Transforming Women’s Health through Science and Sustainable Partnerships

Nicole Althaus is a digital health product innovation leader, marketing strategist and passionate advocate for improving patient care. With over 25 years of proven success traveling throughout the perspective of the patient, payer, provider, and device maker, she has designed and launched several data-driven personalized product solutions with a focus on patient engagement, care delivery, clinical decision support, population health, mobile health and telehealth.

Utilizing best practices from pragmatic marketing, human-centered design and strategic marketing principles, Nicole has devoted much of her career to help tackle closing gaps in the healthcare system and creating better consumer experiences that inform, motivate and empower better health. She has worked in leadership roles with several US-based and international focused organizations ranging from startup to Fortune 5.

Nicole currently consults with digital health firms, providers, patient advocacy, and rural community health organizations to deliver health product design, go-to-market strategy, strategic communications and consumer experience design

Dr. Irene O. Aninye is the Chief Science Officer for the Society for Women’s Health Research, a national nonprofit dedicated to advancing women’s health through science, policy, and education. Aninye steers SWHR’s portfolio of scientific programs to increase awareness and investment in research on biological sex differences and health conditions that disproportionately or uniquely affect women. She convenes expert working groups and meetings to identify strategies that address persistent gaps in women’s health care and research, translating recommendations into science-based and patient-centered policy solutions. Dr. Aninye has led the development of white papers, health care roadmaps, patient toolkits, clinical education materials, and calls to action for women’s cardiovascular health, autoimmune diseases, menopause, Alzheimer’s disease, HPV, and endometriosis, among other areas. Prior to SWHR, Aninye worked at the American Association for the Advancement of Science, specializing in research capacity building and evaluating STEM research and training programs for universities and funding agencies. With a PhD in Molecular and Integrative Physiology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Dr. Aninye’s research background is in endocrinology and metabolism – investigating sex steroid hormones and their receptor-mediated actions in development, reproduction, and disease. She has a passion to diversify the face of STEM and involvement of underrepresented groups in the sciences, providing scientific and leadership training across all career stages and serving on advisory boards for the National Institutes of Health, American Cancer Society, National Health Council, and World Economic Forum’s Global Alliance for Women’s Health.

Ayodola Anise brings over two decades of experience in advising on and implementing strategy, leading operations, developing staff, and collaborating for organizational effectiveness, efficiency, and equity. Anise is the operational lead for the Milken Institute Women’s Health Network, a new global collaborative to collate, elevate, and advance existing and new efforts across the women’s health ecosystem. Previously, Anise held roles at the National Academy of Medicine Leadership Consortium for a Learning Health System, Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI), Brookings Institution, the Lewin Group, and Georgetown University. Anise earned a bachelor’s in English writing with minors in chemistry and biology from the University of Pittsburgh and a master of health science from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Delali Attiogbe Attipoe joined DNDi as the Executive Director of DNDi North America in August  2023. Delali is an accomplished global executive leader and board member within the biopharma  and health sector. Her 20-year plus career has focused on patient access from bench to bedside to  address unmet medical needs and health inequities through her diverse work from manufacturing  and clinical trial support to marketing, fundraising, and regulatory support across numerous  disease areas. Prior to joining DNDi, she had served as Chief Operating Officer (COO) for 54gene,  a life science, health tech start-up addressing disparities in genomics research for drug discovery  as well as Head of Market Access in East Africa for Roche Pharmaceuticals and held various  positions within Genentech, Inc. before her COO role.

Delali also sits on the board of ReSurge International, a global health, non-profit focused on  training medical teams on life-saving reconstructive surgery and providing quality surgical care  in low-and-middle income (LMIC) countries within Africa, Asia, and South America.

Delali holds a Bachelors of Science in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Rochester; a  Masters in Biotechnology (MB) from the University of Pennsylvania; a Masters in Business  Administration (MBA) from Babson College, F.W. Olin School of Business; and received a  Certificate in Health Economics and Outcomes Research from the University of Washington.

She considers herself a global denizen having been born in the US to Ghanaian parents as well as  lived in Canada, Kuwait and Kenya; and a global advocate having been fortunate to participate as  a speaker and/or author at conferences, media outlets and through scientific journals. In her spare  time, her other passions include creative writing and advising through her personal agency, R8  Collective, when she is not enjoying travels.

Dr. Roopa Dhatt is a practicing physician, Assistant Professor at Georgetown University School of Medicine, and global health leader internationally recognized for her work on gender equality and women’s leadership in health. She is the co-founder and former Executive Director of Women in Global Health, the fastest-growing women’s movement in health over the past decade, now active in more than 60 countries. Her work has focused on closing leadership gaps, advancing workforce equity, and shaping policies that improve health outcomes.

