Meet the speakers

Prof. Knut-Inge Klepp

Prof. Knut-Inge Klepp, Ph.D., MPH, the Norwegian Institute of Public Health (NIPH) is the Scientific Coordinator of JA PreventNCD, and Professor, Department of Nutrition, Faculty of Medicine, University of Oslo. Klepp is previous executive Director for the Division of Mental and Physical Health at NIPH, and before that he was Director General of Public Health at the Norwegian Directorate of Health. He has served as Coordinator and WP-leader of several EU DG Research projects, and he is Past President of the International Society of Behavioural Nutrition and Physical Activity. Klepp has published more than 300 scientific journal articles, primarily around adolescent health promotion and evaluation of public health measures.

Session(s):
09:00 - 09:30 – The road ahead for JA PreventNCD
10:00 - 10:30 – NCD challenges in Europe
14:00 - 15:30 – 3A: EU-CNCD
16:00 - 16:30 – Wrap-up & Way forward
17:00 - 18:30 – Opening Ceremony

Dr. Linda Granlund

Dr. Linda Granlund is the Project Coordinator of JA PreventNCD, and Director General of Division of Prevention and Public Health, Directorate of Health (DOH). PhD in Nutrition. Has extensive experience in leading large national and regional programs and participating in several JA projects. Has several years of experience in working within the food industry, with the aim of tur ning the product portfolio in a healthier direction. More than 20 years of experience with working within The Norwegian diabetes federation (eg as a vice president), both at national, regional and international level.

Session(s):
09:15 - 10:00 – Official opening and welcome

Dr. Mojca Gabrijelcic

Dr. Mojca Gabrijelčič,Senior Adviser at NIJZ, the Slovenian National Institute of Public Health, is a medical doctor, specialist of public health, holding PhD in social sciences. Her fields of interest and expertise are health promotion approaches, public policies, health equity and wellbeing, nutrition and physical activity, aging and frailty and quality of life, being mostly involved in policy and programme development, and in research projects. Mojca was the scientific coordinator of the JA Best-ReMaP 2020 – 2023 and she is the WP coordinator for policy sustainability in the JA Prevent NCD 2024 – 2027. Mojca was heading Health promotion centre at the NIPH Slovenia 2003 to 2010, Health Research and Health Development Centre 2020 – 2021 and she is heading Healthy Lifestyle Unit from 2022 on. She is intensively involved in WHO and EU activities, she has been nominated as the WHO nutrition focal point for Slovenia in 2000. She holds assistant professorship at the Medical Faculty, University of Ljubljana, where she teaches health promotion theory and health in all policies. Mojca is the president of the Expert Board for Public Health at the Slovene Medical Society. She was EuroHealthNet President in years 2018 – 2022 and she is Honorary Advisor to the Executive Board of the EuroHealthNet Partnership from 2022 on. 

Session(s):
10:15 - 11:00 – Evaluation and sustainability
14:00 - 15:30 – 3A: EU-CNCD

Prof. Harry Rutter

Dr. Rutter is professor of global public health at the University of Bath. He was founder director of the English National Obesity Observatory, led the establishment of the English National Child Measurement Programme, and chaired the UK NICE group on guidance on walking and cycling. He co-chairs the Lancet-Chatham House Commission on population health post COVID-19, and is a Commissioner on the EASL Lancet Commission on liver disease. He has advised WHO Euro and headquarters on topics including transport, physical activity, obesity, environment, and health. His research is focused on effective, sustainable and equitable mechanisms for improving the research, policy and practice responses to major complex systems problems in public health.

Session(s):
09:00 - 09:30 – The road ahead for JA PreventNCD
17:00 - 18:30 – Opening Ceremony

Dr. Kremlin Wickramasinghe

Dr. Kremlin Wickramasinghe is the Acting Head of the WHO European Office for the Prevention and Control of Noncommunicable Diseases (NCDs), part of the WHO Regional Office for Europe. He leads regional efforts to reduce the burden of NCDs through evidence-based policies and innovative public health strategies. With a background in public health, epidemiology, and policy, Dr. Wickramasinghe plays a central role in advancing prevention, health equity, and sustainable development goals across the WHO European Region.

