Thematic sessions at ESCAIDE 2026

Linda van Gaalen graduated and has worked as a veterinarian for farm animals with focus on porcine health. Later she worked at the university as a teacher but made the switch to a research organisation where she managed self control systems for use of forbidden substances in the meat production industry. She later switched to a biotech company, an association management consultancy company, the Royal Dutch Association for Veterinarians and an organisation that is responsible for the development of General Practitioners information brochures on rare diseases. Next to that she was educated in coaching and family system dynamics, and has been a board member at Brooke Hospital for Animals, the Netherlands for 14 years.

This broad experience has proven to be of great added value in her current position as senior program manager AMR at the Dutch organisation for knowledge and innovation in health, healthcare and well-being (ZonMw). From that position she has also been an active member of the JPIAMR and co-developed the European Partnership One Health AMR (EUP OHAMR).

Elina is responsible for leading the TEHDAS2 Joint Action on the secondary use of health data and preparing the ground for the implementation of the European Health Data Space. Driving digital health, innovations and impact in cooperation with international partners and ecosystems are central to her work. She has 15 years of experience in European cooperation within the fields of (environmental) health and research through her work at the Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm University, and the Research Council of Finland, before joining Sitra.

Elina is also a keynote speaker and Board Member, including  several advisory board roles in EU projects, and a passionate advocate for a broader concept of health. 

Prof. Dr. Katharina Schaufler is a veterinarian, microbiologist, and internationally recognised expert in antimicrobial resistance. After obtaining her veterinary doctorate and PhD at the Free University of Berlin, she continued her research as an Alexander von Humboldt Research Fellow at Harvard Medical School. In 2019, she was appointed Junior Professor of Pharmaceutical Microbiology at the University of Greifswald, where she later secured funding for the BMBF junior research group ‘DISPATch_MRGN.’ She subsequently joined the Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel as Professor of Medical Microbiology.

Today, Prof. Schaufler serves as Head of the Department of Epidemiology and Ecology of Antimicrobial Resistance at the Helmholtz Institute for One Health and as a professor in Greifswald. Her research follows a One Health approach, integrating human, animal, and environmental health to better understand the emergence and spread of antimicrobial resistance. Using advanced molecular biology and bioinformatics methods, she investigates transmission pathways of resistant pathogens and develops innovative strategies to combat infectious diseases. She leads numerous externally funded research projects and regularly publishes in leading international scientific journals.

Dr. Alice Aldora is a veterinarian at the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH), where she works on antimicrobial use surveillance and data analysis. She supports international efforts to strengthen data collection and monitoring systems, translating evidence into insights that can inform policies for responsible antimicrobial use in animals. Through her work with the Antimicrobial Use Team, she contributes to advancing One Health approaches to address the global challenge of antimicrobial resistance.

Maximilian Riess is an expert in microbiology and applied molecular surveillance working at the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. He is a EUPHEM alumnus and holds a PHD in Biochemistry from his work on the regulation of the innate immune system during HIV-1 infection. Previously, Maximilian has coordinated SARS-CoV-2 and Influenza typing in the unit Laboratory Surveillance of Viral Pathogens and Vaccine Preventable Diseases including the primary care sentinel system and international collaborations in the I-MOVE consortium at the Swedish Public Health Agency. He has also worked at the Robert Koch Institute in Germany, providing support to the Subunit Epidemiology of the German Centre for Infection Research (DZIF). 

At ECDC, he works on the implementation of European Reference Laboratories in close collaboration with the European Commission. Additional topics include implementing pathogen specific genomic surveillance programmes at the European level and contributing to the development of the ECDC strategy for wastewater-based surveillance (WBS) and integration of WBS into the EU surveillance landscape.

Andreas Hoefer is an expert in microbiology and molecular epidemiology working at the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. He is a EUPHEM alumnus and holds a PhD in Veterinary Sciences from the Universidad Complutense de Madrid, where his research focused on molecular mechanisms of antimicrobial resistance. He also holds an MSc in Medical Sciences and a BSc in Medical Microbiology and Virology from the University of Warwick.

Before joining ECDC, Andreas worked as a Laboratory Technical Officer with the World Health Organization in Vietnam, supporting the COVID-19 response, including laboratory capacity building, development of sampling and testing guidance, surveillance and field activities. He has also worked in Spain and the Caribbean in public health microbiology and research and has contributed to outbreak responses involving COVID-19 and West Nile virus.