With over 15 years of experience spanning clinical care, health systems, and policy, Dr. Dhatt has advised governments and international organizations. She co-chaired the World Health Organization’s Gender Equity Hub on the health workforce, served on the Scientific Advisory Board of the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), and contributed to the Lancet COVID-19 Commission. Her efforts have helped advance gender-responsive approaches to universal health coverage and pandemic preparedness.

Named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum, Dr. Dhatt is known for building bridges across sectors and championing

Dr. Julie Louise Gerberding is President and CEO of the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (FNIH), a non-profit organization that builds public-private-patient partnerships supporting the mission of the NIH. She co-chairs the CSIS Bipartisan Alliance on Global Health Security and is a globally recognized expert in infectious diseases, whose career spans multiple sectors, including senior leadership roles in academia as a tenured faculty member at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). She directed the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) from 2002-2009 and previously served as President, Merck Vaccines and as Executive Vice President and Chief Patient Officer at Merck & Co., Inc. Her board service includes McKesson, Mayo Clinic, Case Western Reserve University, Research!America, the National Health Council, and several biotech companies. Dr. Gerberding is a member of the National Academy of Medicine and holds adjunct faculty positions at UCSF and Case Western Reserve University.

Sarah Hendriks serves as UN Women’s Director of the Policy, Programme and Intergovernmental Support Division (PPID). In this role, she drives UN Women as a global thought and practice leader through cutting-edge policy analysis, strategic guidance to field programming and intergovernmental support to normative advancements for gender equality. Since August 2024, she also serves as Head of Secretariat for the UN Secretary-General’s Gender Equality Acceleration Plan. She has over two decades of work across multistakeholder partners, including with government, public sector, foundations, NGOs and research institutions. Prior to joining UN Women, Ms. Hendriks served as the Director, Gender Equality, Global Growth & Opportunity at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (2015-2019), developing the Foundation’s first-ever strategy on gender equality and women’s economic empowerment, and as the Global Advisor on Gender Equality and HIV/AIDS at Plan International Canada (2005-2010), leading the Canadian Government’s coordinated investment on HIV/AIDS and youth in Africa.

Bio coming soon.

Bio coming soon.

Mark is Professor of Digital Health at Queen’s University Belfast. He is Scientific Director of DATA-CAN, the UK’s Health Data Research Hub for Cancer. He is Chair of the International Cancer Benchmark Partnership which characterises global trends in cancer outcomes and the mitigation of inequalities. Marks pioneering work on Covid-19 and cancer received the Royal College of Physicians Excellence in Patient Care Award and the prestigious European Communique Award.  His team  won the HDR-UK Impact of the Year Award for providing the crucial intelligence informing a change in policy for treating colorectal cancer. He led the Lancet Oncology European Groundshot Commission, the most comprehensive analysis of cancer research in Europe. His recent landmark study highlighted the significant gender inequity in senior leadership of cancer research.

Shirley Malcom is senior advisor and director of SEA Change at the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). In more than 45 years at AAAS she has worked to improve the quality and increase access to education and careers in STEMM for all.

Dr. Malcom is a trustee of Caltech and regent of Morgan State University. She has served in a number of science policy positions, including as a member of the National Science Board, policymaking body of the NSF, and President Clinton’s Committee of Advisors on Science and Technology. Malcom, a native of Birmingham, Alabama, holds a PhD in ecology from Penn State, M.A. from UCLA and B.S with Distinction. from the University of Washington, both in zoology.

Zina Manji is the Founder and Principal of InnoPathwayZ, LLC, supporting ventures in navigating pathways for novel healthcare innovations. With over 20 years’ experience in global regulatory affairs and innovation strategy, she has held senior roles including VP of Regulatory Affairs at Ellume and leadership positions at GSK Consumer Healthcare (now Haleon), driving strategies across OTC drugs, medical devices, diagnostics, digital health, and emerging science. She has collaborated with agencies such as the FDA, EMA, and MHRA, and with BARDA and the U.S. Department of Defense on public health priorities including H1N1 and COVID-19. An active advocate, Zina has engaged with Capitol Hill on Alzheimer’s, women’s health, and cancer detection initiatives, and hosts the IPZO-facto podcast on healthcare innovation.

Professor Loxton is the Director of the Centre for Women’s Health Research at The University of  Newcastle, Australia and Director of the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women’s Health – the largest and longest running study of its kind in Australia.

Women’s health over the life span has been at the centre of Professor Loxton’s research for over  two decades and remains her primary research interest. Her main areas of expertise are the  impact of violence over the life course, maternal morbidity and mortality, and translation of  research into policy.

Professor Loxton is a member of the National Women’s Health Advisory Council convened by the  Australian Federal Government to address gender disparities in health service delivery and  outcomes.

