Our Organisation

EUPATI operates as a public-private partnership, and our governance structure embodies this collaborative spirit. In addition to our dedicated Secretariat, all partners and members of the EUPATI National Platform Network generously contribute their time, underscoring our collective commitment. The organisational map below illustrates our current structure, which is designed to adapt and expand as we continue to evolve and grow. This dynamic framework allows us to respond effectively to new challenges and opportunities, ensuring that our governance remains aligned with our mission and goals.

Our Structure

The EUPATI Secretariat

The EUPATI Secretariat supports the day-to-day running of the EUPATI Foundation. supporting the committees and working closely with the EUPATI governance and the Sustaining Partners Assembly (SPA) to ensure the EUPATI Foundation works to achieve its mission of enhancing patient involvement through education.

Meet the Team

"Maria joined EUPATI in 2020 and is the Executive Director of the EUPATI Foundation. She oversees the EUPATI Secretariat and the different workstreams. She has previously worked as a Project Manager at the European AIDS Treatment Group (EATG) coordinating patient involvement in a number of training initiatives and scientific projects. Maria has also worked for different scientific and international organisations. Her educational background is in International Education and Communications."

Maria Dutarte Executive Director

" After 13 years in the Pharmaceutical Industry, Ingrid Heyne joined EUPATI in 2012 at the start of the EUPATI IMI Project phase. Currently, Ingrid is responsible for the organization and logistics of the EUPATI training portfolio, including the Patient Expert Programme and the Patient Engagement trainings. Ingrid also acts as the Alumni Coordinator. "

Ingrid Heyne Training Organisation and Alumni Coordinator

"Jana joined EUPATI in February 2021, initially to coordinate EUPATI’s patient engagement trainings, especially EUPATI Fundamentals and EUPATI Essentials, and in-house trainings. Today, Jana leads the content development of training materials, and coordinates the EUPATI Faculty and the Editorial Board. She has a PhD in media and digital communications and extensive experience in patient advocacy, digital health, training methods and communicational strategies."

Jana Popova Content Development Coordinator

"Gemma joined EUPATI in 2017 and her role involves supporting EUPATI’s business development agenda (e.g. fundraising and proposal writing). Her expertise lies in strategy development and implementation, campaign management, and key leadership and stakeholder advocacy and engagement."

Gemma Killeen Business Development Coordinator

"Bojan joined EUPATI in 2021 and coordinates EUPATI’s partnerships and supports the governance & decision-making processes. He has a professional background in psychology and has previously worked for LEGEBITRA (Slovenia) as a counsellor and project coordinator within HIV prevention. From 2017 until 2020, he worked for the European AIDS Treatment Group (EATG) as Events Coordinator and Project Officer on e.g. PARADIGM and EFOEUPATI."

Bojan Cigan Partnerships and Operations Coordinator

"Laia joined EUPATI in November 2022 and coordinates the Open Classroom learning platform. Her professional background includes training design and facilitation, consulting and project coordination in partnership with governmental and non-profit organizations. Laia has a degree in Economics and a Master’s degree in International Cooperation, Human Rights and Social Inclusion. "

Laia Bisbal Open Classroom Coordinator

"Katerina joined EUPATI in December 2022 as an Intern and since January 2024 as Project Assistant, mainly working on HTA4Patients project. One of her focus areas is the EUPATI’s open-access multilingual Toolbox providing reliable information to patients & the general public. She is originally from Greece and her academic background is in Psychology & Human Rights. Having worked with populations at risk and addressing issues of discrimination, she is motivated to work on enhancing access to health-related information."

Katerina Charapa Project Assistant

"Vitalii joined EUPATI in 2020 as the IT Coordinator. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in IT and has 15 years of experience in IT support for different companies. He provides support for EUPATI’s IT infrastructure and online platforms. "

Vitalii Luchinskii IT Coordinator

"Finn joined EUPATI in August 2023 as a Project Coordinator. He has previously worked as a Parliamentary Assistant and has volunteered at several organisations in various roles. Finn has a BA and an MA in European Studies, specialising in Economics and European Policy, respectively. Currently, he coordinates the HTA4Patients project."