Session(s):
09:00 - 09:30 – The road ahead for JA PreventNCD
09:15 - 10:00 – Official opening and welcome
17:00 - 18:30 – Opening Ceremony

Anna Bulzacka-Bogucka

Anna Bulzacka-Bogucka, EU4Health Project Adviser at HaDEA (Executive Agency of the European Commission for Health and Digital), responsible of the mental health and NCDs portfolio and for the implementation of JAPreventNCD. With a background in psychology and neurophysiology, she specialised in clinical studies and ethics. Before joining HaDEA, she worked at the EIC (European Innovation Council) as business coach for innovators in biotech and medical devices for scaling up internationally and finding partners and investment. Expert in cultural and linguistic mediation, and migration, she lived and worked in Poland, Italy, and Austria, currently based in Belgium Brussels.

Session(s):
09:00 - 09:30 – The road ahead for JA PreventNCD

Dr. Line Vold

Line Vold is the Director General of the Department of Public Health at the Ministry of Health and Care Services in Norway. She holds a veterinary degree and a doctorate from the Norwegian School of Veterinary Science. Additionally, she has completed training at the European Centre for Disease Control (ECDC) through their EPIET program. Before her current role, Line Vold served at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health (FHI), where she held various key positions, including department director. With extensive experience in public health, she plays a pivotal role in shaping health policies and initiatives aimed at improving the well-being of the Norwegian population.

Session(s):
09:15 - 10:00 – Official opening and welcome

Dr. Arnfinn Helleve

Dr. Arnfinn Helleve is a researcher and the Head of the Centre for Evaluation of Public Health Measures at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health. He is a sociologist by profession and holds a PhD from the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Oslo. In JAPreventNCD he is leading the work package on the use of regulation and taxation.

Session(s):
09:30 - 10:15 – Strengthening capacities for NCD monitoring
11:30 - 13:00 – 2C: Power to the people
11:30 - 13:00 – Addressing equity
14:00 - 15:30 – 1B: Food environments

Dr. Maria João Gregório

Maria João Gregório is the co-leader of WP5 - Regulation and Taxation of Joint Action PreventNCD. She is currently the Director of the Portuguese National Program for the Promotion of Healthy Eating of the Directorate-General of Health. She is also an Assistant Professor on Food and Nutrition Policy at Faculty of Nutrition and Food Sciences of the University of Porto. She is the Portuguese Nutrition Focal Point of WHO Europe. She is a Public Health Nutritionist, Degree in Nutritional Sciences and PhD in Food Consumption and Nutrition Sciences.

Session(s):
14:00 - 15:30 – 1B: Food environments

Dr. Nason Maani

Dr. Maani is a Lecturer in Inequalities and Global Health Policy at the University of Edinburghs Global Health Policy Unit, in the School of Social and Political Science. His research focuses on the commercial determinants of health, seeking to describe the mechanisms through which commercial actors affect health inequalities, knowledge and public discourse. This includes primary research on the alcohol, sugar sweetened beverage, firearm, social media, and fossil fuel industries, as well as policy research on the relationships between underinvestment, commercial influence and health inequity. He is co-editor, with Sandro Galea and Mark Petticrew, of the Oxford University Press textbook the Commercial Determinants of Health, and the host of Money Power Health, a podcast series discussing the social and commercial forces that shape health. He serves as a technical expert to the World Health Organisations global programme on economic and commercial determinants of health, is a fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts, and a Commonwealth Fund Senior Harkness Fellow.

Session(s):
10:30 - 11:00 – Keynote: Commercial determinants of health
11:30 - 13:00 – 2A: Tobacco prevention

Caroline Costongs

Caroline Costongs is Director of EuroHealthNet, the European Partnership for health equity and wellbeing. With over 30 years experience in public health and health promotion, she leads work on EU policy, advocacy, and research focused on health equity and the wider determinants of health. She was Principal Investigator of the Horizon2020 INHERIT project and serves on multiple EU advisory boards. Caroline is also a frequent keynote speaker at international events and advises organisations such as APHEA and the European Public Health Conference. She holds a Masters in Public Health from Maastricht University and lives with her family in Belgium.