Dr. Roxanne Pero earned her M.D. from Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center in New Orleans and completed her residency at the University of Texas Southwestern/Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas. She is board-certified by the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology. With years of experience in private practice, Dr. Pero specializes in Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Infertility, providing care to thousands of women and supporting families through high-risk pregnancies. She is a Diplomate and Fellow of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine. Additionally, she is board-certified in Functional Medicine through the Institute of Functional Medicine. Dr. Pero currently runs a successful practice in Dallas, TX, at Alive & Well Dallas and serves on O Positiv Health’s Medical Advisory Board.

Bleddyn is an experienced commercial and international health care lawyer with over 30 years’ experience advising on outsourcings, privatisations, complex contracting and projects. In health care he has advised on healthcare regulations, commissioning, procurement and contracting for healthcare services, partnerships, alliances and collaborations in the health and care sectors in the UK, Europe, Middle East and the US.

He has unique experience for a private sector lawyer having spent almost four years seconded to the Commercial Directorate of the UK Department of Health as General Counsel in the early 2000’s. Bleddyn has advised Health Ministers and through his secondment he has a detailed understanding of the NHS and the UK health sector.

Bleddyn is Deputy Chair of the European Connected Health Alliance and Chair of the Digital Health Society. Both these organisations are helping to transform health and care services internationally. Bleddyn Chairs the Digital Working Group of All Policies for a Healthy Europe, a think tank set up by Johnson & Johnson, Microsoft, Philips and Randstad based in Brussels. He has a special interest in Digital Health, health data and Medtech.

Esther Ruiter is the Head of Growth and Strategy at Africa Health Business (AHB), where she leads the organization’s strategic direction and drives partnership development across the continent. In her role, she is responsible for identifying emerging opportunities, designing scalable and sustainable health initiatives, and catalyzing impactful public-private collaborations. Esther plays a critical role in shaping AHB’s long-term growth trajectory and ensuring the organization remains at the forefront of innovation and thought leadership in Africa’s health sector. Her work supports stakeholders in navigating complex and rapidly evolving health systems, with a strong emphasis on improving outcomes for women, children, and underserved communities.

Gabriela Rojas is the founder and CEO of SinReglas, a pioneering Femtech company transforming the menopause experience for women across Latin America. She holds a Master of Laws and a Master in Public Administration from Harvard University. A committed leader, she has served on the boards of AbogadasMX, the Harvard Mexico Foundation, Femtech Mx, and as President of the Harvard Club of Mexico. Former columnist for El Economista for a decade, Gabriela has been recognized as one of Mexico’s most influential lawyers, awarded globally for women’s empowerment, and named a LinkedIn Top Voice.

Dr. Antonella Santuccione Chadha is a renowned medical doctor with expertise in neuroscience, psychiatry, and precision medicine. Her leadership spans roles in academia, pharmaceutical companies (e.g., Roche, Biogen), and start-ups (e.g., Altoida), where she guided broad multidisciplinary and multicultural teams. She fostered the careers of many junior colleagues, predominantly female and from different continents. Currently she is fully dedicated to scaling up Women’s Brain Foundation’s activities. She has been listed among the Top 100 Women in Business in Switzerland, and has received numerous accolades, including the World Sustainability Award, the Veuve Clicquot Bold Woman Award, and the Women Empowering Award.  In addition to these, in 2024 she was honoured with the “Katherinenturm” Project for her scientific contributions in Switzerland.

Bio coming soon.

Kathryn “Katie” Schubert has served as President & CEO of the Society for Women’s Health Research (SWHR) since April 2020. She is a trusted leader and consensus builder among women’s health stakeholders, and previously served as chief advocacy officer at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine (SMFM). Schubert began her career on Capitol Hill and subsequently advised organizations on policy strategy in the healthcare space. She is a board member of the National Health Council, Maternal Mental Health Leadership Alliance, and ASPN Foundation. She is a previous president of Women in Government Relations, and in 2020 was named Advocate of the Year by Professional Women in Advocacy for her work on inclusion of pregnant and lactating populations in research, and in 2024 and 2025 was named as one of the most influential people shaping policy in health care by the Washingtonian magazine. Schubert holds a bachelor’s degree from Mary Washington College and a master’s degree from the George Washington University. When not advocating for women’s health, she’s spending time with her husband, three kids, and dog George.

Bio coming soon.

Laura Sugam is a seasoned leader in Corporate Responsibility at Cencora, with over 15 years of Internal Audit and Corporate Responsibility experience, and six years of dedicated service to Cencora. She leverages her deep expertise to drive initiatives that align with the company’s purpose of being united in our responsibility to create healthier futures. Laura is passionate about telling the story of Cencora’s impact, crafting compelling narratives that highlight the company’s commitment to sustainability and global well-being. With a proven track record in governance, risk management, and program execution, she ensures that Cencora’s values translate into measurable outcomes. Known for her strategic mindset and ability to inspire, Laura is dedicated to making a lasting difference for communities worldwide.

