Our Board Members

Members of the EIWH BOARD

Maeve Cusack

Maeve is National Programme Manager for Surgical Oncology, National Cancer Control Programme, Ireland.

Cancer prevention, diagnosis and treatment, is a major healthcare challenge. The National Cancer Control Programme aims to prevent cancer, cure cancer, and increase survival and quality of life for those who develop cancer, by converting the knowledge gained through research, surveillance and outcome evaluation into strategies and actions

Previously Maeve was senior manager with the National Cancer Screening Services (NCSS) and responsible for the planning, development and implementation of the Screening/Health Promotion function. Working as part of a multidisciplinary team Maeve played an integral role in supporting individuals to participate in the national screening programmes. Maeve advised the NCSS on strategy in relation to the best international evidence on interventions that promote participation and closely with external national bodies from across the health care professions.

Barbara Dowling

Barbara is a lawyer who specialises in Contract Law, Intellectual Property Law, IT Law, Advertising Law, Data Protection, Corporate Governance and Regulatory Issues, M&A

She is currently the General Counsel at the University of The Arts, London.

In her previous career she was Head of Legal – International for Bio-Medical Research Limited an international Medical Device Company. Previously she was a Consultant Solicitor at Murray Flynn Maguire Solicitors and founder of bd legal from 1998 – 2008 , a boutique practice with international client base, providing service to industry and individuals in commercial matters with focus on IP, IT and Contract Law.

Sinead Hewson

Sinead has been on the EIWH board since 2006. She is Managing Partner of The Dendrite Group and TpEBO. She helps researchers, advisory groups, experts and competitors focus.

She designs and facilitates the process. Attendees find ways to align and increase effectiveness with stakeholders. She uses coaching, NLP and graphic facilitation to bring different opinions, industry issues and personal agendas into alignment.

Sinead works internationally with organisations, businesses & teams in the middle of change and seeking high performance. She helps clients clarify their thinking so that they focus & take action using a mix of experiential, coaching and consulting techniques.

She also designs facilitation style programmes & frameworks for clients which can be delivered by the client in-house or by other providers globally (e.g. Strategy Alignment; Group Dynamics & Team Interventions; Alignment of Services in a global organisation; Communication skills for Health Professionals; Setting up in business – an exit strategy for employees; Public Relations & Social Media for Food Producers)

She lectures at Masters level on Group Dynamics & Team Interventions at Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences and is a PhD candidate. Her background is in Health and Communications and she works with clients on how gender and diversity can increase performance in teams, organisations and society at large.

Previous clients include: CrossReft, EFSA, Mediawise, Safefood, Bord Bia, Tourism Ireland (Netherlands), Tetrapak and Unilever and she acts as strategic advisor to the Women’s Business Initiative International on women and entrepreneurship.

Ineke Klinge

Ineke is currently visiting professor at the Institute of Gender in Medicine (GiM) at Charité, Berlin. She has a background in biomedical sciences and gender research. She chairs the Horizon 2020 Advisory Group on Gender at the European Commission.

As associate professor of Gender Medicine at Maastricht University (1998-2014) her work focused on innovation of methodologies for biomedical and health research. Since 2000 she has coordinated many EU projects of which the most recent one was the Gendered Innovations project together with Londa Schiebinger from Stanford University. This project developed methods of sex and gender analysis for basic and applied research and was presented in a special session in the European Parliament on July 9, 2013.

Ineke Klinge is involved in a number of ongoing EU projects (EUGenMed, GenCad, GenderSTE) and participates in the advisory boards of the Institute for Gender and Health (Canada) and of the European Institute for Women’s’ Health (EIWH).

M.Merce Rovira

Retired from PA-University Girona (Catalonia-Spain). Currently working as a volunteer in the third sector with the EIWH and ESPIIRAL EDs and co-operating with City and University of Girona. In the University of Girona, Merce researched several eHealth topics from 2009-2013. UdG – IIiA researcher and Associated Professor, from 2009 on PA Innovation from student PHD /MA theses.

From 2004 -2012 Merce;’s research included Innovation on Citizens Services on health and ageing and Citizens Information &Referral Services direct on line access. While working at the City of Girona Technical Staff Merce was eGovernment project coordinator. Merce was also responsible for Several EU, National, Regional projects on PA.