Session(s):
09:00 - 09:30 – The road ahead for JA PreventNCD

Katarzyna Brukalo

Session(s):
09:00 - 09:30 – The road ahead for JA PreventNCD
14:00 - 15:30 – 1B: Food environments
14:00 - 15:30 – 1C: Alcohol prevention

Martin Thißen

Martin is a researcher and project manager in the Department of Epidemiology and Health Monitoring at the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), a national public health institute in Germany. He coordinates RKI activities within the Joint Action PreventNCD and is leading together with Julika Loss the Work Package on evaluation. He has background in Geography and Public Health.

Session(s):
10:15 - 11:00 – Evaluation and sustainability

Helena Križan

Helena Križan is a social pedagogue working at the Croatian Institute of Public Health in Zagreb, Croatia. Her primary areas of work are health promotion and surveillance of health determinants, especially in the area of obesity prevention. She is part of a multidisciplinary team working on the implementation of the national health promotion program Healthy Living. She is a PhD candidate in Prevention Science at the University of Zagreb. In JA PreventNCD she is acting as a co-leader of WP6 Healthy living environments and a pilot leader in the same work package. 

Session(s):
10:15 - 11:00 – Evaluation and sustainability
11:30 - 13:00 – 2B: Sustainable action at local level

Filipa Alpeza

Filipa Alpeza obtained her BSc in Health and Medical Sciences from the University of Warwick, UK, and has recently graduated from MSc in Health Economics, Policy and Management at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden. She is currently working as research assistant in the Global Public Health Department at KI, focusing on implementation science, health policymaking and vaccination. She is a member of the Youth Advisory Group for JA PreventNCD.

Session(s):
11:30 - 13:00 – 2A: Tobacco prevention

Simon Löbl

Simon is a researcher at the Department of Epidemiology and Health Monitoring at the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) in Germany, where he contributes to Work Package 3 (Evaluation) of the Joint Action PreventNCD. He holds a background in Social Sciences with a specialized focus on health inequalities. Prior to joining the RKI, Simon was affiliated with Utrecht University and the Berlin Social Science Center (WZB Berlin).

Session(s):
10:15 - 11:00 – Evaluation and sustainability

Dr. Raffaella Bucciardini

Raffaella Bucciardini is a statistician and researcher at the Italian National Institute of Health (ISS) since 1992. Since 2019, she has led the Health Inequalities Unit, coordinating multidisciplinary teams on national and international initiatives. Her work focuses on reducing health disparities and promoting equity-driven policies. She represents ISS in global forums, including WHO and G7 working groups, and collaborates with institutions to advance sustainable health strategies. Additionally, she contributes to scientific dissemination and academic training, emphasizing inclusive approaches and strengthening intersectoral networks.

Session(s):
10:15 - 11:00 – Evaluation and sustainability
11:30 - 13:00 – Addressing equity

Emil Høstrup

Emil Høstrup Health Innovation Centre of Southern Denmark. Emil is the workpackage leader of our monitoring workpackage. Emil is an experienced project manager with experience from various health innovation projects spanning, regional, national and international contexts. Emil has an educational background in Sports Science and Health.

Session(s):
09:30 - 10:15 – Strengthening capacities for NCD monitoring
14:00 - 15:30 – 3B: NCD information systems

Gabrielle Schittecatte

Gabrielle is a researcher at Sciensanos Cancer Centre in the Implementation, Monitoring and Evaluation team. She coordinates the work on the Belgian Cancer Inventory, the monitoring framework for cancer care and control policies in Belgium, and she is part of the core team developing Belgiums forthcoming national Cancer Plan. She is the sustainability WP co-lead for JA Prevent NCDs and a task leader for 9.6 in the JA EUCanScreen. She has a background in sociology and public health. Prior to working at Sciensano she worked at the European Center for Disease Prevention & Control (ECDC), and Médecins Sans Frontières.

