Speakers

Aija Konisevska Azadi is a Senior Project Manager with over eight years of experience in developing project concepts, preparing successful proposals, and managing initiatives focused on public-private partnerships that drive innovation in the public sector. She has been actively involved in several European projects e.g. related to public procurement, including Circular Public Procurement and Public Procurement of Innovation.

From July 2025 Aija serves as the Coordinator of Enterprise Europe Network Denmark, the largest support network for SMEs with international ambitions. Established by the Eur opean Commission, the network helps innovative and growth-oriented SMEs expand globally. She is also a member of the Public Procurement Sub-group within the Enterprise Europe Network, working alongside more than 40 international experts to strengthen procurement practices and foster innovation through collaboration.

Annemarie Zacho-Broe is partner at ‘not a box’ and has extensive senior leadership experience across the municipal, regional, and private sectors.

She has deep knowledge of municipal organization, political decision-making processes, and experience advising municipalities and regions on investments and budget processes. She specializes in change management and excels at mobilizing strategy from top leadership to the front lines.

She is the former Head of Health in Aarhus Municipality, Director of Welfare and later Chief Executive in Fredericia Municipality, Regional Director in Region Zealand, and Chair of Social Health

Birthe Dinesen is a Professor in Digital Health and Head of Laboratory of Welfare Technologies- Digital Health and Rehabilitation, ExerciseTech, Department of Health Science and Technology, Aalborg University, Denmark.

Since 2004, Dr. Dinesen has been doing research within telehealth and digital health. She has been principal investigator on several groundbreaking studies with chronic disease management. She has published more than 150 peer reviewed papers. Dr. Dinesen’s research focuses on technology enabled care models. She specializes in participatory design and engagement methods. In 2012, Dr. Dinesen was the initiator of the Transatlantic Telehealth Research Network (TTRN) between Danish and American research institutions and in 2017 Dr Dinesen initiated the Japanese-Danish TeleTech Network.

Carlos Larrañeta is an industrial professional holding a Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering and a master's in Renewable Energy Engineering from the University of Seville.

Throughout his career, he has remained deeply engaged in Research, Development, and Innovation (R&D&I) endeavours. He embarked on his journey as a researcher at the Centre for New Energy Technology (CENTER), and subsequently assumed the role of R&D manager for 17 years at the Industrial Research and Cooperation Association of Andalusia (AICIA), the largest technology centre in southern Spain. Presently, Carlos serves as the Coordinator of the Technical Office for Public Procurement of Innovation, a role based at the Regional Ministry of Health of Andalusia. With his focus on fostering procurement of innovation in the health& Care sector.

Carlos's extensive career encompasses active participation in numerous national and European projects, alongside the formulation of strategies and programs designed to catalyse and fund R&D&I initiatives.

Charlotte von Sydow leads the Influenzer project and other high profile projects alongside Professor Thea Kølsen Fischer. The Influenzer project is Denmark's first evidence-based hospital-at-home model, which has proven to be patient-safe and is expected to enhance both the mental and physical health of patients. This innovative model is currently being implemented at North Zealand Hospital.

Charlotte Von Sydow is Deputy Chief at The Department for Clinical Research at North Zealand Hospital, and has more than 15 years of experience in the development and conduct of research and innovation.

Danny Havenith has worked in Company Management for 30 years, he started in the finance, administration and quality management of a logistics company. After 8 years of management in printing and press companies, he changed into the healthcare sector. He became CEO of the private St. Nikolaus Hospital for ten years until the beginning of 2018.

He is CEO of transparent;">MercurHosp, the central procurement office of Walloon Hospitals in Namur / Belgium, independent manager in several companies, visiting-lecturer at University of Paris Cité, faculty medicine and chairman of the European Healthcare Public Procurement Association.

Danny is speaker for conferences and training courses in the healthcare sector and will join the panel in Workshop 9.

Diana is passionate about transforming the healthcare system with a focus on the individual, personal, and sustainable health: How we can keep people healthy while also empowering those living with illness to master and contribute to their own personal health. She is dedicated to forming strong partnerships that collaborate across private companies, public organizations, knowledge institutions, and citizens/patients.

At the conference, Diana will focus on Scaling Health Solutions Globally by presenting the LIGHTHOUSE LIFE SCIENCE-model. LIGHTHOUSE LIFE SCIENCE invites you to learn about the model for partnerships and become part of a global community dedicated to promoting equity in health through cross-sector partnerships.

