Global Heart Hub’s 3rd Unite Annual Summit a huge success
Global Heart Hub’s 3rd Unite Annual Summit a huge success
125 participants from across 27 countries, with 23 expert speakers!
Global Heart Hub brought the cardiovascular disease patient community together from 8-9 November for the 3rd Annual Unite Summit, held in Barcelona, Spain. Participants united to develop the first patient-led global Manifesto calling for action on early detection and timely diagnosis of cardiovascular disease – launching in early 2024.
Unite Annual Summit 2023 Highlights
Watch now!
Patient Stories – Hear from our community
This is why we are uniting – to highlight the need for policy and investment prioritisation of early detection and timely diagnosis of cardiovascular disease.
Unite Annual Summit 2023
Photos
Unite Annual Summit 2023
Photos
Watch the session recordings!
Tanya Hall, CEO, hearts4heart, Australia & New Zealand
Prof David Wood, Emeritus Professor of Cardiology, Imperial College London, UK & University of Galway, Ireland
Prof Laurence Sperling, Professor in Preventive Cardiology, Emory University School of Medicine; Professor of Global Health, Rollins School of Public Health, US
With Marc Bains, Co-founder, HeartLife Foundation, Canada and Co-Lead, Canadian Heart Function Alliance; Jens Näumann, CEO, Initiative Herzklappe e.V., Germany; Greg Ruf, Executive Director and Board President, DCM Foundation, USA; and ShantaQuilette Carter-Williams, Patient Advocate, USA
Primary Care: Prof Richard Hobbs, Chair, European Primary Care Cardiovascular Society; President, International Primary Care Cardiovascular Society; Professor of Primary Care, University of Oxford, UK.
Secondary Care: Prof Lina Badimon, Director of Cardiovascular Science Program and Cardiovascular Disease Area Coordinator, Hospital of Sant Pau, Barcelona, Spain
Co-morbidities: Prof Knut Borch-Johnsen, Medical Advisor, World Diabetes Foundation
Social Determinants of Health: Dr Ratna Devi, Chair of ISPOR Patient Council; Lead of Indian Alliance of Patient Groups; Immediate Past President of IAPO
- Biomarkers:
Prof Damien Gruson, Head of Department of Laboratory Medicine, Cliniques Universitaires Saint Luc, Brussels, Belgium; Chair Elect, Emerging Technology Division, International Federation of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine
- Screening and Health Economic Cases:
Prof Zanfina Ademi, Head of Health Economics & Policy Evaluation Research group, Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia
- Genetics:
Prof James Ware, Professor of Cardiovascular and Genomic Medicine, Imperial College London; Visiting Scientist at the Broad Institute of MIT & Harvard
- Innovation – MedTech:
Alexander Olbrecht, Director Digital Health, MedTech Europe
- Innovation – Pharma:
Lena Lymperopoulou, Executive Director, TA Policy Cardiovascular, Novartis; Representative, European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations, Cardiovascular Health Platform
Alan Donnelly, Executive Chairman, Sovereign Sustainability And Development; Convenor of The G20 Health And Development Partnership
Supportive materials
Unite 2023 Presentation slides Prof Fausto Pinto
Unite 2023 Presentation slides Prof David Wood
Unite 2023 Presentation slides Prof Laurence Sperling
Unite 2023 Presentation slides Prof Knut Borch-Johnsen
Unite 2023 Presentation slides Dr Ratna Devi
Unite 2023 Presentation slides Prof Damien Gruson
Unite 2023 Presentation slides Prof Zanfina Ademi
Unite 2023 Presentation slides Prof James Ware
Unite 2023 Presentation slides Alexander Olbrechts
Unite 2023 Presentation slides Alan Donnelly
Unite Summit 2023 Speakers
Prof Fausto Pinto
Immediate Past President, World Heart Federation; Professor of Cardiology, University of Lisbon; Head of Cardiology Department & Heart and Vascular Department, Santa Maria University Hospital, Lisbon, Portugal
About the Speaker
Professor Pinto is Full Professor of Cardiology/Medicine and Head of the Cardiovascular Department of Santa Maria University Hospital and President of Cardiovascular Center of University of Lisbon (CCUL), Lisbon, Portugal. He was the Dean of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Lisbon (2015-22), President and founder of the European Association of Echocardiography (2003-2004), President of the European Society of Cardiology (2014-2016) and President of the World Heart Federation (2021-22). He is a Fellow and Gold Medalist of the European Society of Cardiology (FESC), European Association of Cardiovascular Imaging (FEACVI), American College of Cardiology (FACC), American Society of Angiology (FASA) , Society for Cardiac Angiography and Interventions (FSCAI) and the American Society of Echocardiography (FASE) and honorary member of several international societies and academies.