Session(s):
10:15 - 11:00 – Evaluation and sustainability

Taija Voutilainen

Dr. Taija Voutilainen is a senior specialist at the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL), where she works in the Alcohol, Drugs and Tobacco team. She holds a doctorate in Pharmacy with a specialization in toxicology. In JAPreventNCD, she leads Alcohol and Tobacco-Related Perspectives in All Policies Task 9.3 and five of its subtasks. Her work focuses on increasing understanding of why the implementation of evidence-based alcohol, tobacco, and nicotine policies varies across different countries and what factors support their effective implementation in protecting public health.

Session(s):
11:30 - 13:00 – 2A: Tobacco prevention
14:00 - 15:30 – 1C: Alcohol prevention

Mustafa Kamala

Mustafa Kamala is a medical doctor pursuing a Master of Public Health in Hamburg, Germany. He is the Communication and Outreach Director at the Medical Student Alliance for Global Education and has held leadership roles in national and international medical student organizations. Originally coming from Iraq, Kurdistan region, he has also led national health campaigns with the KRG Ministry of Health, focusing on digital health, advocacy, and communication.

Session(s):
11:30 - 13:00 – 2C: Power to the people

Federica Rossetti

Federica Rossetti is a researcher at the Cancer Centre of Sciensano, Belgiums national institute of public health. She currently leads WP10 of JA PreventNCD, focusing on personalised prevention and the identification of individuals at risk. She holds a PhD in Sociology and has previously worked on an EU-funded project investigating the gendered and intersecting impacts of COVID-19 policies.

Session(s):
14:00 - 15:30 – 1A: Health literacy

Prof. Tuula Vasankari

Tuula Vasankari Secretary General, Filha ry, Helsinki, Finland Professor, Pulmonary Diseases and Clinical Allergology, University of Turku, Finland MD, PhD, Specialist in Respiratory Diseases. Tuula Vasankari is the chief executive officer of Filha (Finnish Lung Health Association) and Professor of Pulmonary Diseases and Clinical Allergology in the University of Turku. She has participated in the development of national Tobacco and Nicotine Policy as a member of the working group, delivered training for healthcare professionals on cessation methods, and practiced smoking cessation extensively in her clinical work as a pulmonologist. Her research has focused on epidemiology, risk factors and treatment of respiratory diseases. She has investigated, among other topics, the use of tobacco and nicotine products among military conscripts, implementation of smoke- and nicotine-free surgical protocols, and lung cancer screening in individuals who smoke

Session(s):
11:30 - 13:00 – 2A: Tobacco prevention

Dr. Angela Ciobanu

Dr Angela Ciobanu is a Technical Officer on Tobacco Control at the WHO Regional Office for Europe, leading tobacco control efforts for over five years. She has extensive experience in NCD prevention and control, previously coordinating this work at the WHO Country Office in Moldova. Prior to that, she worked with UNICEF Moldova on communication for behaviour change and nutrition. Dr Ciobanu also spent over a decade at the National Agency for Public Health, serving as a food safety specialist and later as Secretary of the National Codex Alimentarius Committee.

Session(s):
11:30 - 13:00 – 2A: Tobacco prevention

Sólveig Karlsdóttir

Sólveig Karlsdóttir, Project Manager, Directorate of Health, division of Public Health. She has experience of working in various EU projects, both as WP leader and participant. She has work experience from the Directorate of Health and is currently participating in work on health promotion in schools and municipalities, wellbeing economy, and conference, and event management.

Session(s):
14:00 - 15:30 – 3D: Communication efforts

Peder Ringnes Berrefjord

Peder Ringnes Berrefjord is a Senior Advisor at the Norwegian Directorate of Health, working in the Department for Social Determinants of Health. He leads Task 7.4 on health literacy in the JA PreventNCD. He has a background in political science and extensive experience from EU-funded projects.