Ashley Szofer, Director, Alliance Development, Worldwide Government Affairs & Policy, is responsible for developing and engaging key advocacy partnerships on critical issues across the healthcare landscape including health equity, frontline health worker support, access and affordability, and other priority issue areas. She has been with J&J for five years.

Prior to J&J, she most recently served as the Senior Director of External Relations and Strategic Brand Engagement at STEMConnector, leading partnerships, orchestrating events, and overseeing all general communications to support industry, postsecondary, K-12, and nonprofit leaders working to build a diverse and sustainable STEM workforce. Additionally, she led Million Women Mentors, a movement to increase the confidence and interest of women and girls to pursue STEM careers and leadership opportunities through the power of mentoring. Prior to her work at STEMconnector, Ashley led strategic communications and policy at the University of Chicago Urban Education Institute, where she supported the implementation of research into policy and practice to improve education for students in urban schools.

Her passion for social impact and equity stems from a six-year teaching career in Chicago, where she taught English in both urban and suburban schools. Ashley holds a Bachelor of Science in Adolescent Language Arts Education from Miami University of Ohio and a Master of Education in Education Policy and Management from Harvard University.

Mary Lynne Van Poelgeest-Pomfret is a long-standing international patient advocate promoting the rights of patients at both national and international levels.  She is a member of several patient advocacy movements and organizations including IAPO (International Alliance of Patient Organizations) and EPF (European Patients Forum). She has organized several workshops and given numerous presentations at major international scientific and patient advocacy/engagement events throughout Europe. She is also a member of the EFPIA (European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations) Patient ThinkTank. She became Vice-Chair of the EFGCP (European Forum for Good Clinical Practice) in March 2017 and is keen to actively contribute to their work primarily from the patient perspective. She participated in the first EUPATI workshop of patient advocate experts in Frankfurt in September 2012 and actively participates in EUPATI.

Lynne became the President of the World Federation for Incontinent Patients (WFIPP) in January 2011. WFIPP is an international umbrella organization dedicated to enhancing the rights of patients suffering from all forms of incontinence, chronic pelvic pain, more recently prostate cancer issues and pelvic floor dysfunction in general. She was also recently appointed as a Board member of the European Association of Urology (EAU) Patient Office and a member of two EAU guidelines panels – Female Urinary Tract Symptoms (FLUTS) and Chronic Pelvic Pain. She is also an ePAG member of the EAU Patient Office.

Until April 2016, she served as the chairperson of the Interstitial Cystitis Patients’ Organization in the Netherlands. More recently she became a member of the ‘Core Board’ for one of the EIP – AHA (European Innovation Partnership on Active and Healthy Ageing) Focus groups led by the University of Valencia, Spain.

Lynne has played an active role in several IMI and IHI projects, including PARADIGM as patient engagement representative for EFGCP. She represents EFGCP as a member of the Consortium for the IMI project ‘Conception.’ These initiatives are very much concerned with access to healthcare and patient engagement in healthcare across Europe. Additionally, she is a member of several scientific advisory committees and panels. She is a member of the IHI list of patient experts and is also listed as patient expert (Urology) with the EMA.

Lynne is also a founder member of the European Public Health Alliance (EPHA) steering committee AMR stakeholder group as well as other international AMR groups (e.g. AMR Narrative, WHO Patient Safety Alliance).

She is co-chair of the European Health Coalition – a coalition of some 54 multi-stakeholder groups from all areas of healthcare, patient organizations, pharma and medical devices, academia and scientific institutions and others which enables her to keep up with the latest trends in healthcare at EU level.

As of September 2024 Lynne will be working on behalf of WFIPP as a full Consortium member for the recently approved PROCON Erasmus project. It is partly thanks to the efforts of WFIPP that this project has been approved (July 2024) with 100 % Erasmus financing.  WFIPP is one of the 8 Consortium members and will be co-ordinated by the University of Vic, Barcelona, Spain. It will foster innovation in nursing homes (NHs), specifically in the promotion of modern continence care in NH residents

She  has just been appointed as Advisory Board member for the OPTIMISE project (submission to ZonMw in the Netherlands):  Optimising dietary treatment by measurIng body composition and function resulting from malnutrition and/or sarcopenia.

Lynne worked for Shell in the Netherlands for 23 years and has a BA degree from the UK and Drs. Degree from Leiden University in the Netherlands.

She lives in the Netherlands, is married and has a daughter and five-year old grandson.