Elisabeth Heinz
Luxembourg
Permanent Deputy
Elisabeth Heinz
Oliver Mayer-Weber
Austria
Principal Representative
Oliver Mayer-Weber
Cédric Morana
Permanent Deputy
Belgium
Cédric Morana
Anne Cécile Desfaits
Canada
Permanent Deputy
Anne Cécile Desfaits
Katerina Slaba
Czech Republic
Permanent Deputy
Katerina Slaba
Inês Amado
France
Principal Representative
Inês Amado
Smita Sutrave
Germany
Principal Representative
Smita Sutrave
Dr. Elod Nemerkenyi
Hungary
Principal Representative
Dr. Elod Nemerkenyi
Asher Salmon
Israel
Principal Representative
Asher Salmon
Merve Polat
Türkiye
Principal Representative
Merve Polat
Fatima Zahra Ben Fouila
Morocco
Permanent Deputy
Fatima Zahra Ben Fouila
Wendy van Zelst-Stam
The Netherlands
Principal Representative
Wendy van Zelst-Stam
Dagmara Robakowska-Hyżorek
Poland
Permanent Deputy
Dagmara Robakowska-Hyżorek
Anabela Isidro
Portugal
Principal Representative of Portugal in the Goberning Board and ERDERA (Inter)national capacity alignment co-leader
Anabela Isidro
Peter Volasko
Slovenia
Permanent Deputy
Peter Volasko
Pascale Baden
Luxembourg
Principal Representative
Pascale Baden
Carlos Almeida Pereira
(Inter)national capacity alignment co-Leader
Carlos Almeida Pereira
Michela Onali
GlI Equilibristi HIBM
Patients Representative
Michela Onali
Christina Kyriakopoulou
Scientific Policy Officer at the European Commission
Christina Kyriakopoulou
Christina Kyriakopoulou works as a Policy Officer at the Directorate General for Research and Innovation of the European Commission, Directorate People: Health and Society and the unit Health Innovations and Ecosystems. She holds a PhD in biochemistry and she held postdoctoral positions in molecular biology and genome analysis before joining the European Commission 20 years ago.
Christina contributes to the design and the development of the work programmes of the European Union’s framework programmes for research and innovation for health collaborative research in the domains of rare diseases, health data, including in-silico models and artificial intelligence for health.
Hélène Le Borgne
Policy Officer at European Commission
Hélène Le Borgne
Hélène joined in 2010 the European Commission where she worked firstly in the Directorate-General in charge of health policies (DG SANTE), in particular in the team supporting the establishment of the 24 European Reference Networks (ERNs) on rare diseases. She moved to DG Research & Innovation in January 2020, Unit “Health innovations and ecosystems”, to work on rare disease (RD) research, where she supported the implementation of the European Joint Programme on Rare Diseases (EJP RD) and collaborative research projects to improve diagnostics and therapies for RD patients. She helped preparing, and still support, the European Partnership on Rare Diseases, ERDERA.
Daria Julkowska
PhD. ERDERA Coordinator, INSERM
ERDERA Scientific Coordinator
Daria Julkowska
Gustavo Insaurralde
Administrative/Finance
Gustavo Insaurralde
Raisa Simoes
Policy Officer
Raisa Simoes
Odile Heitz
Office Manager
Odile Heitz
Baptiste Eluard
Project Manager
Baptiste Eluard
Pauline Adam
Project Manager
Pauline Adam
Pauline has a double Master’s degree in international governance from Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Grenoble (France) and International University of Rabat (Morocco). She had first internship experiences in Senegal and Morocco, working for NGOs involved in linking research with public policies, local stakeholders’ capacity building, and topics related to public health. During the pandemic, she worked on medical human ressources support operations at the Ministry of Health Crisis Center, and then as a scientific project manager in the COVID international surveillance team at Santé Publique France.
Helin Ruf-Ucar
Project Manager
Helin Ruf-Ucar
Başak Uysal
Project Manager
Başak Uysal
Clément Moreau
Project Manager
Clément Moreau
Clément has a Master’s degree in European and International Project Management from the University of Nantes (France). After a first internship experience in project management and awareness of European issues at the Association Jean Monnet in 2019, he worked for two years at University Côte d’Azur (UCA, Nice, France), where he was the manager of the Erasmus+ Capacity Building projects (ERASMUS+, KA2) involving UCA.
Xavier Merit
Project Manager
Xavier Merit
Maica Llavero
Co-head of EU-Funded Projects
Maica Llavero
Maica spent six years working as a researcher at The Roslin Institute in Edinburgh, UK, initially as a PhD candidate and later as a postdoctoral research fellow. Her research focused on potential drug targets and biomarkers for neurodegenerative diseases. In collaboration with international universities, Maica contributed to over ten biomedical research projects, some of which were presented at various conferences and published in high-impact peer-reviewed journals. Additionally, she gained experience in identifying and preparing grant proposals to expand her team and further her research.
In 2018, Maica’s career geared towards innovation management in the private sector when she worked for two years as a consultant in London. There, she assisted UK companies, mainly SMEs and start-ups, in obtaining funding for innovation through public grants and R&D tax claims. She developed expertise in the biotech, med-tech, AI, and software sectors. Additionally, she led the project management activities and managed the Innovation team’s client portfolio.
Anna Llobet
Project Manager
Anna Llobet
Anna’s career in the field of European Funding project management began at the Pompeu Fabra University (UPF), where she provided support to the Project Management team of EUTOPIA 2050, a part of the European Universities initiative which is funded by Erasmus+. She was extensively involved in coordinating, planning, and implementing the project’s large-scale, multilingual, and multi-stakeholder tasks.
During her tenure at UPF, Anna developed a strong interest in the financial management of European Commission projects. She played a key role in the successful bid of the European Universities pilot project, helping secure continued funding from the European Commission. Additionally, she is skilled in managing the EC’s Funding and Tenders portal.
Marina Derch
Project Manager
Marina Derch
Gisela Pairó
Head of Communications
Gisela Pairó
Jordi Vaqué
Communications Officer
Jordi Vaqué
Freya Sentmartí
Communications Officer
Freya Sentmartí
Freya holds a degree in Advertising and Public Relations from the University of Girona, including a year abroad at NHL Stenden in the Netherlands. She went on to complete an MSc in Strategic Communication and Public Relations at Pompeu Fabra University and the University of Stirling.
Her master’s thesis explored Ecolinguistics in governmental public relations, focusing on environmental sustainability messaging. In 2024, she took part in the European Green Activist Training, gaining insight into politics and collaborative engagement.
Freya has developed her expertise through experience at Ogilvy, a global communications agency, and the Alicia Foundation, a centre for food innovation and sustainability. She joined Teamit in 2024 as a Junior Communications Officer, where she contributes to impactful communication strategies within European research and public health projects.