Tanya Hall
CEO, hearts4heart
About the Speaker
Tanya is the CEO and founder and it was through her own experience of living with heart disease that she founded hearts4heart in 2011, a national organisation supporting, educating and advocating for Australians living with heart disease.
Through Tanya’s commitment and advocacy, hearts4heart has grown exponentially and is now seen as an expert voice in the field of patient education and support for heart disease.
Following the success in Australia, hearts4heart has now expended to New Zealand. Tanya is often called upon to present at clinician, research and industry conferences and contacted by the media to contribute to cardiac related stories.
Tanya has contributed over 12 years work within the not-for-profit sector. Tanya is a highly experienced accomplished Executive and Board Director with a broad range of skills as CEO. She is a passionate leader with strong networks and a track record of delivery across the community and health industries.
As CEO of the only cardiac patient advocacy group actively involved in market access discussions with Government, Tanya has been successful in re-energising the Australian cardiac community in the patient access to therapies discussion. She has also united Industry companies through roundtable meetings and regular teleconferences, to bring a single voice to the issue. Tanya has also made significant contributions through her involvement with the Parliamentary Committees of ‘Friends of Heart & Stroke’ & ‘Friends of Medicine’.
Early detection and patient access to therapies across the globe is Tanya’s goal. Tanya’s passion to both raise awareness of heart disease and ensure patients have treatment and access to proven therapies, has seen her establish relationships with key stakeholders including clinicians, politicians and health industry members.
Tanya represents consumers on several key committees including the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) Device Reform committee, ECG review committee, ANZCETS Committee, Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand Australasian Cardiac Procedures Outcomes Registry, Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand Australasian Cardiac Device Outcomes Registry, AF Ablation percutaneous catheter ablation writing committee, Global Heart Hub Heart Valve and Heart Failure Committees, Continuity of Care Collaboration Committee. CEO Tanya Hall is also a co- author of the Australian Clinical Guidelines for Atrial Fibrillation.
She is a recipient of the 2012 CALI (Community, Action, Leadership and Inspiration) award and was a finalist for the Body and Soul Woman of the Year in 2013. Tanya was also recently nominated and shortlisted for CEO of the Year for the Third Sector Awards in 2023. In addition, she is a semi-finalist for 2 awards by Health Industry Hub: (1) Policy & Advocacy: Patient safety and access to essential cardiac services must take priority over pricing review, and (2) Driving policy changes in heart disease: Uniting clinician and patient advocacy. Hearts4heart is also a finalist for the Prime Awards NGO of the year 2023. Tanya won the Health Industry Award ‘Catalyst for Change’ for the most-viewed webinar and podcast in 2022; the Medical Technology Association of Australia Outstanding Achievement Award in 2015; and the Global Bakken Invitation Award, which is awarded to those who have been implanted with medical technology and are making a difference by contributing to communities all around the world through charitable service.
Prof David Wood
Emeritus Professor of Cardiology, Imperial College London, UK and University of Galway, Ireland
About the Speaker
Professor Wood is a cardiologist committed to prevention of cardiovascular disease and holds joint emeritus academic appointments at Imperial College London and the University of Galway.
He has contributed to international policy and guidelines on cardiovascular disease (CVD) prevention through the World Health Organisation, World Heart Federation and the European Society of Cardiology. He was a founder and President of the European Association for Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation, a Board member of the European Society of Cardiology and most recently President of the World Heart Federation (2017-18).
He is the principal investigator for the ASPIRE and EUROASPIRE studies across 27 European countries, evaluating standards of preventive cardiology practice in hospital and primary care. He led the EUROACTION and EUROACTION+ trials in preventive cardiology evaluating nurse-led models of preventive care in hospital and general practice across 8 European countries, and the principals of EUROACTION were incorporated in the Imperial College NHS Cardiovascular Health MyAction programme for the NHS and subsequently the Croi Heart and Stroke Centre in Galway in the west of Ireland.
He works for the National Institute for Prevention and Cardiovascular Health at the University of Galway to support the development of research in all aspects of cardiovascular prevention and health, and to contribute to innovative service development in secondary and primary prevention of CVD.
He is Senior Editor of the European Society of Cardiology Textbook of Preventive Cardiology and also founded the European Journal of Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation (now European Journal of Preventive Cardiology) and served as the first Joint Editor in Chief.