At ECDC, Andreas works on the implementation and operational coordination of the European Union Reference Laboratories for Public Health in close collaboration with the European Commission. His work also includes supporting EU/EEA countries in implementing genomic surveillance, strengthening laboratory preparedness and capacity, and providing microbiological support during cross-border outbreak investigations.

Klara Sondén is an infectious disease physician, with a PhD in infectious diseases. She is Deputy State Epidemiologist at the Public Health Agency of Sweden, where she works with communicable disease preparedness, diagnostics, outbreak response and the translation of scientific evidence into public health policy and practice.

Her work spans emerging infectious diseases, outbreak investigations, surveillance and international preparedness, with a particular focus on zoonotic and vaccine-preventable infections. She leads the multinational EU-funded Mpox Booster Trial and is a partner in the BE READY research programme, as well as Scientific Coordinator of the European Union Reference Laboratory (EURL) for emerging and zoonotic viral pathogens.

Camilla Wiuff Coia (Statens Serum Institut, DK) graduated with a PhD in evolution of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in 2003 followed by post-doc fellowships in the US and Sweden. Since 2006 she has worked on various aspects of public health preparedness of AMR and healthcare associated infections as a clinical scientist (epidemiology and microbiology) and as programme lead for public health surveillance of AMR/HAI in Scotland. In 2021, based at SSI, she took up a technical role in EU funded capacity building projects (Including EURGen-RefLabCap) for members of ECDC disease networks, and is currently project manager for the EU Reference Laboratory for Public Health on Antimicrobial Resistance (EURL-PH-AMR).

Camille Jacqueline is a researcher trained in infectious diseases and immunology who transitioned to public health after completing her PhD in France and a three-year postdoctoral fellowship in the US, where she worked on preventive cancer vaccines. She then completed a two-year EUPHEM fellowship in Madrid, working closely with the National Reference Center for Tuberculosis and Enterobacteria. In 2024, Camille joined the National Reference Center for Legionella in France as project manager for a multicenter national study. She is now project manager at the European Reference Laboratory for Legionella, coordinated by the Hospices Civils de Lyon.

Thomas Hofmann heads the ‘Emergency Preparedness and Response’ Section at the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) in Stockholm. This section also hosts the Secretariat for the EU Health Task Force, which supports countries in their national preparedness and response work. Moreover, he is member of the GOARN Steering Committee and involved in collaborations and projects with countries and national CDC’s around the world. He has been responsible for guiding the design and implementation of the Public Health Emergency Preparedness Assessments (PHEPA), which became mandatory for all EU/EEA countries in 2024.

Before he joined the Centre in 2021, he worked for WHO and the WHO Health Emergencies Programme (WHE) in various offices and functions. Besides directly supporting low- and middle-income countries with capacity-building and during response operations, he was engaged in several multi-sectoral projects and processes related to preparedness planning, such as One Health, aviation and transport, and civil-military collaboration.

Bjørn G. Iversen, MD, MSc, PhD, is Specialty Director at the Division of Infection Control at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health (NIPH). He is a medical doctor by training from the University of Bergen and holds a PhD in communicable disease epidemiology from the University of Oslo, as well as an MSc in Communicable Disease Epidemiology from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine.

He has more than 30 years’ experience in public health, mainly in two fields: 1. Surveillance, prevention and control of communicable diseases at NIPH; 2. Global health and international collaboration working for NIPH and the World Health Organization, and with the International Association of National Public Health Institutes (IANPHI) in describing and developing the roles of national public health institutes (NPHIs) on the global scene and fostering global collaborations. Since 2022, he has been leading Norway’s participation in the European Partnership for Pandemic Preparedness Research – BE READY, as well as coordinating NIPHs’ engagement with the EU in the field of communicable diseases.

Tonje Sande Laird, MD, PhD, is a Senior Advisor at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health (NIPH). A physician by training, she combines her clinical background with more than 16 years of experience in research and public health.

