SPEAKERS 2024

Dr Teodor Blidaru is a Romanian doctor, contributing to health policy and healthcare innovation. Recently, he took on the role of Project Coordinator for the Health Innovation Hub of Romania. This new initiative, a partnership between public and private sectors, aims to foster innovation in healthcare policies and technologies, particularly to enhance Romania’s abilities in clinical trials and health promotion.

Dr Blidaru is deeply interested in healthcare public policy, with a focus on planning, developing human resources for health, and managing healthcare systems. He currently serves as an Honorary Advisor to the Minister of Health. In this capacity, he is working on significant projects, including creating Romania’s first strategy for health workforce development, enhancing healthcare management education, and engaging with a broad range of stakeholders both in Romania and internationally, including the WHO.

Dr Blidaru is a radiology and medical imaging physician, educated at Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy in Bucharest. He is also pursuing a PhD in Medicine and building a career in teaching at the same university. Beyond his studies and teaching, Dr Blidaru is involved in the university’s administration, managing projects related to international relations.

Civically, Dr Blidaru recently led the resident doctors’ committee at the Romanian College of Physicians and served on the board of the Romanian Multidisciplinary Society of Resident Doctors. He played a key role in initiatives aimed at enhancing the training programs for Romanian doctors.

In the past, particularly in 2019 and 2020, Dr Blidaru was selected as the United Nations Youth Delegate for Romania and attended numerous international events, including the UN General Assembly. He was also the first student to join the Romanian delegation at the World Health Assembly. Before this, he was active in the International Federation of Medical Students’ Associations and various NGOs, taking on leadership roles and focusing on student representation and building networks among young professionals at the local, national, and international levels.

Prof Sandra C. Buttigieg is a Professor and Head of the Department of Health Systems Management and Leadership, Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Malta. She is a Consultant in Public Health Medicine, Head-Clinical Performance Unit, and Chair-Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Team, at Mater Dei Hospital. She is President of the European Health Management Association. She lectures in HSM, Public Health, Family Medicine, Research Methodology and Evidence-based Health Research (EVBRES).

She authored/co-authored several articles in peer-reviewed international journals, and widely participated in international conferences, and congresses. She is on the Editorial Boards of PloS One, Health Services Management Research, International Journal of Human Resources Management, Journal of Health Organization and Management, and Frontiers Public Health. She is Frontiers Topic Editor: “Network for Evaluation of One Health (NEOH) Case Studies”; “Patient Safety: Delivering Cost-Contained, High Quality, Person-Centered, and Safe Healthcare” and “Health Service Management and Leadership: COVID-Style”.

She is a Fellow of two programmes of the Salzburg Global Seminar, related to health care, which were led by amongst others, past presidents of the Institute of Medicine, namely, Donald Berwick and Harvey Fineberg.

Professor Buttigieg has been visiting scholar in the US (JMU -Harrisonburg, VA), UK -University of Birmingham and Aston University, Birmingham, and Kuwait (Faculty of Allied Health Sciences, Kuwait University).

Josep Figueras, MD, MPH, PhD (econ), FFPH is the Director and cofounder of the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies. In addition to WHO, he has served major multilateral agencies such as the European Commission or the World Bank and has worked as policy advisor in more than forty countries within the European region and beyond. He was Co-chair of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Monti Commission, and member of several governing, advisory and editorial boards including the governance board of the European Health Forum Gastein.

He is an honorary fellow of the UK faculty of public health; received the Andrija Stampar Medal for excellence in Public Health and a Doctorate Honoris Causa from Semmelweis University; and he has three times been awarded the EHMA prize for best annual publication. He is currently a visiting professor at the London School of Economics and Maastricht University. He was director of the MSc in Health Services Management and lecturer at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. Dr Figueras obtained his PhD from the University of London LSE / LSHTM in 1993 on health policy and planning. He started his career as a specialist in Family and Community medicine in Spain.

Prof Catherine Keller is a hospital director and doctor in health law. She has held various positions in public health establishments (Medicine, Surgery, Obstetrics and Mental Health). She led a large inter-hospital cooperation project. Before joining the EHESP to teach hospital law, she also worked as an administrative magistrate, in charge of hospital litigation.

