Leading Team

Learn more about ERDERA structure and governance structure here!

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.