Innovation:
ViTAM, a videoconferencing system for chronic disease management and social use (loneliness, social inclusion, ageing)

Member of the PPP –eForum, eTen proj.

iSAC – coordinator (2006-2008), semantic web, Univ. Girona,

mSAC, tSAC, rdiSAC project dir. (2008-2012), research projects – Spain & Catalonia projects on multi channel Citizens Information Services

LL Projects with Social, Cultural and Environmental impact: diversity, active ageing, women, youth.
ERASMUS+ Projects on Entrepreneurship for Young People (NEETs) & Women with Senior role in coaching
ENS4Care Project – Guidelines for Health Care Innovation
PiSCE EU Expert Group on Health with focus on Self Care

Cooperation with diverse administration bodies National, Regional, EU on Innovation in Public Services:

EIPA Maastricht, eGovernment group (2008-2013)

Univ. of Girona Chair on Health Promotion (2004-2012)

Member of the Spanish working group – Ministry of the Presidency – for the EU Action Programme for Reducing Admin. Burden

Coordinator, WG on eGovernment – Catalan Innov. Cluster (Barcelona, 2005 -2008)

AOC – the Catalan Consortia for the Open Administration (2004-2012).

Karen Ritchie

Research Director with French National Institute of Medical Research (INSERM)

Karen RITCHIE is a neuropsychologist and epidemiologist, who began her career with the Health Services Evaluation Unit, University of Oxford (Sir Richard Doll) and the Social Psychiatry Research Unit, MRC Australia (Professor Scott Henderson). Karen RITCHIE is a neuropsychologist and epidemiologist, who began her career with the Health Services Evaluation Unit, University of Oxford (Sir Richard Doll) and the Social Psychiatry Research Unit, MRC Australia (Professor Scott Henderson).

She is currently a Research Director with the French National Institute of Medical Research (INSERM), and directs Research Unit 1061 (Epidemiology and Clinical Research into Nervous System Pathologies) and is also part-time Honorary Professor at the Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College London. She is author of over 250 publications. She is currently a Research Director with the French National Institute of Medical Research (INSERM), and directs Research Unit 1061 (Epidemiology and Clinical Research into Nervous System Pathologies) and is also part-time Honorary Professor at the Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College London. She is author of over 250 publications.

Her research work has included multidisciplinary population studies of neurological and psychiatric disorders in the elderly, clinical studies of neurodegenerative disease, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, schizophrenia and mental health care evaluation. She has also collaborated with the European Government and WHO in the development of population indicators for mental health surveillance.Her research work has included multidisciplinary population studies of neurological and psychiatric disorders in the elderly, clinical studies of neurodegenerative disease, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, schizophrenia and mental health care evaluation. She has also collaborated with the European Government and WHO in the development of population indicators for mental health surveillance.

She is a former member of the Advisory Council of the Director General of INSERM (CORES 2000-2009), the Scientific Board of the University of Montpellier, and the Board of Directors of the International Psychogeriatric Association. She is a former member of the Advisory Council of the Director General of INSERM (CORES 2000-2009), the Scientific Board of the University of Montpellier, and the Board of Directors of the International Psychogeriatric Association.

She is currently a Board member of the European Institute of Women’s Health, member of the Scientific Advisory Board of Alzheimer’s Research UK, the MRC Biomedical Research Centre, the Institute of Health Surveillance (InVS) and member of the Editorial Board of the following journals: Dementia, International Psychogeriatrics, Psychogeriatrics, International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, Journal of Clinical and Experimental Gerontology.

Hildrun Sundseth

President, EIWH from 1/12/2013

Volunteer at European Institute of Women’s Health

January 1985–December 2003 Director of Government Affairs, MSD (Europe)

>European Health, research and public policy

Education and Training

– BA In Public Policy

Additional Information

Expertise in Gender and sex-specific biomedical research

Women’s health across the lifespan

Pregnancy and safe use of Medicines

Women as custodians of family health and informal carers

Vaccination

Patient empowerment

Gender-sensitive communication

Chronic diseases and how they impact men and women differently.

difference in benefit/risk evaluation for different population groups

Healthy active aging

Publications

Patient Chapter in Responding to the Challenge of Cancer in Europe 2008, Institute of Public Health Slovenia

Projects

FP 7 EUgenMed Research project Sex and Gender in biomedical research

Science and Society ASSET, Vaccination across the life course