Session(s):
14:00 - 15:30 – 1A: Health literacy

Dr. Tord Finne Vedøy

Tord Finne Vedøy is a sociologist (PhD) and senior researcher in the Department of Drugs and Tobacco at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health. He has worked with tobacco statistics and researched various aspects of tobacco use, such as historical changes in smoking habits, social inequality in tobacco use, risk perceptions related to tobacco, and cross-border trade of tobacco and other nicotine products.

Session(s):
11:30 - 13:00 – 2A: Tobacco prevention

Hanna Ollila

Ms. Hanna Ollila, MSSc, senior specialist in the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL), leads the WHO FCTC Knowledge Hub on Surveillance promoting research, surveillance and information exchange under the Article 20 of the WHO FCTC. Ms. Ollila has contributed to several WHO FCTC Global Progress Reports, and she has experience of the development and evaluation of Finnish tobacco control initiatives. She is a theme-coordinator for tobacco in the JAPreventNCD-project supporting the implementation of effective tobacco control measures in Europe, and in the Joint Action on Tobacco Control 2 -project she led a work package on tobacco endgame.

Session(s):
11:30 - 13:00 – 2A: Tobacco prevention

Leopold Vandervliet

Léo is a junior researcher at Sciensanos Cancer Centre, working within the Implementation, Monitoring and Evaluation team. He co-leads the sustainability work package for the JA Prevent NCD. He has a background in European Public Health and Environmental Health. Prior to joining Sciensano, he completed traineeships at Médecins du Monde, the European Parliament and Edelman.

Session(s):
10:15 - 11:00 – Evaluation and sustainability

Dr. Rosana Peiro

Rosana Peiró Pérez, BSN, MPH, PhD in Health sciences. She is working in the health promotion area and specifically in the coordination team of the network of the municipalities for health at the Public Health General Directorate, Valencian Region. Associate Professor in Public Health, College of Nursing until 2024, and member of the CIBERESP, the national center of research excellence in epidemiology and public health, in the National Carlos III Institute (Madrid). She was member of the commission for the reduction of social inequalities in health of the Ministry of Health and contributes as an external expert to the national women's health observatory. Participating in National and European research projects and Joint Action as in EPAAC and CANCON JA on cancer, JAHEE on equity and currently coordinating a WP in the JA Health4EUKids about reduction of obesity. In and other WP health living environments in JA PreventNCD. Coordinator of the advisory committee of the scientific journal Gaceta Sanitaria the Spanish public health scientific journal, and reviewer in several national and international scientific journals as well as research calls for proposals from different evaluation agencies. She has published reports, book chapters and more than 95 papers in peer-reviewed journals.

Session(s):
11:30 - 13:00 – 2B: Sustainable action at local level

Meg Yates

Meg is a researcher in the Department of Epidemiology and Health Monitoring at the Robert Koch Institute in Germany, where she contributes to the evaluation Work Package of the JA PreventNCD. She brings a background as an Economist in the Australian Government, with experience in the economic evaluation of public initiatives spanning public health and socioeconomic development.

Session(s):
10:15 - 11:00 – Evaluation and sustainability

Gígja Gunnarsdóttir

Gígja represents the Directorate of Health (DOHI) as co-leader of the WP on Health in All Policies (HiAP) and serves as cross-cutting theme coordinator for physical activity within Joint Action PreventNCD. At DOHI, she manages the Health Promoting Community (HPC) program, Icelands national network for WHO Healthy Cities, as well as initiatives related to climate and health. She was member of the latest National Scientific Committee on Climate Change and serves as the Ministry of Healths representative on the inter-ministerial committee responsible for national climate plans. Gígja has led the adaptation of the Dahlgren and Whitehead model of health determinants to the Icelandic context, incorporating the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and is involved in Icelands work on wellbeing economy. She has over 25 years of experience in public service, academia, and non-governmental organizations.

Session(s):
14:00 - 15:30 – 3C: Physical activity promotion

Morten Sønderskov Frydensberg

Morten is the task leader of our task 8.1 which serves as the knowledge foundation of our monitoring work package. An important cornerstone of Work Package 8 is the mapping of monitoring practices across 16 JAPNCD countries. Morten is an experienced project manager with experience from various international health innovation projects such as eCAN, DELIVER and JADECARE. Morten has a master in Political Science.

