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Programme

Speaker Biographies

MEP Pernille Weiss

MEP Pernille Weiss is a politician from the Conservative People’s Party of Denmark and a member of the European People’s Party, (EPP).  Pernille holds a seat in the Industry, Research & Energy Committee (ITRE) and is a substitute in the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI).

She is also the chief executive officer (CEO) of a healthcare and architectural consultancy and serves as a board member to the business association of the European People’s Party (SME Europe) since 2019.

Ms Weiss is a qualified nurse who later went on to specialise in forensic nursing. She holds two master’s degrees: one in Health from the University of South Denmark and one in Leadership and Innovation from Copenhagen Business School.

Susana Solís Perez

Susana Solís Perez is a Spanish politician for Ciudadanos, part of the Renew Europe group. She has been a member of Parliament since May 2019.

She is a member of the Committee on Regional Development (REGI) and the Special Committee on Artificial Intelligence (AIDA). She also holds a seat as a substitute in the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI) as well as in the Women’s Rights and Gender Equality Committee (FEMM). In addition to her committee assignments, Pérez is also a member in the MEPs Against Cancer group.

Ms Perez is passionate about promoting a more innovative and smarter Europe. Before being an MEP, she worked in the private sector, for companies such as Mercedes, Benz, Johnson & Johnson and Robert Bosch.

She holds a master’s degree in European Mechanical Engineering from the Fachhochschule de Osnabrück (Germany), an MBA and a master’s degree in Marketing Management from IE Business School (Madrid). She also holds a master’s degree in Public Administration and Leadership from IESE (Madrid).

Dr. Jennifer L. Baker

Dr. Jennifer L. Baker is an Associate Professor in the department of The Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Basic Metabolic Research, The Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark. She is also affiliated with the Institute of Preventive Medicine in Frederiksberg, Denmark.

The focus of her research program is on the causes and the short- and long-term consequences of body size and growth in childhood, with a particular emphasis on childhood obesity. Her studies have been conducted in Denmark, the United States and several other Nordic countries.

Birgit Bauer

Birgit Bauer, Social Media & Digital Health Expert, Journalist, Speaker and Analyst and Patient Expert

Birgit is German and works with a Business Partner in the company, the Manufaktur für Antworten UG (www.manufaktur-fuer-antworten.de) . Birgit works as Social Media and Digital Health Expert, Journalist and Speaker with a more than 16 years’ experience and a specialisation in Healthcare, developing Workshops and Talks about the use of Social Media for Target Groups e.g. Patients, Patient Organisation, NPO, Industry and BioTech Companies, Start-Ups and governmental institutions. In her role as Consultant, she designs and realize Social Media – and Communication Strategies for different Businesses or Patient Projects and brings the Ideas and Strategies into the reality. With a team Birgit also designs and performs Feasibility Studies.

Birgit aka @Birgitpower on Twitter (https://twitter.com/Birgitpower) is one of the most influential Blogger about Multiple Sclerosis and Healthcare in Germany and Europe. She started her Blog “Fast normal! Mein Leben mit MS” – “Almost normal – My Life with MS” http://leben-arbeiten-mit-multiple-sklerose.blogspot.de/    in 2007.

Birgit is a so-called Patient Expert and Eupati Fellow. She supports the European Multiple Sclerosis Platform voluntary, is a proud member of the Editorial Board of the “Data Saves Lives” Initiative, is HIMSSFuture50 Patient Leader 2021 and Member of the Stakeholder Group of the Tehdas Project. Birgit is also involved in different Advisory Boards, Committees and Focus Groups. She is a Co-Author of different scientific Whitepapers and Publications around the theme “Patient – Doctor Communication”.

Michele Cecchini

Michele Cecchini leads work on Public Health at the OECD – the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Michele’s research interests include priority setting and programme evaluation of policies influencing population health.

He is the editor and co-author of publications on the economic aspects of public health, including the recent OECD flagship publications on the heavy burden of obesity and on tackling harmful alcohol use and antimicrobial resistance.