Diana Schack Thoft is a registered nurse with an MNSc and PhD in participatory research. She is the Research Manager and Docent at the Research Center for Health and Applied Technology at the University College of Northern Denmark (UCN). 

A Centre focusing on Digital Health Literacy and Inequity in Health and Applied Technology in Health and Social Care. Her research focuses on topics such as health science, technology in ageing, dementia and user involvement. She also has experience in entrepreneurship and patient and public involvement. 

Diana is a member of national and international research networks concerning welfare technology and dementia and is a member of the Danish Reference Group for HorizonEurope. Furthermore, she has coordinated and participated in several national and international projects, for instance, Erasmus+ Tech2Match and SKills4HL, HorizonEurope IDEAHL, and Interreg Baltic DEAHL Baltic.  

In her role as Head of International Engagement, Donna leads the Scottish Government’s Digital Health and Care International Engagement Team.  The Team’s role is to enhance Scotland's reputation as a leader in digital health and care, facilitate knowledge exchange between other countries and promote economic opportunities for Scotland.

She was Chair of the European Innovation Partnership on Active and Healthy Ageing (EIPonAHA) Action Group on Integrated Care from 2015 to 2018.

She is currently a Director on the HIMSS Board of Directors; on the European Health Telematics Association (EHTEL) Board; and the Reference Site Collaborative Network (RSCN).  She also chairs the Working Group on virtual care in the home, part of WHO Europe’s Strategic Partners Initiative on Data and Digital Health. 

Elina Drakvik works as a Senior Lead at Sitra, the Finnish Innovation Fund, and its Future Wellbeing Solutions Programme. She leads the joint action on the secondary use of health data, TEHDAS2, which supports the implementation of the European Health Data Space (EHDS) Regulation. Driving digital health, innovations and impact in cooperation with international partners and ecosystems as well as creation of new collaboration opportunities are at the core of her work.

Prior to joining Sitra, she has led various European multistakeholder projects and gathered experience in research funding, societal impact and innovations from Karolinska Institutet and Stockholm University in Sweden as well as Research Council of Finland.

 As Managing Director of Health Proc Europe, Elisa leads the strategic direction and overall growth of the European healthcare procurement ecosystem. Her role is centered on empowering the community of hospital and healthcare buyers to turn procurement into a key driver of performance and innovation. 

By fostering strong partnerships, championing forward-thinking initiatives, and aligning the association’s mission with the evolving needs of the sector, Elisa ensures that Health Proc Europe remains a catalyst for transformation.

Key focus areas:
Facilitating strategic partnerships between healthcare providers and the industry
Driving needs-based, practical solutions with real-world implementation
Championing sustainability and value-driven procurement
Building a resilient, future-ready healthcare procurement ecosystem
Leading with collaboration, agility, and bold thinking

Through the power of connection and collaboration across Europe’s healthcare procurement community, we’re transforming not just procurement, but the entire future of healthcare.

Elisa will join the panel in workshop 9.

Elisabeth Andreew is Chief Consultant at the Danish Social Investment Fund, where she has worked for the last 5 years, and played a key role in the creation of Denmark's first social impact bonds. Her current focus is on healthcare-related investments and the integration of blended finance models.

Before joining the fund, she worked at Danske Bank, where she was responsible for the bank's strategic dialogue and collaboration with some of the largest Danish financial institutions, such as pension funds, fund managers and public institutions. Her previous experience also includes working as a portfolio manager at Denmark’s largest pension fund, ATP, as well as in the economic research departments at both Nordea and Danske Bank.

Elisabeth holds an MSc in Finance from Lund University in Sweden and earned the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation in 2015.

Director General, Health Care Strategies, Health Canada, Government of Canada.

Elizabeth Toller is seasoned policy and public sector leader within the Government of Canada with a passion for health issues. As the Director General of Health Care Strategies at Health Canada, she facilitates pan-Canadian collaboration on shared health priorities, including the Government’s Working Together to Improve Health Care for Canadians Plan.

Previously, as Executive Director of Digital Health and Primary Care within the Health Care Strategies Directorate, Elizabeth and her team worked with provinces and territories to improve access to family health services and modernize the health system with health data and digital tools. Her team was key in advancing collaboration on connected care through better health data interoperability.

