Vikram Dhillon is a hematologist in Houston. Prior to this, he was an internal medicine resident at Wayne State University, Detroit Medical Center and a research fellow at the Institute of Simulation and Training, University of Central Florida (UCF). He holds a BSc in molecular biology from the University of Central Florida where his main focus was bioinformatics, a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine, and a doctoral degree from Nova Southeastern University. He has published multiple scientific papers on computational genomics. He has worked as a software and business development coach at the Blackstone Launchpad to mentor young entrepreneurs and start-ups through the process of building technology products. He was previously funded by the National Science Foundation through the Innovation Corps program to study customer discovery and apply it to commercialize high-risk startup ideas. He is a member of the Linux Foundation and has been involved in open-source projects and initiatives forthe past several years. He often speaks at local conferences and meetups about programming, design, security, and entrepreneurship.
David Metcalf, Director, METIL.org lab at the University of Central Florida's Institute for Simulation and Training and Managing Director at Global Blockchain Ventures. David is a serial entrepreneur who has launched multiple successful ventures and spinoff companies. He has reviewed thousands of emerging technology companies as an advisor and investor. He is the Director of the Mixed Emerging Technology Integration Lab at UCF's Institute for Simulation and Training. His past projects involving XR and IoT span across education, health, space, cyber, and transportation. Current efforts include smart cities, blockchain, and enterprise learning transformation for government and industry. He is the co-editor/author of Voice Technology in Healthcare (2020) and Blockchain in Healthcare (2019) as part of the HIMSS Emerging Technology Series, Blockchain Enabled Applications (2018), Connected Health (2017), HIMSS mHealth Innovation (2014), and the HIMSS best-seller mHealth: From Smartphones to Smart Systems (2012).
Max Hooper, Chief Executive Officer of Merging Traffic, is responsible for the company's management and growth strategy, serving as the corporate liaison to the financial services industry and various capital formation groups. Prior to starting the company, he was co-founder of Equity Broadcasting Corporation (EBC), a media company that owned and operated more than 100 television stations across the United States. He was responsible for activities in the cable, satellite, investment banking, and technology industries, and during his tenure, it grew to become one of the top 10 largest broadcasting companies in the country. He is a lifelong learner and has earned five doctorate degrees: PhD, DMin, PhD, ThD, and DMin from a variety of institutions. Hooper studied financial technology with cohorts at MIT, and cryptocurrency and business disruption with cohorts at the London School of Economics. As an avid runner, he has completed more than 100 marathons and an additional 20 ultra-marathons, which are 50- or 100-mile runs. He has completed the Grand Slam of Ultra Running. He is committed to his family and is a husband, father to five children, and grandfather to seven grandsons. He is active in many organizations and serves on various boards of directors. He works globally with several ministries and nonprofit aid groups and was honored to speak at the United Nations in New York in 2015.