Prof Laurence Sperling
Professor in Preventive Cardiology, Emory University School of Medicine; Professor of Global Health, Rollins School of Public Health
About the Speaker
Laurence S. Sperling, M.D., FACC, FAHA, FACP, MASPC is the Founder and was the Director of The Heart Disease Prevention Center at Emory (1997-2019). He is currently the Katz Professor in Preventive Cardiology at the Emory University School of Medicine, and Professor of Global Health in the Rollins School of Public Health. Dr Sperling is the current Executive Director of Million Hearts for the Division of Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services. He served as the President of the American Society for Preventive Cardiology from 2014-2016, served on the writing committee of 2018 the ACC/ AHA Guideline on the Management on Blood Cholesterol, and serves as Associate Editor for the American Journal of Preventive Cardiology, and the Chair of the World Heart Federation writing group on the Roadmap for Cardiovascular Disease Prevention among People Living with Diabetes.
Dr Sperling founded (in 2004) and directs the first and only LDL apheresis program in the state of Georgia, and was the PI for The National FH Registry site at Emory. He has received awards for excellence in both teaching (including 4 Apple Awards and The Dean’s Teaching Award) and mentorship (Emory SOM 2018 Mentorship Award). He received the Pioneer in Prevention Award from the American Society for Preventive Cardiology Award in 2023. He has been an investigator in a number of important clinical trials and has authored over 350 manuscripts, abstracts, and book chapters.
Alan Donnelly
Executive Chairman, Sovereign Sustainability And Development; Convenor of The G20 Health And Development Partnership
About the Speaker
Alan Donnelly is the Convenor of The G20 Health And Development Partnership and Development Partnership, Founder and Executive Chair of the political consultancy firm, Sovereign Strategy. Founded in 2000, Sovereign Strategy advises numerous governments around the world, as well as a variety of globally renowned FTSE 100 and Fortune 250 companies. In his advisory role for Michael R. Bloomberg, Founder of Bloomberg LP and Special Envoy for Cities and Climate Change to Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, he assisted Michael Bloomberg in developing a framework for climate-related financial risk disclosures, which will enable financial markets to measure and respond to climate change risks.
Before moving to the private sector in 2000, Mr Donnelly was a leading Member of the European Parliament for 11 years and led the British Labour Party in the European Parliament. During his time in Parliament he chaired the parliamentary committee for relations with the United States and was the spokesperson on the Economic and Monetary Union. Mr Donnelly received an honour for his work on German Unification, with the title, ‘Knight Commander of Germany’ from the German state in 1991.
Prof Zanfina Ademi
Delaney
Head of Health Economics and Policy Evaluation Research group, Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia
About the Speaker
Professor Zanfina Ademi leads the Health Economics and Policy Evaluation Research group at the Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash University. Her research vision is to improve health and welfare and reduce inequities in society by using high-quality health economic evidence for decision-making. She is currently a member of the Economics Sub Committee of the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee which assesses clinical and economic evaluations of medicines submitted for listing on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS). Her research has impacted policy decision-making processes and attracted $44 M in funding. Professor Ademi’s research has led to changes in many clinical guidelines and policies, including listing services on the Medical Benefits Scheme, Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, Australia and Federal Office of Public Health, Switzerland. Professor Ademi has published >180 original publications in top-tier journals, including BMJ, NEJM, Lancet, JAMA Cardiology, JAMA Paediatrics, European Heart Journal, Neurology, Diabetes Care, PharmacoEconomics and Value in Health. Professor Ademi was previously a Deputy Director (Education and Training) for the Centre of Cardiovascular Research and Education in Therapeutics (CCRET) at Monash University’s School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine and also led the Monash Outcomes Research and Health Economics (MORE) Unit.
Prof Lina Badimon
Director of Cardiovascular Science Program and Cardiovascular Disease Area Coordinator, Hospital of Sant Pau, Barcelona, Spain
About the Speaker
Professor Lina Badimon, Coordinator of the Cardiovascular Area of IIBSantPau at the IR-Hospital de la Santa Creu I Sant Pau, Barcelona. She is Member of Editorial Boards of international scientific journals and Member of Scientific Advisory Boards of International Research Institutions and Funding Agencies. Her previous appointments include Director of the Cardiology Research – Division of Cardiology at the Mount Sinai Medical Center, New York (1983‐1991); Lecturer in Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston (1991‐1994); Consultant at the Cardiac Unit-Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston (1991‐1994).