Prof Federico Lega, PhD, is a Full Professor of Health Administration at the Public Health Department at Milan University, where he runs all courses in healthcare management and policy for medical students and leads the Research Centre in Health Administration (HEAD).

He is also a Professor at SDA Bocconi School of Management (SDA) where he teaches courses in Public Management and Health Services Management. He leads the research in strategy and organisational development in healthcare at the Bocconi Research Center on Health Policy and Management (CERGAS). From 2007 to 2014 he has been the Head of executive education for health managers, clinicians and medical industry leaders at the Bocconi School of Management (SDA).

Since 2015, he is acting as Editor in Chief of the journal Health Services Management Research, Associate Editor of BMC Health Services Research and Medical Care Research Review. He has published eight books and over 150 articles in journals.

As a consultant, he has advised health systems on health policy matters and governance issues, several hospitals and networks in re-organisations, strategy-making processes, value-based approaches, economic evaluations, and process management, both at the national and international level.

In the last ten years, he has advised several companies in the medical industry on their transformation toward value-based models and on the development of effective market-access initiatives. Since 2002 he has coordinated over fifteen initiatives of duality or study tours, involving the exchange of managers and senior clinicians between countries (Italy, UK, USA, Germany and France). He currently sits on the boards of hospitals and local health authorities, advises health departments of regions, national health agencies and insurances, and works as a consultant for WHO.

Federica Morandi is Professor of Management at Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Faculty of Economics, Department of Management Studies. She obtained a Ph.D. in Economic and Management of Healthcare Organizations, at Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore. Since 2020 she is the Director of the Academic Programs in Altems (Graduate School of Economic and Management of healthcare systems) at the same university.  She is also Responsible for the research activities of Patient Advocacy Associations Lab and Clinical Trial Management Lab at Altems.

She received two awards for research activities from the Academy of Management (2011) and from the Assioa (Italian association of organization studies), (2010).

She has been a visiting scholar (short term) at ISCTE-IUL Lisbon (Portugal) and at the Tillburg University (Holland) at the Department of Organization Studies- School of Social Behavioural Sciences.

Her research interests focus both on organizational models in healthcare and on healthcare workforce.

Federica Morandi co-authored more than 30 scientific papers both in international and national peer-reviewed journals and about 10 book chapters. She is also author of a monography entitled “Managerial solutions to hospital challenges” edited by Nova Science Publishers, 2016.

Federica Morandi is coeditor of a book series dedicated to the healthcare management and she is associate editor at Health Service Management Research journal.

Federica Morandi has given a large number of presentations at International and National Conferences.

Tuomo Nieminen serves as the Chief Medical Officer in the Wellbeing Services County of Päijät-Häme, Finland.

Previously, he has been a professor of internal medicine at the University of Helsinki, Finland.

Dr. Diana-Loreta Păun is a distinguished figure in the realm of healthcare and medical research, with a multifaceted career spanning clinical practice, education, management, and advisory roles. With a strong focus on endocrinology, she has significantly contributed to the advancement of medical knowledge and patient care, both in Romania and on the international stage.

Since 2019, Dr. Diana-Loreta Păun has held the position of Presidential Advisor for Health to the President of Romania, having been promoted from the position of State Advisor for Health after a four-year mandate.

She has had with the close support of President Iohannis a leading role in Covid-19 national coordination and containment mechanisms.Recently she has had a pivotal role in launching a strategic National Cancer Plan in Romania, under the leadership of President Iohannis.

Within the mandate, the Romanian official coordinates the Department of Public Health, a structure within the Presidential Administration that contributes to the mediation functions between the decision-makers in the field of public health.

An endocrinologist by profession, Dr. Păun served as the head of the National Institute of Endocrinology “CI Parhon” between 2006 and 2015. She is associate professor of Endocrinology at the University of Medicine and Pharmacy “Carol Davila” and has pursued complementary studies in Health Services Management and in several areas such as management, quality audit, and public procurement.