Finn McCartney Project Coordinator

"Enrico joined EUPATI in August 2023 as a Project Coordinator for EU projects Simpathic, Geremy and Combine. Enrico has an academic background in Political Science. He has almost 10 years of professional experience in the field of Project Management and R&D, with specific expertise on ethical, legal and financial aspects of Clinical Trials. Socio-Economic Analyst and is a freelance author."

Enrico Tricanico Project Coordinator

"Sarah joined EUPATI in March 2024 as Temporary Network and Communications Coordinator. As of January 2025, she took on a permanent role as project coordinator where she will support the planning, execution, and completion of an EU project in the area of clinical trials. Originally from France, she has a Master’s degree in International Relations and Communications. Her professional background includes experience in communications, event and relations management, having worked within foundations and social enterprises in the sustainability field."

Sarah Bernier Project Coordinator

"Maria joined EUPATI in September 2024 as an Intern, where she plays a key role in supporting the development and implementation of a systematic impact assessment of EUPATI Fundamentals and Essentials trainings. She holds a Master of Pharmacy (MPharm) degree and is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP). Her diverse professional background spans Pharmacy, Regulatory Affairs, Patient Advocacy, Project Management, and Health Promotion. With experience across the healthcare, medical devices, and non-profit sectors, Maria is passionate about empowering patients and ensuring their voices are central to healthcare innovation and decision-making."

Maria Connolly EUPATI Intern

The Board of Trustees of the ‘Stichting’ EUPATI Foundation:

Jytte Lyngvig, Denmark (Chair) – Senior consultant, previously the Senior Vice President and Managing Director for DIA Europe, Executive Director for the Danish Medicines Agency, Vice-Chair and Member of the EMA Management Board
Ivett Jakab, Hungary (Vice-Chair)- Reseach Project Manager at YAGHMA, Patient advocate and health economist, former President of the European Patients’ Forum (EPF) Youth Group
Denis Groot, Netherlands (Treasurer) – Finance Director of Foundation Lygature, a public-private partnership management organization
Richard Bergström, Sweden – Vice President European Affairs at IQVIA, previously Covid-19 Vaccine Coordinator for the Government of Sweden, former Director General of EFPIA
Matthias Gottwald, Germany – Independent consultant, previously Head of R&D Policy and Networking at Bayer

The EUPATI Board sets the overall strategy and takes all major strategic decisions on the direction of EUPATI. It is chaired by a patient representative proposed by the European Patients’ Forum (EPF) and co-chaired by an industry representative nominated by the industry stakeholder cluster.

The EUPATI Board is currently led by Anders Olauson from the European Patients’ Forum (EPF) as the Chair and Kay Warner from GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) as the Co-Chair. Both Anders and Kay have a long track-record in patient engagement and patient education and have contributed to EUPATI since the start.

In addition, each of the following stakeholder groups, as represented in the 4 clusters in the Sustaining Partners Assembly, can nominate 2 persons to represent them on the EUPATI Board:

– Chair: Anders Olauson (EPF)
– Co-chair: Kay Warner (GSK)
– 2 Patient Representatives: Paul Clift (EATG) and Amelia Hursey (Parkinson’s Europe)
– 2 Academic / NGO Representatives: Christine Kubiak (ECRIN) and Begonya Nafria Escalera (Sant Joan de Deu)
– 2 Industry Representatives: Donatella Decise (Sobi) and Daniel De Schryver (Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine)
– 2 National Platform Representatives: Sandrine Lavallé (EUPATI Luxembourg) and Jozef Glasa (EUPATI Slovakia)

The EUPATI Sustaining Partners Assembly (SPA) consists of all EUPATI Partners committed to supporting EUPATI through in-cash or in-kind contribution. Sustaining Partners set the strategic objectives of EUPATI.

The SPA is chaired by the EUPATI Board Chair and Co-Chair and is organised in four clusters of stakeholder groups:
– Patient organisations
– Industry
– Academia & NGOs
– National Platforms

Each cluster elects representatives to the EUPATI Board which oversees the implementation of the strategic direction of EUPATI.

EUPATI invites new members of all the different clusters to join the EUPATI, please contact us for more information!

The National Platforms Network (ENPs) consists of representatives of each of the EUPATI National Platforms (currently 24). Each National Platform elects one individual to the so-called ENP SPA Cluster, who then select two individuals to represent ENPs in the EUPATI Board. For more information on ENPs, please see here.

