Fellows in Focus: February 2025

Updates concerning Sciana Fellows in February 2025

Oliver Gröne contributes to implementation of OECD PaRIS Indicator Survey

Seminal findings of the OECD PaRIS Indicator Survey were published this month, involving more than 107,000 primary care users and over 1,800 primary practices in 19 countries.

Developing and realising this survey was a huge international effort led by the OECD, which was supported by the PaRIS-SUR Consortium to develop the survey tools, design, implementation, testing, data collection and analysis.

Sciana Fellow Oliver Gröne (Cohort 3) led in the consortium the design of the provider questionnaire and contributed to the overall design and analysis.

Richard Kirby appointed NHS England National Advisor – Neighbourhood Health

Congratulations to Richard Kirby (Cohort 3), who NHS England has appointed as a national advisor for neighbourhood health.

The post will involve Richard working four days a month in the advisory role until March 2026, alongside continuing as chief executive of Birmingham Community Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust.

Richard said, “I am delighted to have been asked to contribute to NHS England’s work to develop neighbourhood health services.

"Since starting my career working with a group of GPs in south Birmingham, locally integrated health and care has been important to me and continues to drive my commitment in my current role at Birmingham Community Healthcare.

"I look forward to working as part of the team at NHS England to help develop this further.”

New perspectives and open exchange

In an interview with the Sciana Network, Urs Brügger (Cohort 6) discusses his Sciana journey so far and his working group's focus on end-of-life care.

Bogi Eliasen to lead Movement Health Foundation

Honorary Sciana Fellow Bogi Eliasen started his new role as executive director of the Movement Health Foundation on 1 March.

While this means Bogi will move on from his current role at the Copenhagen Institute for Future Studies (CIFS), he will remain a CIFS Fellow and continue collaborating with the organisation in his new role.

Bogi said, "With the task of Movement Health to systematically improve health for the many, I believe that there are many forces and potential collaborations with people in the Sciana Network and maybe also Sciana itself.

“There has never been a bigger need for systematic and sustainable changes for health, so this is also a call for collaboration.”

Addressing health inequalities through engagement with people and communities

Bola Owolabi (Cohort 7) has contributed to a new Care Quality Commission self-assessment and improvement framework focused on tackling health inequalities.

She helped launch the framework at a workshop in February, where she also provided a keynote speech.

The framework features Core20PLUSConnectors and Core20PLUSAmbassadors, who are part of the delivery ecosystem for the Core20PLUS5 approach to reducing health inequalities, a national NHS England approach that Bola is leading.

Jérôme Cosandey appointed head of the Directorate for Labour at Switzerland's State Secretariat for Economic Affairs

Congratulations to Jérôme Cosandey (Cohort 2) on being appointed head of the Directorate for Labour at Switzerland's State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO).

SECO is considered "the federal government`s centre of excellence for all core issues relating to economic and labour market policy." Jérôme will begin his new role on 15 May and will also become a member of SECO's management committee.

Helen Crimlisk appointed honorary professor at The University of Sheffield

Congratulations to Helen Crimlisk (Cohort 5) on being appointed honorary professor at The University of Sheffield.

On LinkedIn, Sheffield Health and Social Care NHS Foundation Trust said, "Helen has done an enormous amount to support undergraduate and postgraduate medical education and has contributed to research and leadership roles locally here in Sheffield, as well as regionally in Yorkshire and nationally too. The appointment is in recognition of that work."

Mirjam Webber speaks at Bevölkerungsrat 2025

Mirjam Weber (Cohort 6) shared on LinkedIn that she was invited to speak as an expert at the Bevölkerungsrat 2025. This initiative brought together 100 randomly selected residents of Switzerland to discuss the issue of rising health costs.

Finding pragmatic solutions to complicated challenges

In an interview with the Sciana Network, Maxine Mackintosh reflects on her Sciana experience, diversity in health innovation, and equity in health data.

The Fachgedöns mission: improving health literacy through plain language

Data Saves Lives Germany, founded by Birgit Bauer (Cohort 5), has launched a new resource to help people better understand health data and the terminology surrounding it.

The Fachgedöns, available in English and German, are now available to download. Please refer to Data Saves Lives Germany's press release for further information.

Why DeepSeek will accelerate developing medical AI

In this blog for Health Innovation Network South London, Rishi Das Gupta (Cohort 4) and UAE Country Transformation Leader at IBM, Irfan Verjee, explain how DeepSeek's progress could benefit health and care systems across the world.

Sciana Fellows to speak at Digital Health Innovation Forum

Valerie Kirchberger (Cohort 6), Marek Rydzewski (Cohort 6), and Tobias Silberzahn (Cohort 3) will speak at the Digital Health Innovation Forum later this month.

The Forum, co-chaired by Sciana Advisor Lothar Wieler, will occur at the Hasso Plattner Institute in Potsdam, Germany, between 26-27 March.

Dominique Allwood reflects on her time with UCLPartners

Ahead of starting her new role as CEO of Imperial College Health Partners this month, Dominique Allwood (Cohort 6) shared some reflections on LinkedIn about what she and others achieved during her time at UCLPartners.

Pristina. Innovate. Healthcare

Tobias Gantner (Cohort 1) and Patrick Jahn (Cohort 1) are pleased to share details for a 48-hour hackathon dedicated to transforming health and care in Southeast Europe.

Pristina. Innovate. Healthcare will occur between 4-6 April 2025 at the Grand Hotel & Center for Narrative Practice (CNP) in Pristina, Kosovo.

More than 100 creative minds from technology, healthcare, and various other fields are invited to collaboratively develop innovative solutions addressing real-world challenges in digital health.

The event will start at 17:00. Thereafter, participants will engage in intensive teamwork, supported by mentorship from industry experts, to create groundbreaking prototypes. Prizes will also be up for grabs!

The event is being organised by ICR Lab, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, and HealthCare Futurists GmbH, with support from local, regional, and international partners. 

It is being funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research as part of the Berlin Process.

Registration is free and open to all interested participants.