Her Positions of Trust include Member of the European Society of Cardiology Board 2020-2022, Vice-President of European Society of Cardiology (2016-2018), Vice‐President of the Spanish Society of Cardiology (2013‐2015); Chairman of the ESC-Council on Basic Cardiovascular Science (2014‐2016) and Chairman of the ESC-Working Group on Microcirculation (2012‐2014) and Thrombosis (2010-2012); President of the European Society for Clinical Investigation (2000‐2002) and of the Spanish Society of Atherosclerosis (1996‐2000); Member of the National Academy of Medicine and of the National Academy of Pharmacy of Catalonia and of Spain. She has been the Chair of the Advocacy Committee and of the Patient Forum of the European Society of Cardiology.
Marc Bains
Co-founder, HeartLife Foundation, Canada; Co-Lead, Canadian Heart Function Alliance
About the Speaker
Marc is a passionate patient advocate determined to use his journey of living with heart failure to help other patients enjoy a better quality of life. Marc was diagnosed with heart failure at 23 and received a transplant 10 years later. In 2016, he co-founded HeartLife Foundation, Canada’s only patient-led heart failure organisation, which calls for the creation of a national standard of care for Canadians living with heart disease, and their caregivers. Marc is also Co-Lead for the Canadian Heart Function Alliance, a research network focussed on the prevention, diagnosis, and management of heart failure.
Dr Ratna Devi
Chair of ISPOR Patient Council; Lead of Indian Alliance of Patient Groups; Immediate Past President of IAPO
About the Speaker
A medical doctor, public health and management professional, Dr Ratna Devi brings more than 30 years of experience working to improve health outcomes for patients. Dr Ratna Devi is the CEO and Co-founder of DakshamA Health and Education, an organisation that is dedicated to working for access to health, patient education and advocacy. She leads a cross disease Patient Alliance in India called Indian Alliance of Patient Groups (IAPG) and is the Chair ISPOR Patient Council, Immediate past Chair of Board, IAPO (International Alliance of Patient Organisations, Board member HIA (Healthy India Alliance – the National NCD Alliance in India) and APARDO (Asia Pacific Alliance of Rare Disease Organisations). She holds an MBBS degree from Sambalpur University and a dual MBA from SYMBIOSIS and Manipal Institute of Distance Education. Dr Devi also holds advisory positions at several NGOs and has contributed to research as well as publications.
Her work spans across policy initiatives for Non Communicable diseases, Rare diseases and Patient safety, focusing on changing the way healthcare is perceived and delivered in the region and globally, bringing in best practices and patient perspectives for designing, implementing and measuring health outcomes. As a strong patient safety advocate she works with government as well as patient organisations to advocate for better quality and safety not in hospitals and other healthcare delivery institutions but safety at home, educational institutions and workplaces.
ShantaQuilette
Carter-Williams
Nationally Acclaimed Patient and Heart Health Advocate, CEO of SQ Develle Enterprises LLC
About the Speaker
Along the way, ShantaQuilette also found the time, energy and compassion to launch a line of women’s wellness products (Girl B Natural) and a breast cancer advocacy company (Pink Peppermint Cares), as well as her own personal website.
Prof Damien Gruson
Head of Department of Laboratory Medicine, Cliniques Universitaires Saint Luc, Brussels, Belgium; Chair Elect, Emerging Technology Division, International Federation of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine
About the Speaker
Professor Damien Gruson is the head of the department of Laboratory Medicine of the Cliniques Universitaires Saint Luc, Brussels. Professor Gruson is also coordinator of the FEDER funded project “city-labs”.
He is also member of the research unit on Endocrinology Diabetes and Nutrition of the Catholic University of Louvain.
Prof Damien Gruson is member of the division on Emerging Technology of the International Federation of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine (IFCC), board member of the Belgian Thyroid Club, member of the working group on cardiac biomarkers of the European Federation of Laboratory Medicine (EFLM), Fellow of the European Society of Cardiology, Fellow of the Heart Failure Association and Fellow of the Academy of the American Association of Clinical Chemistry.
Ed Harding
Managing Director, The Health Policy Partnership; Strategic Adviser, Heart Failure Policy Network
About the Speaker
Ed co-founded The Health Policy Partnership (HPP) in 2014, and has a wealth of experience in driving clarity, urgency and consensus in a changing health policy landscape.