Elizabeth has also led initiatives at Health Canada’s Health Product and Food Branch, driving regulatory changes for food and drugs to support innovation and safety. She has held policy roles in various federal departments, including Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada, and the Privy Council Office.

Professor Graham Ellis is Deputy Chief Medical Officer for the Scottish Government and has served as specialty advisor and senior medical officer prior to his current appointment.

He has a background as a Geriatrician in Lanarkshire in Central Scotland for more than 15 years including 10 years’ experience in setting up and running Scotland’s first Hospital at home service.

He has worked as a senior clinical manager within Lanarkshire and held national roles including as National Clinical Lead for Older people within Healthcare Improvement Scotland.

He has had an active academic portfolio with an honorary position as professor at Glasgow Caledonian University as well as honorary Senior clinical lecturer at the University of Glasgow. He has a research interest in the organisation of services for older people with frailty and continues to publish in this area.

In 2020 he founded and was first president of the UK Hospital at Home society.

Heikki Pitkänen is the CEO of Lean Entries, providing startups and researchers with the Entries e-tools for instant actionable knowledge on the MDR, IVDR, AI Act, EHDS regulation and more. He has over two decades of experience from the medical device industry, including in three startups, management roles in two Notified Bodies and Certification Body Test Laboratories (CBTL) as well as international standardization and the Advisory Board for Healthcare Standards of CEN-CENELEC. He is an author of the publication 'European Medical Device Regulations MDR & IVDR - A Guide to Market'.

Jan Mainz is the Director of Psychiatry in the North Denmark Region, Clinical Professor, Department of Clinical Medicine, Aalborg University, and the PI of the project Bedst for Os.

Jan is the author and co-author of more than 200 scientific articles and 30 books, with a broad foundation in psychiatry, quality development, and patient safety.

Kazimierz Murzyn is Managing Director of the Klaster LifeScience Krakow, and president of the Klaster LifeScience Krakow Foundation. President of the Foundation Council for Sano – the Centre for Computational Medicine. 

With a strong foundation in cluster management and business development, he brings a wealth of expertise in innovation, entrepreneurship, and the assessment and transfer of technologies in the health and quality of life sector. He is exceptionally skilled in strategic planning, scenario planning, creativity, and project management. His knowledge and skills extend to the analysis and modelling of complex learning systems, which make him a reliable and capable professional. 

Kristian Kidholm is professor of health care innovation at CIMT – The Innovation center at Odense University Hospital and head of the research unit at CIMT including 15 senior researchers and 25 affiliated phd-students. Kristians own research focus on assessment of the value of digital health technologies, including assessment of health economic and organizational aspects. 

Kristian has published 70 scientific articles and has a H-index of 25. 

Krzysztof Tupikowski , MD, PhD, FEBU, is a urologist specializing in the treatment of urological tumors.

He currently serves as the Head of the Urological Tumors Treatment Centre at the Lower Silesian Oncology, Pulmonology and Haematology Centre in Wrocław , Poland, and the Head of the Urological Tumor Clinic at Wrocław University of Science and Technology. He has been an active researcher focused mainly on urological oncology for many years.

For several years, he has also been researching the application of artificial intelligence protocols in cancer diagnosis and treatment. His research is particularly focused on translational medicine and the translation of laboratory discoveries into practical clinical applications.

He has collaborated with industry and scientific institutions for approximately two decades on clinical trials of novel pharmaceuticals and medical technologies. He has authored or co-authored numerous publications in scientific journals.

Lars Münter is a dedicated champion for health literacy in Europe. As International Director in the Nordic Wellbeing Academy, he’s dedicated to practical initiatives and systems leadership to support change: this includes being Communications Lead for the Nordic Health 2030 Movement, being engaged in the European Health Futures Forum and creating path for knowledge sharing among and across stakeholders, themes, and organizations.

As part of his professional work in Scandinavia and Europe, his skills of combining communication and science has led to knowledge sharing and joint platforms to promote self-care, empowerment, and citizen action - including corporate social responsibility - and has been core of daily activities across sectors and borders for 20 years in Danish, Nordic, and European initiatives and projects.