Dr. Laird earned her medical degree and PhD from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU). Following her doctoral research, she held post-doctoral research fellowships at the University of Edinburgh, including the Edinburgh Cancer Research Centre and the UK Biobank, where she worked on epidemiological and population health studies. She later joined Public Health Scotland, contributing to both the national COVID-19 response and a respiratory infection surveillance programme. At NIPH, Dr. Laird contributes to national and European initiatives aimed at strengthening pandemic preparedness. She leads PandemiNett, Norway’s national network for pandemic research preparedness, and is actively involved in the EU-funded BE READY Partnership, one of Europe’s largest collaborative initiatives in this field. Through these initiatives, she works to strengthen research preparedness, coordination, and collaboration across disciplines and countries.

Drawing on experience from clinical medicine, research, and public health, she brings a multidisciplinary perspective to strengthening preparedness and collaboration across the research and public health sectors.

Evelyn Depoortere, MD, MPH, is a medical doctor, trained in tropical medicine and international public health. She has over 20 years of experience in infectious diseases emergency preparedness and response.

She started her career as a field epidemiologist, contributing to international epidemic investigations and response activities, and implementing operational research. She gradually moved to more European focused preparedness and response, as part of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). In 2015, Evelyn joined the European Commission, where she continues working in the area of epidemic and pandemic preparedness and response, with a focus on research policy. She currently serves as Team Leader for Public Health Emergencies Research Preparedness and Response at the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Research and Innovation (DG RTD).

Charlotte Deogan, PhD, MPH, is an Expert in Communicable Disease Prevention and Control at the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), specialising in the prevention of HIV, sexually transmitted infections, viral hepatitis and tuberculosis. She monitors progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and other international targets and supports EU/EEA countries through monitoring, evidence synthesis, policy development and public health guidance. Her work aims to strengthen disease prevention, testing, treatment and care, with a particular focus on health equity and access to services for people in vulnerable situations, including migrants and other underserved populations.

Before joining ECDC, Charlotte gained extensive experience at the national level in Sweden and WHO Headquarters in Geneva in the fields of public health planning and decision-making, HIV/STI prevention, and sexual and reproductive health.

Ana Raquena is a medical doctor specialized in Internal Medicine and Infectious diseases. She completed her PhD in Translational Medicine at the University of Barcelona in 2016. Since 2017, she is the head of Migrant Health research group at The Barcelona Institute for Global Health. In the past 5 years, her research has focused on generating evidence about how to assess migrant health needs, particularly developing innovative tools to improve migrant screening using electronic patient records (EPR) and precision medicine, which is aligned with the focus of Horizon EU Strategy 2021-24 on reducing inequities and providing high-quality of care and on contributing to the digital transition with direct impact in health systems. She has led several projects in Morocco related to migrant health, particularly the MHCP project funded by la Caixa which has developed and tested a digital tool to improve the data collection on migrants living in North Africa and has established an International PhD programme. She is also the coordinator of the Science with Society hub in ISGlobal aimed to promote participatory research in health in Barcelona including public participation in the co-design and implementation of research and innovation agendas.

Abimbola Ajomale is a Project Leader and Community Health Specialist based in Malmö, Sweden, working with Noaks Ark Mosaik to advance sexual and reproductive health and rights among migrants and underserved populations. His work is centred on HIV prevention, integrated testing for HIV, hepatitis B and C, and syphilis, and health education initiatives that reduce stigma and improve access to care.

Before relocating to Sweden, Abimbola trained and practiced as a clinician and public health practitioner in Nigeria, where he had extensive involvement in HIV care and community-based interventions, shaping his commitment to health equity and evidence-based practice.

At Noaks Ark Mosaik, Abimbola leads and contributes to EU-funded initiatives including the CORE Project, CREATE collaboration, MI-Health, and integrated testing programs, alongside a Swedish Institute-funded SI Baltic Sea seed grant strengthening cross-border community health approaches between Ukraine, Poland, Germany, and Sweden.

At ESCAIDE 2026, Abimbola will present on community-based HIV and STI prevention, testing, and care support for migrants through outreach and partnerships, drawing on frontline experience to highlight practical models for reaching underserved populations across Europe from a Swedish model through the NoaksArk Mosaik approach.