Ed has led many of HPP’s largest and longest-running projects in non-communicable diseases, including cardiovascular health, bone health and diabetes. He has led new political engagement strategies and stakeholder alliances to engage societal leaders, he is also an Advisor to the Asia-Pacific Cardiovascular Disease Alliance.
His focus of work has encompassed the promotion of guideline-based and person-centred models, as well as new horizons of diagnostics, care and use of digital technologies. Many of these projects have led to direct advocacy actions to elevate policy responses from governments and other key stakeholders. In support of this, Ed has led international policy summits, calls to action, advocacy toolkits, policy reports and peer-reviewed publications, all with the active engagement of leading experts, patient advocates and decision-makers.
In 2015 Ed also led the establishment of the Heart Failure Policy Network, a multidisciplinary group working to improve the lives of people living with heart failure by raising awareness of unmet needs. Its members and supporters include healthcare professionals, patient advocacy groups, policymakers and other stakeholders from across Europe.
Prof Richard Hobbs
Chair, European Primary Care Cardiovascular Society; President, International Primary Care Cardiovascular Society; Professor of Primary Care, University of Oxford
About the Speaker
A highly cited primary care clinical scientist, he has authored over 600 peer reviewed publications (h-index of 113, >122,000 citations). He has an outstanding track record in cardiovascular disease research, delivering trials that changed international guidelines and practice, especially in the areas of stroke prevention in atrial fibrillation (BAFTA, SAFE, and SMART trials), heart failure burden and diagnosis (ECHOES/REFER trials), and hypertension self-management (TASMINH 1-5). At the onset of the COVID pandemic he re-tasked much of his departmental research to urgent COVID studies and was co-Chief Investigator of the main UK National Urgent Public Health Priority Studies in primary care, namely the national repurposed therapies platform trial (PRINCIPLE), a novel pragmatic digital trial and epidemiology platform (ORCHID) used for the national COVID Surveillance in primary care, the national PC diagnostics platform trial (RAPTOR/CONDOR), and the national COVID novel anti-viral platform trial (PANORAMIC). He also led a population COVID screening pilot trial using lateral flow tests (FACTS) as part of the Prime Minister’s Operation Moonshot and was the UK PI for AZ on the TACKLE treatment trial of a novel COVID dual monoclonal antibodies.
His international leadership from 2019 includes chairmanship of the European & International Primary Care Cardiovascular Societies, and Chair of the World Organisation for Primary Care (WONCA) Special Interest Group for cardiovascular disease (CVD), which further links to the WHO and main global specialist societies for CVD in producing evidence-based guidelines and policy guidance for health systems.
Prof Knut Borch-Johnsen
Medical Advisor, World Diabetes Foundation
About the Speaker
Medical Doctor, graduated Univ. Copenhagen in 1981, Dr.Med. Sci 1989, Specialist Internal Medicin 1994. Professor in Clinical Epidemiology from 2001 (Univ. Aarhus) and Professor in Quality in Health Care from 2010 (Univ. of Southern Denmark). CEO of Steno Diabetes Center 2000-2010. Chief Medical Officer, Holbaek Hospital 2012-2020. 2021-22 Medical Director, Hangha Hospital, Kenema, Sierra Leone with MSF, 2022+ Medical Advisor, World Diabetes Foundation. Published > 500 publications in peer reviewed journals with focus on epidemiology, public health and early detection/prevention of diabetes and CVD.
Neil Johnson
Executive Director,
Global Heart Hub
About the Speaker
Neil Johnson is a founder and Executive Director of the Global Heart Hub, the first international alliance of heart patient organisations, providing a platform to unite the voice of those living with or affected by cardiovascular disease. Neil is Chief Executive of Croí, the Irish Heart and Stroke Charity in Ireland. He holds a Master’s Degree in Psychology and is an Honorary Clinical Fellow of the School of Medicine, National University of Ireland, Galway.
James Kennedy
Director of Public Affairs,
European Society of Cardiology
About the Speaker
James is Director of Public Affairs, responsible for advocacy and regulatory issues at the European Society of Cardiology where he has been since May 2022. Prior to this he was a health policy consultant and has worked on most major EU health legislation and policy issues over the last 10+ years.