The EUPATI Secretariat implements the decisions of the EUPATI Board, the annual work plan and is responsible for the day-to-day operations of EUPATI. It is led by the Executive Director.

The team consists of:

Executive Director
Partnerships & Operations Coordinator
Training Organisation & Alumni Coordinator
Content Development Coordinator
Business Development Coordinator
Networks and Communications Coordinator
IT Coordinator
Open Classroom Coordinator
Project Coordinator (SIMPATHIC, GEREMY and COMBINE)
Project Coordinator (HTA4Patients)
Project Assistant
Intern(s)

The EUPATI Editorial Board consists of 5 members representing all stakeholders. The Editorial Board reviews all new or updated content for EUPATI Toolbox and Patient Expert Course (including all related e-Learning and Face2Face course content). They guarantee that EUPATI content is well-focused, consistent, understandable, accessible and targeted. They also advice the EUPATI Secretariat about any content that needs to be updated, e.g. due to regulatory changes. The Editorial Board signs off on all EUPATI content before it is released to the public.

The members of the Editorial Board as of October 2020 are as follows:

Jana Popova EUPATI Secretariat, Coordinator
Magdalena Ankiersztejn-Bartczak, EATG
Birka Lehmann, Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices, Germany (BfArM)
Wolf See, Ruhr University of Bochum
Léa-Isabelle Proulx, Roche

The Terms of References for the Editorial Board are available to download here.

The EUPATI Advisory Committee was active during the IMI-project period until 2017, and was re-initiated in 2021. It provides advice to the EUPATI Board of Trustees, the EUPATI Board and the Secretariat on issues pertaining to regulatory, HTA, ethics and other domains. It is composed of high-level representatives with long standing experience and credibility in medicines regulation, including policies covering information to patients’ and guidance on working with patients.  The current members are listed below:

Chairperson: David Haerry, Patvocates/EATG
Co-Chairperson: Wolf See, Ruhr University Bochum

Regulatory arm:

Birka Lehmann, ex BfArM – Lead
Gabriela Zenhäusern, Swissmedic
Heather Rogers, MHRA
Mike Dykes, MHRA
Fokaline Vroom, MEB
Leon Bongers, MEB
Roelie Marinus, MEN
Katharina Prenner, AGES
Sinead Curran, HPRA

HTA arm:

Neil Bertelsen, independent – Lead
Karen Facey, independent

Ethics arm:

Ingrid Klingmann, EFGCP – Lead

The Terms of References for the Advisory Committee are available to download here.

Members of the multi-stakeholder EUPATI Patient Expert Training Committee contribute to the conception, development, and implementation of in-person and live streaming events linked EUPATI Patient Expert Training Programme. The composition of the committee changes regularly. The current members (2024) are listed below:

Chair: Ingrid Klingmann, European Forum for Good Clinical Practice (EFGCP)
Co-Chair: Ingrid Heyne, EUPATI Training Organisation and Alumni Coordinator
Vasiliki – Rafaela Vakouftsi, EUPATI Fellow
Barry McGrath, EUPATI Fellow
Menia Koukougianni, EUPATI Fellow
Nathalie Deldime, EUPATI Fellow
Cristin Lind, ENP Sweden
Bruno Gago, University of Aveiro, ENP Portugal
Birka Lehmann, Senior Expert Drug Regulatory Affairs, lecturer University of Bonn
Victoria Siegrist, Roche
Wafae Iraqi, Janssen
Donatella Decise, Sobi
Sylvia Herget, CSLBerhing
Tamás Bereczky, EATG
Lenka Souckova, Ecrin
Jana Popova, EUPATI Patient Engagement Training Coordinator
Maria Dutarte, EUPATI Executive Director
Laia Bisbal, EUPATI Open Classroom Coordinator

The Terms of References for the Patient Expert Training Committee are available to download here.

Collaboration with the EUPATI Family

In addition to the EUPATI Governance, the EUPATI Foundation interacts with a wider ‘EUPATI Family’. Namely our committed formal partners of the organisation, the alumni of EUPATI Fellows, our National Platforms and the ‘EUPATI Collaborators’ – a wider network of organisations and individuals that we frequently engage and collaborate with. By maintaining these partnerships, EUPATI can continue to advance its mission for global patient involvement through a diverse and holistic approach.