Michele holds a position of adjunct professor in applied health economics at the School of Public Health of the University of Siena and held a visiting position at the Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School in Singapore. He served as temporary advisor to a number of government and international agencies, including WHO, IARC, the EC and the World Bank. Michele is a medical doctor specialized in public health and holds a master’s degree from the London School of Economics and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and a PhD from Imperial College London.

Dr Kremlin Wickramasinghe MBBS, MSc, PhD

WHO Europe Region Representative

Kremlin is the Acting Programme Manager Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity in the WHO European Region. He works at the WHO European Office for the Prevention and Control of Noncommunicable Diseases based in Moscow which is an integral part of the Division of Country Health Programmes, WHO Regional Office for Europe. His Programme is responsible for providing support to the 53 Member States of the WHO European Region on the implementation of the European Food and Nutrition Action Plan & the Physical Activity Strategy for the WHO European Region 2016-2025, as well as monitoring the implementation process.

Prior to this position he worked as a technical officer on Noncommunicable Diseases (NCD) Risk Factors, since 2017 in the same office. Before joining WHO, he was the co-director of the WHO Collaborating Centre on Population Approaches to NCD Prevention at the University of Oxford, United Kingdom. He co-edited the text book “An Introduction to Population-level Prevention of Non-Communicable Diseases” published by the Oxford University Press.

He has a special interest in multisectoral responses to health promotion, quantifying the outcome of health policies and implementation research. Kremlin graduated as a medical doctor with MBBS from the University of Colombo. He holds an MSc in Global Health Science and a DPhil (PhD) in Public Health from the University of Oxford.

Federico Luis Moya

Patient Representative Asociación Bariatrica Híspalis

I was born in a small city in Spain called Santander in 1983. During my first 12 years, I lived a happy childhood.

After four years of practicing high-performance swimming and not qualifying for a national championship in 1995, disappointment led me to quit. At that time, my diet was high in calories, and once physical activity had been abandoned, no one advised modifying my caloric intake, which led gain a high amount of weight. It was impossible to maintain a healthy diet, and the only thing I achieved was to increase my weight.

After 20 years, in 2014, one morning, while getting dressed to go to work, I had to wake up my father to put my shoes on. My size prevented me from bending over to tie my shoelaces! At that point, I decided to seek help from a healthcare professional.

After a year of traveling through health centers, I managed an appointment with a doctor that understood obesity and its importance as a chronic disease. Thanks to him, I understood that my problem was not a will-mather but a disease that needed medical attention.

The following action plan was proposed to me: To reduce my weight. The next step was an operation.

Success story: After eight years of daily cognitive work, I have maintained a body mass index that does not generate comorbidities associated with my chronic disease.

Nací en una pequeña ciudad de España llamada Santander en 1983. Durante mis primeros 12 años, viví una infancia feliz.

Después de cuatro años de practicar natación de alto rendimiento y no calificar para un campeonato nacional en 1995, la decepción me llevó a renunciar. En ese momento, mi dieta era alta en calorías, y una vez que se había abandonado la actividad física, nadie me aconsejó modificar mi ingesta calórica, lo que llevó a ganar una gran cantidad de peso. Era imposible mantener una dieta saludable, y lo único que conseguí fue aumentar de peso.

Después de 20 años, en 2014, una mañana, mientras me vestía para ir a trabajar, tuve que despertar a mi padre para ponerme los zapatos. ¡Mi talla me impedía agacharme para atarme los cordones de los zapatos! En ese momento, decidí buscar ayuda de un profesional de la salud.
Después de un año de viajar por los centros de salud, logré una cita con un médico que entendía la obesidad y su importancia como enfermedad crónica. Gracias a él, entendí que mi problema no era un matemático de voluntad, sino una enfermedad que necesitaba atención médica.
Se me propuso el siguiente plan de acción: Reducir mi peso. El siguiente paso fue una operación.

Caso de éxito: Después de ocho años de trabajo cognitivo diario, he mantenido un índice de masa corporal que no genera comorbilidades asociadas a mi enfermedad crónica.