Lisbeth Kjær Lagoni, Chief Nursing Officer, Aalborg University Hospital, Master of Public Health (MPM)

Lisbeth serve as the Chief Nursing Officer at Aalborg University Hospital, with a background in nursing and a Master of Public Health Management. Her work is driven by a strong commitment to patient safety, professional development, and the strategic leadership of nursing practice. She is passionate about strengthening interdisciplinary collaboration and ensuring high-quality care through evidence-based solutions and the active involvement of both patients and healthcare professionals.

Martin Rune Hoxer is Director of Regional Development at the North Denmark Region, where he leads the department responsible for strategic development across areas such as health innovation, education, sustainability, internationalization, and public transport. He oversees the implementation of the region’s development strategy. He also serves on different boards and for the past 9 years he has been a member of the advisory board of Aalborg University business programmes.

Previously, Martin served as Executive Director at the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, heading Innovation Centre Denmark in both Seoul and Shanghai. In these roles, he was responsible for fostering Danish research collaboration with South Korea and China, particularly within the life sciences sector working with major Danish life science companies, SME’s, and public organizations. His work focused on building strategic partnerships in innovation, research, and green transition between Denmark and Asia.

At TOGETHER4HEALTH Martin will be a part of will be the conferencier team along with Mette Grønkjær.

Mette Grønkjær is Professor in Clinical Nursing at the Department of Clinical Medicine, Aalborg University, and Head of the Clinical Nursing Research Unit, Aalborg University Hospital, Denmark. Mette is responsible for several research programs and her research interests include clinical nursing research, public health, patient involvement, care improvement, healthcare organizations, and developing and testing complex interventions. In addition, Mette leads the PhD Program: Health Care, Health Promotion and Organizations at the Doctoral School in Medicine, Biomedical science and Technology, Aalborg University. 

Mette Grønkjær will be a part of the conferencier team at TOGETHER4HEALTH along with Martin Rune Hoxer.

Michael Skovdal Rathleff is Professor and Director of PRIMA - Center for Primary Sector Research at Aalborg University. He leads research on timely, technology-supported, and integrated solutions to improve health and quality of life in the primary sector.

Michael is the lead on Aalborg University's new Health Mission, where over 80 researchers and 160 healthcare professionals and patients are co-developing mission-driven projects addressing systemic healthcare challenges.

Accelerator Lead at BETA.HEALTH at Aarhus University Hospital, Mikkel helps drive healthcare innovation by developing our platform and supporting projects funded by BETA.HEALTH.

With a background in brand and business strategy, he has worked across incubators, startups and global design firms to help research-based innovations and ventures gain traction and scale.

Professor global health and migration, University of Southern Denmark. Chief medical officer, Migrant Health clinic, Odense University hospital. 

Morten is Vice-president of the Danish Society for Migrant health and author of several textbooks on Migrant health, vulnerability and inequity in health as well as international textbooks on narrative medicine, cross-cultural reproductive health and primary care. He has received 8 national awards for his research in minority health and public advocacy for equity in healthcare. Morten has over 139 scientific publications (H-index 34) and has been among the 100 most influential persons in health care for more than 5 years in a row.

Dr Natasha Azzopardi-Muscat is Director of the Division of Health Systems, WHO Regional Office for Europe. She is a medical doctor, a specialist in public health, and the author of several publications in public health and European health policy. 

Dr Azzopardi-Muscat worked in various areas in the health sector in Malta. Her transdisciplinary research bridging health policy, European studies and small states studies led to her PhD entitled “The Europeanisation of health systems: a small state perspective”. 

Since 1999, Natasha has been a resident academic at the University of Malta, teaching in the department of health services management and public health. In 2003, she completed her specialization in public health medicine and obtained her membership in the Faculty of Public Health of the United Kingdom. Between 2001 and 2013, she occupied various senior positions in the Ministry of Health in Malta, including that of Chief Medical Officer. 

Nina is a dedicated psychotherapist, educator, and supervisor focused on mental health and community well-being. With expertise in mentalisation, family counselling, and emotion-focused therapy, she supports individuals through life’s challenges. Passionate about empowerment, she builds supportive environments that foster growth. Her leadership in education blends evidence-based practices with creative methods, guiding students and professionals to reach their potential. As a supervisor, she mentors future counsellors and educators, offering personalised support. Nina also engages in international collaboration, using her knowledge of EU funding to lead impactful projects that benefit communities across borders.