Lena Lymperopoulou
Executive Director, TA Policy Cardiovascular, Novartis; Representative, European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations, Cardiovascular Health Platform
About the Speaker
Lena is a highly experienced Public Affairs, Access, and Communications professional whose mission is to improve Healthcare systems in a sustainable way for the benefit of patients. She has worked in Greece to shape HC reforms between 2010-2014, she shaped the pricing legislation and HTA methods in Europe; she worked on vaccination funding and tenders including H1N1 pandemic preparedness. Prior to her pharma experience, Lena has worked as in the consulting firm BCW advising healthcare clients on political advocacy campaigns in 2000-2004. She started her career in Brussels building her skills in European Government Affairs (1992-2000). She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Communications and Marketing in Brussels and has completed a Harvard Business School Executive program on Value Based Healthcare.
Lena is the mother of a girl Olivia (24yrs) living in Paris and a boy Nikolas (22yrs) living in Greece.
Jens Näumann
CEO, Initiative Herzklappe e.V.
About the Speaker
Jens Näumann is a studied sinologist who has been active for the Initiative Herzklappe since 2020 and took over the leadership of the initiative in 2021.
In 2018, Jens was diagnosed with aortic valve stenosis and insufficiency – an incidental finding that came almost too late due to missed early detection.
At the time of diagnosis, Jens had questions for which it was difficult to find a reliable answer: What patient pathway now lay ahead of him and what treatment options were available? What challenges would he face after the operation and would he recover? Above all, Jens wanted to know how he could get reliable information about his disease.
After successful surgery and recovery, Jens wants to encourage heart valve patients who are at the beginning of their patient journey and give them the most reliable answers possible. He is also committed to significantly improving the framework conditions for the early detection of heart valve diseases. Among other things, Jens has contributed to the GHH report “Working together to create a better patient journey“.
Alexander Olbrechts
Director Digital Health,
MedTech Europe
About the Speaker
As the Director of Digital Health at MedTech Europe since October 2022, Alexander oversees all activities related to digital regulations impacting the medical technology sector. The primary areas of focus include artificial intelligence, data management & governance, the European Health Data Space, and cyber resilience. Furthermore, he leads MedTech Europe’s Cardiovascular Sector Group.
Greg Ruf
Executive Director and Board President, DCM Foundation
About the Speaker
In 2014, Greg was diagnosed with DCM and required an ICD. Through genetic testing, it was revealed he had three mutations responsible for his DCM. A number of his relatives carry genetic mutations that can cause DCM.
Greg retired from his work as a business entrepreneur and in 2017 he launched the DCM Foundation to bring education, hope, and resources to DCM patients and their family members. Greg’s hope is that by raising awareness and supporting DCM research, a means will be found to halt, reverse or even completely prevent DCM from developing in at-risk individuals.
After a period of worsening heart failure, on July 15, 2021, Greg had a successful heart transplant. Greg lives in Dublin, Ohio with his wife Brenda of over 30 years, and together they have three grown children and three grandchildren.
Brigit Beger
CEO, European Heart Network
About the Speaker
Ms Beger’s academic background is in law with a specialisation in EU law/International Public Law and Political Science. She holds master’s degrees in both. She is a member of the Berlin Bar since 2000. Further to this, and with a view to continuous professional development, Birgit completed a specialised course “Dirigeant et Developpement”, obtaining certification in May 2018 from the Solvay Brussels school of Economics & Management. She is member of WHO-Europe Regional Director’s Advisory Council on Innovation for Noncommunicable Diseases (the NCD Advisory Council).
Prof James Ware
Professor of Cardiovascular and Genomic Medicine, Imperial College London; Visiting Scientist at the Broad Institute of MIT & Harvard
About the Speaker
James’ research aims to understand the impact of genetic variation on the heart and circulation, and to use genome information to improve patient care. Working with collaborators in the UK and internationally, his team are identifying new genes and pathways underlying inherited cardiovascular conditions, developing tools to discriminate between pathogenic and benign genetic variation, and evaluating genetic stratification for precision medicine.
James is also Director of the national MRC Cardiovascular Rare Disease Node and co-lead of the Cardiovascular Research Programme for Genomics England (GECIP).
Clinical interests include the management of Inherited Cardiac Conditions, the prevention of sudden cardiac arrest, and the broader application of genetics and genomics to healthcare.
Tamsin Rose
Moderator
About the Speaker
Tamsin is an experienced public speaker, moderator and trainer. A UK/Belgian dual national, she has three decades of experience across more than 40 countries in Europe and beyond. From 2002-2006, she served as the Secretary-General of the European Public Health Alliance, the largest platform of NGOs working on health in Europe. Since then, Tamsin has moderated events on health, environment, climate change, energy, digital transition, gender equality and human rights, employment and skills.
We are delighted to work with The Health Policy Partnership as our knowledge partner on this initiative.
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