plant extracts and natural compounds.

Bio
MD, PhD in Public Health, Clinical Medicine, and Oncology at the University of Bari. Medical Assistant at the Clinica Medica “A. Murri”, Department of Precision and Regenerative Medicine and Ionian Area (DiMePre-J), University of Bari “Aldo Moro”, Bari, Italy. He has published more than 170 articles in peer-reviewed international journals in the fields of metabolic diseases, environmental health, functional diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, hepatology, non-invasive functional studies, and biomonitoring. He serves as Section Editor for European Journal of Clinical Investigation (Wiley Ed.) and Associate Editor for Internal and Emergency Medicine (Springer Ed.).

Bio
Assistant professor of physiology at the University of Bari; his research topics include physiological and pathophysiological mechanisms of metabolic diseases and gut microbiota modulation, focusing on the bio-nutraceutical, molecular, and clinical aspects of Mediterranean plant products. Previously, Dr. Khalil earned a Ph.D. in Environmental and Territorial Sciences from the University of Genoa and the Lebanese University, and a second Ph.D. from the University of Bari Aldo Moro, where he investigated the clinical, physiological, and bio-functional effects of medicinal plant extracts and natural compounds.

Bio
Dr. Fabio Pace was educated in Palermo, Italy, where he was born. Shortly after graduating in Medicine in 1979, he became a lecturer at the University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa, where he conducted studies on the variations in gastric mucosal blood flow under stress conditions in collaboration with Prof. Ron Hinder. Following this, he returned to Europe and was appointed Research Assistant at the Gastroenterology Unit, Triemli Hospital, University of Zurich, Switzerland, headed by Andrè Blum. During his stay in Switzerland, he conducted pioneer research on ambulatory pH monitoring of esophageal pH, in collaboration with the German group of Prof. R. Siewert, and investigated the effect of intraventricular injection of salmon calcitonin on gastric acid secretion. After his return to Italy, he gradually focused his scientific interest on many clinical aspects of GERD, from its natural history to the effect of various antisecretory drugs on pH, symptoms, and complications. Prof. Pace is one of the world's foremost experts selected to create the new global Classification of GERD, i.e., the “Montreal” Classification. He has been an Associate Professor at the Medical School of the University of Milan, Milan, Italy, and Head of the Gastrointestinal Unit at the “Bolognini” Hospital, Seriate, Italy. Presently, he is Director of the Microbiota Center at Humanitas ICH, Rozzano, Italy. Dr. Pace’s main research interests are in the fields of GERD, GI motility disorders, and functional disorders of the GI tract. He has participated as a main investigator in many RCTs on GERD, IBS, and dyspepsia in accordance with the rules of GCP. He is an author/co-author of more than 200 scientific articles focusing on IBS, GERD, and other gastroenterological disorders, published in peer-reviewed journals. He is also the author/co-author of 15 books on GERD and IBS. He also acts as a reviewer for about 20 peer-reviewed gastroenterological journals with high IF.