Prof. Dr. Nicola Principi received his degree in Medicine and Surgery in 1963 followed by a post-graduate degree in Paediatrics in 1965 from the University of Milan, Milan, Italy. He won a National Competition to qualify as a Chair of Pediatrics in 1979 and he was appointed Professor of Pediatrics at the Faculty of Medicine and Surgery of the University of Milan, a position he still holds today. In 2000, he became Director of the Pediatrics Department of the University of Milan. He has served on several national and international committees and advisory boards including the National AIDS Commission. In 1998, he founded the Italian Society of Paediatric Infectious Diseases, of which he was the first President (1998–2002) and the Vice-President until 2008. His research interests include the study of developmental pharmacology, nutrition, nephrology, and pediatric infectious diseases, particularly respiratory tract infections, vaccines, and HIV infection.

Prof. Dr. Susanna Esposito is a Full Professor of pediatrics at the University of Parma and Director of the Pediatric Clinic at the Pietro Barilla Hospital of the University Hospital of Parma. She is also a President of the World Association for Infectious Diseases and Immunological Disorders (WAidid). She was a Full Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Perugia and Director of the Pediatric Clinic of the Santa Maria della Misericordia Hospital in Perugia, after having been Director of the High-Intensity Care Pediatrics Unit at the IRCCS Ca’ Granda Foundation Maggiore Policlinico Hospital of the University of Milan (2010–2016). She graduated in Medicine and Surgery cum laude, with a specialization in Pediatrics and, subsequently, in Infectious Diseases. Her research interests include reinfection, COVID-19, respiratory tract infections, emerging infections, vaccines, and antibiotic therapy.