Current position: Director General of Public Health (Ministry of Health Spain)
Academic degrees: Degree of Medicine, Medical Doctor (phD), Specialization in Internal Medicine (MIR)
Throughout her professional career, she has carried out different tasks in clinical-care areas (University Hospital of Mostoles in Madrid, Hospital Teodoro Álvarez, in Buenos Aires, Argentina); research applied to the epidemiology of infectious diseases (National Center for Microbiology of the ISCIII and Central Public Health Laboratory of England), teaching and activities related to international public health and technical scientific cooperation, aimed at strengthening public health systems and control of communicable diseases World Health Organization (WHO) and National Center of Tropical Medicine of ISCIII in different countries of Latin America and Africa.
Isabel de la Mata is currently the Principal Adviser for Health and Crisis management in the European Commission.
Previously, she worked as Counsellor for Health and Consumers at the Permanent Representation of Spain to the EU, as Deputy Director General for Health Planning at the Spanish Ministry of Health, as Adviser to the Vice-minister of Health and several other posts at the Ministry of Health of Spain and the Regional Departments in the Basque Country and in Madrid.
In addition, she has been a member of the EURO-WHO Standing Committee of the Regional Committee, and has worked with the Pan American Health Organisation, the Inter-American Development Bank and the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation.
Dr de la Mata graduated in Medicine and Surgery by the University of Basque Country in 1983 and holds post-graduate degrees from the University of Leuven and Paris VI in Public Health, Hospital Administration and Statistics. She is a specialist in Preventive Medicine and Public Health.
Is a medical doctor specialised in public health and epidemiology, and an EPIET graduate. She leading the Vaccine Preventable Diseases and Immunisation Section at ECDC since October 2022. Prior to her work at ECDC, where she has been for 10 years, she has worked at national level in Denmark and Italy on national and international projects, mostly but not only on vaccine preventable diseases. She has a strong background in epidemiological and laboratory surveillance and vaccine effectiveness studies.
Karam Adel A. works as policy expert in immunisation at the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, based in Stockholm, Sweden. Karam is an expert in EU health policy, EU policy-making and legislation with over a decade of experience working in public health, with a specific focus on vaccination, and digital health issues within and around the EU institutions. He brings experience from across the public, private and consultancy sectors and holds degrees from the London School of Economics and Political Science.
Dr Aurora Limia is currently Head of the Immunisation Programme Area at the Ministry of Health in Spain and the technical secretariat of the Spain’s NITAG (Committee on Immunisation Programme and Registry). She is also in charge of the technical secretary of both the National Certificacion Committee for polio eradication and National Verification Committee for the elimination of measles and rubella.
At international level, Dr Limia is member of the steering committee of the NITAG Collaboration Group coordinated by the ECDC and the immunisation manager contact point of WHO.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, she coordinated the development and updating of the COVID-19 vaccination strategy in Spain and its monitoring (national vaccination registry, effectiveness studies, etc.).
Dr Limia is a medical doctor, PhD, and specialist in clinical microbiology, with more than 30 years experience in the field of infectious diseases and its prevention and more than 20 years specifically in immunisation.
PhD in clinical research and public health, is at the head of the Public Health and Vaccines Evaluation department of the French National Authority for Health (HAS). She joined HAS in 2017, since then she has performed Health Technology Assessments in order to provide advice, recommendations and guidelines to the Ministry of Health and the National Health Insurance. Her position allows her to support the French health system’s decision making from an institution that is committed to give scientific advice in order to propose sustainable and efficient public health programs, including vaccination programs.
Jane Murray is the regulatory and financial coordinator for Preventative Medicine and Population Health at the Luxembourg Health Directorate. Jane is pharmacist with a wide range of experience in pharmaceutical regulatory affairs, innovation in healthcare and biomedical research management in national and European context. She has expertise in the implementation of vaccination programmes to improve accessibility to all citizens
. Medicine degree (Universidad Autónoma de Madrid)
. Internship (MIR) (Hospital La Paz)
. Residence in Pediatrics (Hospital La Paz”. Madrid)
. Fellow in Paediatric Intesnsive Care (Hospital La Paz”. Madrid)
. Head. Prevention Service (1999-2020). Health Regional Agency. Región de Murcia
. Head. Immunization Programme. Región de Murcia (1983-2020)
. Member Spanish NITAG. Consejo Interterritorial del Sistema Nacional de Salud. MSSSI. (1990-2020).
. Permanent Honorary Consultant in Vaccines. Spanish Ministry of Health (2020-)
. European Commission Nominated Expert for COVID-19 Vaccines (2020-)
. Expert. European Medicines Agency (EMA). (2010-)
. Expert. Spanish Medicines Agency (AEMPS) (2010-)
. Member. Vaccine Safety Net World Health Organization (2004-).
. Member. European vaccination Advisory Group (EVAG). European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. Stockholm (2008-2012)
. Presentations in more of 130 national and international congresses, seminars, conferences related to Vaccinology
. 50 publications in books and scientific reviews
. Founder and honorary member of the Spanish Association of Vaccinology
. Web Editorial Council. Spanish Association of Vaccinology
. Reviewer of Clinical Infectious Diseases, Revista Española de Salud Pública, Anales Españoles de Pediatría, Vaccine, Vacunas and Eurosurveillance
Medical Doctor, Specialist in Preventive Medicine, Senior Technician of Public Health of the AC of the Region of Murcia, for 18 years I have been working in the General Directorate of Public Health of the aforementioned autonomous community.
My main areas of interest are communicable diseases, especially (although not only) those preventable by immunization. Since October 2017 I have been part of the Board of Directors of the Spanish Vaccinology Association and since October 2022 I am president of the Spanish Vaccinology Association.
1993: Licentiate degree in Biology (branch of Animal and Environmental Resources, by the Science Faculty of the Lisbon University
1998: Master in Medical Parasitology, by the Institute of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, of the NOVA University of Lisbon
2000-2002: Post-Graduation in Intervention Epidemiology (European Programme for Intervention Epidemiology Training – EPIET - area of communicable diseases), at the RIVM, The National Public Health Institute of the Netherlands
Since 2003: Senior officer at the Directorate-General of Health, Portugal.
Working mainly on: Prevention and control of vaccine preventable diseases, especially on the production of the national guidelines on vaccination;
Coordinator of the Polio, Measles and Rubella Elimination Programmes (2010-2016);
Coordinator of the National Vaccination Programme (since 2019);
Deputy Coordinator of the Vaccination Centre (since 2022)
Dr. Treasa Kelleher is a Specialist in Public Health Medicine working in the HSE National Immunisation Office in Ireland. She provides clinical advice and guidance to immunisation programmes and supports the coordination of national immunisation programmes.
Deputy Director Vaccine Preventable Diseases
Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology and Prevention
Infectious Disease Preparedness
Statens Serum Institut
Bolette Søborg is by training a senior physician with a specialist medical education in public health. Bolette Søborg has a Ph.D. degree and extensive research experience with more than 20 years of work within infection epidemiology.