Session(s):
09:30 - 10:15 – Strengthening capacities for NCD monitoring

Freyr Guðlaugsson

Freyr Guðlaugsson, project manager, marketing and communications, at the Directorate of Health in Iceland. He has an extensive background in digital marketing strategy and product management, having held leadership roles across multiple countries including the UK, Spain, the US, and Iceland. Freyr manages the JA PreventNCD project website and social media task and is also part of the team organizing the Wellbeing Economy Forum.

Session(s):
14:00 - 15:30 – 3D: Communication efforts

Neza Fras

Neza Fras, NIJZ, Slovenia. Master of nutrition science with experiences in co-coordinating Work Package 7 (Pilot procurement of food in public institutions a pilot EU approach) of the JA Best ReMaP and participating in national projects related to nutrition and public health.

Session(s):
14:00 - 15:30 – 1B: Food environments

Morten Givskud

Morten Givskud Morten is consulting in the WP8 on monitoring. Morten is an experienced project manager with experience from international health innovation projects such as the CARES project. Mortens professional experience in facilitation and entertainment combined with his clinical background as an occupational therapist, teaching experience and years as an innovation consultant provides a unique set of skills to facilitate workshop, larger events and stimulate collaboration.

Session(s):
14:00 - 15:30 – 3B: NCD information systems

Silvia Francisci

Silvia Francisci, Degree in Economics, Master in Demography and Economics, PhD in Demography and Statistics. She is currently Senior Researcher at the Italian National Institute of Health, working in the National Centre for Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. Her work mainly involves developing statistical and epidemiological methods for use in healthcare and assessing the economic impact of diagnosing, monitoring and treating diseases on the healthcare system, particularly those related to neoplasms. Since 2024, she has been Vice-President of the Italian Association of Cancer Registries and a member of the Scientific Committee of the Italian National Institute of Health.

Session(s):
09:30 - 10:15 – Strengthening capacities for NCD monitoring

Karina Mocanu

Karina Mocanu is the Communication Manager of the European Network for Smoking and Tobacco Prevention (ENSP) and leads ENSPnext, its official youth platform. With a Master in Corporate Communication and Marketing and a background in Political Science from Université Libre de Bruxelles, she brings a strategic lens to public health advocacy. Karina has shaped and delivered high-impact communication for EU-funded projects, cancer prevention and research institutes, and global tobacco control initiatives. As a committed youth advocate, she actively represents the next generation in high-level dialogues, pushing for systemic change in health policy and the regulation of tobacco and emerging nicotine products.

Session(s):
11:30 - 13:00 - 2A: Tobacco prevention – FCTC 20 years

Sofia Bergqvist

Sofia Bergqvist holds a Master of Science in Geography and Environmental Studies from the University of Fribourg, Switzerland. She is a current member of the JA PreventNCD Youth Advisory Group and the National Country Representative of Finland. Her academic research focused on the nuclear safety discourse in Switzerland, analysing how safety narratives are constructed to legitimise the technopolitical system. She possesses a strong interdisciplinary understanding of environmental, political and social challenges related to climate change. Fluent in five languages and having lived in several countries, she offers a global perspective and a firm commitment to promoting sustainable and socially responsible solutions.

Session(s):
09:15 - 10:00 - WHAT actions are needed to decrease the burden of NCDs in EU MSs

Dr. Stefanie Vandevijvere

Dr Stefanie Vandevijvere is a senior public health nutrition scientist at Sciensano, the national institute for health in Belgium, and her research focuses on nutrition policies for obesity prevention locally, nationally and globally. Her work aims to support the development and implementation of policies to effectively and equitably improve the quality of population diets. In particular she has an interest in the role of food environments in determining people’s dietary habits and how to hold governments and food businesses to account for their actions to create healthy food environments to effectively reduce obesity.

Session(s):
09:15 - 10:00 - Presentations of selected JA PreventNCD outcomes