Margarida Torres, MD, is an Infectious Diseases physician with a certified competency in Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) and Antimicrobial Stewardship (AMS) from the Portuguese Medical Council (2025) and a European Certificate in Infection Prevention and Control (2026). She also has a particular interest and experience in tuberculosis (TB) and infections in immunocompromised patients.

For the past three years, she has been a member of the Infection Prevention and Control and Antimicrobial Stewardship team at ULS São José, a tertiary healthcare institution in Lisbon, where she contributes to AMS activities, including antimicrobial prescription review and case discussion, development of local guidelines, epidemiological surveillance, outbreak prevention and response, and healthcare professional training.

Additionally, she provides clinical care at CDP Dr. Ribeiro Sanches, a reference centre for the screening, diagnosis and treatment of TB, including MDR-TB and other difficult-to-treat forms of the disease. She is involved in national and international research collaborations, scientific projects, and professional working groups in the fields of AMS, IPC, TB, and infection in solid organ transplant. She is a member of the team implementing Saúde + Perto, a collaborative programme between the Portuguese League Against AIDS and CDP Dr. Ribeiro Sanches, supporting access to healthcare for vulnerable populations.

Gonçalo Bento is a social worker, with a master’s degree in Social Work from ISCTE-IUL (Instituto Universitário de Lisboa). A volunteer with Liga Portuguesa Contra a SIDA, he is currently manager of the project ‘Interfreguesias’ and since 2015 has worked as a social worker at the Psychosocial Support Centre ‘Espaço Liga-te’.

Throughout the last decade, he has developed and collaborated in several projects of this institution on health and education, in the areas of sexuality as well as in the areas of prevention, the diagnosis and treatment of HIV and AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections.

Barbara Albiger is a microbiologist with a PhD in Molecular and Cellular Biology from the University of Strasbourg in France. After conducting research at the Karolinska Institute and Lund University in Sweden, she joined ECDC 15 years ago where she works at the intersection of scientific quality, knowledge translation and science communication.

Cristina Da Cruz is a Scientific Engagement Officer at the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), where she supports collaboration and knowledge exchange across the public health community. She has over a decade of experience across EU Agencies, including ECDC, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and the European Union Drugs Agency (EUDA), working in scientific cooperation and the management of scientific engagement projects. She holds a degree in Food Science and Nutrition and a Master’s degree in Science Communication.

Ulrika Björkstén is Secretary-General of Public & Science Sweden, where she works to promote dialogue between academia and the general public. She holds a PhD in physical chemistry from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology at Lausanne (EPFL), and has worked for almost three decades as a science writer and producer, including more than ten years as editor-in-chief of the science newsroom at Sveriges Radio. In 2023, she received an honorary doctorate from the Faculty of Arts at Uppsala University.

Sébastien Français is Head of the Emergency Preparedness and Response Unit at the Luxembourg Health Directorate. He has extensive experience in health emergency preparedness and response, including coordination with European and international partners. He has represented Luxembourg within the EU, WHO, NATO and ECDC, and was previously seconded to the European Commission. He also contributed as an expert to the European Citizens’ Panel on Preparedness, bringing a public health perspective to discussions on citizen-centred preparedness.

Stacey Vickers is a senior communications and policy professional with extensive experience in the European Commission, the British Government and the private sector. She is currently acting team leader on the Knowledge Network Team for EU Civil Protection, and was policy lead for the European Citizens’ Panel on Preparedness. Stacey has also worked in BBC broadcasting and news and as an acting spokesperson for the European Commission.

Jörgen Lööf has been working with ElectriCITY in Stockholm since 2015, an innovation platform bringing together companies, academia, public authorities and citizens. His work focuses on how to get citizen engaged in practical projects in smart energy, sustainable transport and circular economy. He is involved in the Hammarby Sjöstad 2.0 initiative, where models are tested and tried for living a more sustainable life, with the aim to spread the knowledge to other city districts and countries. He also regularly shares his experience with international delegations, conferences and events.

After graduating medical school at the University of Athens, Dr Baka specialised in General Pediatrics and Pediatric Emergency Medicine at Cook County Hospital and Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, respectively. She worked for 16 years in public health at the National Public Health Organisation in Athens, Greece in various areas including bioterrorism, response to emerging infectious diseases and public health preparedness.