Professor Alexandru Rafila has been appointed Minister of Health of Romania on 25 November 2021.
He held different key leading positions, such as Vice-President of the Romanian Parliament, Secretary of State, Director General for Public Health and personal advisor to the Minister of Health. He has also served as Director of the Institute of Public Health in Bucharest. Alexandru Rafila is the elected president of the Romanian Society of Microbiology and Professor at the University of Medicine and Pharmacy “Carol Davila”.

He attained his medical degree in 1987 and his PhD in microbiology in 2004. Professor Rafila is an expert internationally recognised, who worked with WHO, NATO and the European Commission. He played a key role as a member of the Standing Committee of the WHO Regional Office for Europe and represented Romania in the Management Board of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. In 2018, he was elected to represent Romania in the Executive Board of the WHO.

Professor Rafila is an active organizer and participant in national and international medical conferences and events on public health topics. He wrote articles, textbooks, book chapters and practice guidelines in the field of public health and microbiology.

Jaume Ribera is Emeritus Professor in the Operations, Information and Technology Management Department and Director of the Center for Research in Healthcare Innovation Management at IESE Business School in Barcelona.

He holds an M.Sc and a Ph.D. in Mathematical System Theory from the University of Florida and an Dr. Eng. in Industrial Engineering from the Polytechnic University of Catalonia. He has hold visiting positions in China, Argentina, Ecuador, Peru, Uruguay, Kenya, etc.

He has been active in consultancy in supply chain management, project management, and health management with private and public companies in different industries. He serves on the board of several charities, public entities, and private companies.

Julie Spony is Policy Officer at the European Patients’ Forum (EPF), the voice of patient organisations in Europe. In this role, she contributes to EPF’s policy and advocacy work, including leading EPF’s activities on the revision of EU pharmaceutical legislation.

Julie has a multidisciplinary background in Law, Economics and Political Science and holds a Master’s degree in European Affairs from Sciences Po Lyon (France).

Prior to joining EPF, Julie worked at the European Commission and the European Parliament, focusing on rule of law and human rights.

Dr. Ștefan Strilciuc is the Director of the Research Center for Functional Genomics, Biomedicine and Translational Medicine (genomics-center.ro) at the Iuliu Hatieganu University of Medicine and Pharmacy.
As Associate Research Professor, his work lies at the intersection of public health and medicine, having been involved in over 50 interventional and observational clinical trials and studies, including economic evaluation in health.

Strilciuc is also an advisor to the Romanian Health Minister and has served as an international expert for central healthcare institutions such as the National Health Insurance House, actively contributing to healthcare reform and management of an annual health budget of over €10 billion.
As a member of the Romanian Health Observatory, he has also contributed to designing and disseminating original research reports and advocacy plans for patients in Eastern Europe.

Dr Marius-Ionuț Ungureanu, MD, PhD is a medical doctor with extensive training in healthcare management and policy, and a background in health workforce, health systems & public health research.

He is currently serving as Chair of the Department of Public Health, and Director of the Center for Health Workforce Research and Policy, both within the School of Political, Administrative and Communication Sciences at Babeș-Bolyai University (BBU) in Cluj-Napoca, Romania. He has served in Government in various capacities, including as Advisor to the Health Minister, Chief of Staff to the Health Minister, and Deputy Health Minister, in the Romanian Ministry of Health.

His main areas of expertise are: human resources for health research, policy, and development; leadership & healthcare reform; quality management in healthcare; health services research; primary and community health care; research design; research management. Dr. Ungureanu is a member of European Public Health Association’s (EUPHA) Governing Board, representing BBU’s Department of Public Health, and President of EUPHA’s Health Workforce Research Section.

As a health systems researcher, Eva desires to find and implement safe and sustainable healthcare delivery models globally through co-creation and smart technologies and digital solutions.

She has 15 years experience in health systems research, currently working as Senior Researcher at the Centre for Digital Health and Social Innovation at the University of Applied Sciences. Her main task is to build a research group in Inclusive Digital Community Care. Prior to taking up the position in January 2023, she worked at the Institute for Health and Society, University of Oslo, on IMI2 projects Gravitate Health and BEAMER project. Eva, is also an associate professor working on task shifting, digital health, ethics in AI and digital health literacy at the University of South- Eastern Norway.