Director and Adjunct Professor Sanna Tuurnas is affiliated with Tampere University. Currently, she works within the European Partnerships 'Transforming Health and Care Systems', where she is responsible for work related to transformative ecosystems. Here, the aim is to discover, analyze, and highlight innovative collaborative models in the health and care sector. She also has an extensive background in research related to collaborative governance, cross-sectorial collaboration, as well as co-production and co-creation of public services and policies.

Sara Zullino is the Scientific Lead, AI and Imaging at EATRIS, the European infrastructure for translational medicine. She is a biomedical engineer by training and holds a PhD in Complex Systems for Life Sciences. Her expertise lies at the intersection of medical imaging, artificial intelligence, and translational medicine.

She is involved in several high-impact EU-funded initiatives—including EUCAIM, UMBRELLA, and TRUSTroke—which aim to develop trustworthy, AI-driven solutions to support clinical decision-making and improve patient outcomes. Her work plays a key role in bridging the gap between research, innovation, and clinical translation, advancing the development of cutting-edge technologies for AI-based medical applications.

Sara will join the panel in workshop 3. 

Dr Iavicoli got his medical degree and Residency Program in Occupational Medicine at the University of Rome “Sapienza”. He completed his PhD (Occupational Health and Industrial Toxicology), at University of Cagliari. He was Research Fellow at School of Public Health, University of California Berkeley.

Currently he is Director of the Directorate-General for prevention of the Ministry of Health. Previously served as Director of the Directorate-General for Communication and European and International Relations of the Ministry of Health, Director of the Research Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Epidemiology and Hygiene of the Italian Workers’ Compensation Authority (INAIL) and as Secretary General of the International Commission on Occupational Health (ICOH). He was President of the European Academy of Occupational Health Psychology (EAOHP).

He served as Member of national/international Committees including the Advisory Committee of the Global Network of WHO Collaborating Centers in Occupational Health, Member of the Partnership for European Research on Occupational Safety and Health (PEROSH) Steering Committee. He is Member of the Editorial Board of several scientific journals, book series and encyclopedias. He was awarded as honorary fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland and fellow of the British Academy of Social Sciences. He is author of more than 290 peer-review and policy paper in journals with impact factor.

Stina B Jonasson, PT, PhD, Project Manager, Skåne University Hospital.

Stina Jonasson has a background as a physiotherapist and researcher within the field of neurology. She now works as a project manager within the Department of research, development, education and innovation at Skåne University Hospital in Lund, Sweden, where she works within various projects related to e.g. building data lakes and facilitating the process of developing and implementing AI-solutions within health care.

Søren Pihlkjær Hjortshøj, MD, PhD, is the Chief Medical Officer at Aalborg University Hospital.

Dr Hjortshøj has a clinical background in the treatment of heart disease and brings extensive experience as a director within research and innovation as well as hospital leadership. He is recognized for his strong collaborative approach and dedication to bridge primary healthcare with hospitals.

Svend Særkjær is Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of the Interior and Health of Denmark.

He has previously worked as Regional Director in the Capital Region of Denmark and the North Denmark Region.

Tara Kiran is a family physician and researcher based in Toronto. She is passionate about improving primary care systems through better policy and practice. She has worked with large administrative datasets to understand the impacts of reforms on quality of care in Ontario. She is the Vice Chair for Quality and Innovation at the University of Toronto Department of Family and Community Medicine where she oversees the quality improvement curriculum and practice improvement activities for 15 affiliated teaching clinics. Tara is also passionate about patient and public engagement. In 2022, she launched OurCare, a national initiative to engage the public in co-creating the blueprint for a stronger, more equitable primary care system in Canada.

Tara holds the Fidani Chair of Improvement and Innovation at the University of Toronto. She practices family medicine at St. Michael’s Hospital, Unity Health Toronto. She is a Scientist at the MAP Centre for Urban Health Solutions at St. Michael’s Hospital, a Senior Adjunct Scientist at ICES and an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Medicine and the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation at the University of Toronto.

Culture Lead at BETA.HEALTH, Aarhus University Hospital. Trine helps to drive healthcare innovation by strengthening innovation culture and building innovation capacity — both top-down and bottom-up.

With a background in design management, Trine has worked across innovation clusters and public innovation departments to facilitate collaboration and build networks that foster innovation.