She participated in the response to multiple public health crises such as the influenza pandemic 2009, response to the increased migrant flows 2015-2017 and emergence of vector borne diseases in Greece. She has extensive experience in training healthcare workers and first responders for raising awareness on various emerging threats. While working at the national level, she represented Greece as an expert in various EU level activities and committees in the area of public health, as well as contributing to multiple EU-funded projects as an independent expert.

She joined ECDC in 2018 as a principal expert in the Emergency Preparedness and Response Section. Her area of work is mostly around response to health threats, risk assessments and their methodology, as well as developing guidance for preparedness planning and training public health professionals.

Arménio José Louro Liceia is an EOD and CBRN Unit Commander at the Polícia de Segurança Pública (PSP), Portugal, where he serves as a national-level expert in explosive ordnance disposal, CBRN response, hazardous materials, and security operations. He has extensive operational and command experience, including planning and coordinating EOD, IEDD, CIED, and CBRNe responses during major public events, such as World Youth Day 2023 in Lisbon.

He is also involved in international cooperation and capacity-building initiatives. He serves as an expert for the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), supporting the INSSP program and the preparation of nuclear security measures and emergency response arrangements for major public events. In addition, he contributes as an ECDC CBRN and biorisk awareness and mitigation expert, providing training and facilitation for health, safety and security authorities.

Mr. Louro Liceia has participated in and contributed to several European projects and initiatives related to CBRN preparedness, cross-sectoral cooperation, radiological security, EOD and emergency response. He holds a masters degree in Science in Police and Homeland Security and completed postgraduate studies in CBRN Security Management. He is also an experienced instructor and speaker on EOD, CBRN security and emergency response.

Paul is a principal expert in preparedness at ECDC working in Emergency Preparedness and Response. He joined in May 2017 and is actively involved in leading work on simulation exercises, as well as developing preparedness training programmes for capacity building.

Prior to working at ECDC, Paul worked for 13 years in the Emergency Response Department of Public Health England, where his role was to prepare the health community to respond to non-routine emergencies. This included leading the simulation exercise team, and he has been involved in the design and delivery of over 100 exercises to as few as 20 and as many as 5 000 participants.

In emergencies with a public health component, Paul has occupied various roles in the emergency response. This included, a key role in establishing and then managing the UK’s Ebola port screening programme in 2014, and in 2006 acting as liaison between government departments during the Litvinenko response. Before working in the Emergency Response Department, Paul worked for many years as a microbiologist, working on bio-detection in the environment. This led to a brief deployment to Iraq as a UN weapons inspector in March 2003.

João Simões is a Senior Police Officer and Senior Specialist at Europol’s European Counter Terrorism Centre (ECTC), where he leads work related to chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and explosives (CBRN-E) threats. He has 20 years of law enforcement experience, eight of which have been at Europol.

His work mainly focuses on supporting European law enforcement authorities in preventing, detecting and responding to CBRNE related security threats, combining operational support, intelligence analysis, threat assessment, capacity building and international cooperation. He works closely with European and international partners across the security, public-health and scientific communities, including ECDC, the European Commission, JRC, OPCW, IAEA, INTERPOL and other specialised organisations.

João has contributed to European terrorism threat assessments and has coordinated several international initiatives addressing CBRN preparedness, emerging technologies and cross-sector cooperation. His recent work includes examining the potential misuse of artificial intelligence in the CBRN domain and strengthening cooperation between law enforcement and public-health actors in relation to biological threats.

He holds a master’s degree in Police Sciences and Internal Security, postgraduate qualifications in Command and Leadership and in Big Data and Data Analytics, and was a 2023 Emerging Leaders in Biosecurity Fellow at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security.

Tomoya Saito, MD, MPH, PhD is a senior leader at the newly established Japan Institute for Health Security (JIHS), where he oversees intelligence and emergency operations. With over two decades of hands-on experience including the Great East Japan Earthquake and Fukushima nuclear accident (2011), the emergence of avian influenza A/H7N9 and SFTS, and the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr.Saito actively contributes to health security efforts, the public health preparedness for mass gathering events such as G7 summit and Olympic Games, the development of IHR core capacities, and CBRN and pandemic preparedness. Since 2019, Dr. Saito has co-chaired the Bio Working Group of the Global Health Security Initiative, advancing G7 cooperation on bioterrorism preparedness.