Her research has been focused on person centred care, digital health, patient safety, health technology assessment and quality of life. She teaches EBM, HTA and Public Health at the Medical Faculty, University in Maribor and is Public Health delegate with the Emergency Response Unit at the Norwegian Red Cross.

Eva serves in the Board of Directors of HTAi, is Board member of Polytekniske Forening- Helse, Women in Global Health Norway and Austria, and was a member of the Expert Council at the Slovenian Digital Health Innovation Lab.

She holds an MBA in Healthcare Management (WU Wien) and a PhD in Health Sciences (University of Oulu). Originally from Slovenia, she has studied, lived and worked in Austria, Japan, Finland, Spain, Argentina, Syria and Norway.

Apart from the healthcare expertise, Eva is passionate about the sustainable development and the SDG’s, in particular SDG 5, Gender Equality. As the President of Professional Women’s Network Norway, she was contributing to raising awareness about gender balanced leadership.

Cristian Vladescu graduated in 1988 from the Faculty of Medicine at UMF “Carol Davila” in Bucharest, with a PhD in Medicine in 2000 and a MPH from the Nuffield Institute of Health, University of Leeds, UK in 1993. He also attended numerous postgraduate courses in public health, health economics, epidemiology, health policy, health management in UK, USA, France, Spain. He is Professor in Public Health and Management since 2002, Head of Public Health Discipline, UMF Victor Babes, Timisoara (2002-2020), Associate Professor, University of Bucharest, Faculty of Sociology and Social Work (1995 – 2018); Visiting Scholar of Health Policy, Wagner School for Public Service, NYU (1994, 2007) and is currently Professor of Public Health and Management at the Faculty of Medicine, Titu Maiorescu University, Bucharest and General Director, National School of Public Health and Management, Bucharest.

Prof. Cristian Vladescu is full member of the Romanian Academy of Medical Sciences. During his career he fulfilled numerous positions in his areas of expertise such as : General Director, Directorate for Reform, Ministry of Health (1997-1998), Executive Chairman, Center for Health Policy and Services (1999-2004);President of the Public Health Commission of the Ministry of Health, (2005-2006); President of the National Health Insurance House (2005-2007), Chairmen of the Presidential Commission for the analysis and elaboration of public health policies (2007-2008), President of the National Commission for Attestation of University Degrees, Diplomas and Certificates (CNATDCU) in Medicine, Ministry of National Education (2010-2012), President of the Commission for Clinical and Epidemiological Management of COVID-19 of the Ministry of Health (2021-2022) together with membership in various other professional societies in Romania and abroad.

Prof. Cristian Vladescu authored and co-authored over 50 books and treatises, published more than 100 scientific articles in indexed journals, gave over 40 presentations in international conferences and participated in more than 35 research projects, both national and international. His work has over 2.000 citations in international scientific data bases (BDI). Prof. Vladescu acted as consultant/expert for international organizations such as WHO, The World Bank, Council of Europe, EU, USAID, Global Fund, OSI. He received for his professional and academic activity different awards and distinctions such as the Romanian Academy Award Iuliu Haţieganu in 2010, Diploma of Excellence of the Ministry of Interior in 2005 in Bucharest, Diploma of Excellence of the Ministry of Defense in 2006 in Bucharest, USAID / AIHA Certificate of Recognition in 1998 in Chicago, USA.

Gemma Williams is a member of the Observatory’s London hub and is based at the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Dr Tomas Zapata is a health services and health workforce expert with more than 13 years of experience in policy advice, research and programme implementation, including long term international work with WHO, UNFPA and Doctors of the World based in Mozambique, Angola, Namibia, Bangladesh and India. He has also conducted several analyses focusing on integration of services, primary health care, health workforce policy and health labour market analysis among others in African, Asian and European settings.

For the past two years he is leading the Unit of Health Workforce and Health Services in the WHO Regional Office for Europe based in Copenhagen.

Dr Tomas Zapata graduated as a Medical Doctor and he specialized in Family Medicine in Spain. He holds a Master’s degree in Health Policy, Planning and Financing from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) and the London School of Economics (LSE), and a specialised short course on Human Resources for Health by Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, USA.