Scientific Committee

TUFH Programming Manager, The Network: Towards Unity For Health (TUFH)

Aricia, a Midwife, works as an independent midwife in Belgium. She has a Masters in Health Education and Promotion from the University of Ghent. She co-founded the revived Student Network Organization and was the first president in 2015 – 2016. She is in charge of TUFH Membership and the TUFH Conference Organizer.

Executive Director, The Network: Towards Unity For Health (TUFH)

Nicholas Torres (M.Ed.) works at the cross section between the private sector, government, and not-for-profits and aligns them toward collective social impact goals and public policy. Nick has over 20 years of experience in executive management. Nick founded and currently leads a social sector “think-tank” organization; and teaches at the University of Pennsylvania.

At-Large Regional Board Member, The Network: Towards Unity For Health (TUFH)

William Burdick (MD, MSEd) is Vice President for Education at FAIMER, and co-founder of the FAIMER Institute. William is Professor of Emergency Medicine at Drexel University College of Medicine and has been recognized for teaching excellence with the Lindback Award and the Trustees’ Award.

President, Student Network Organization (SNO)

Yassein is a 20 year old, 4th-year medical student at University of Gezira-Sudan. He is a follower of TUFH since 2015, participated at World Summit on Social Accountability in 2017. Winner of SNO-GEMx international student exchange program 2018, presented 3 posters at TUFH 2018. He has 2 published articles on TUFH newsletters and social innovation journal. He is skilled effective leader, energized, motivated, ambitious person with good communication skills and a clear vision, he admires inter-cultural exchange and sharing of ideas. He is well equipped with various set of skills and greatly involved in numerous student associations and communities. He is the scientific secretary of Gezira Medical Students Association – GMSA, Local Member organization (LMO) MedSIN-GMSA president at MedSIN Sudan at IFMSA, Certified IFMSA human rights trainer, Deputy Secretary General of Gezira Students network organization – G.SNO, Training division Director at Sudanese Medical Innovation community (SMIC), President of Hayat Charitable Association 2017-2018. Now he is the president of the international SNO, hope to develop it and make SNO a great platform gathering all students of the medical field. He is interested in the research, medical education and public health.

Western Pacific Regional Board Member, The Network: Towards Unity For Health (TUFH)

Professor, Discipline of General Practice, University of Newcastle

African Regional Board Member, The Network: Towards Unity For Health (TUFH)

Professor, Department of Public Health, Babcock University

Latin American Regional Board Member, The Network: Towards Unity For Health (TUFH)

Paulo is the Executive Director of Medicine at Afya Educacional in Brazil.

South-East Asian Regional Board Member, The Network: Towards Unity For Health (TUFH)

Activist, Gender, Health & Human Rights

European Regional Board Member, The Network: Towards Unity For Health (TUFH)

European Regional Board Member, The Network: TUFH
Professor in Nursing, VIVES University of Applied Science, Belgium
Coordinator VIVES LiveLab: Interprofessional Education
Researcher Centre of Expertise for Care Innovation, VIVES

Eastern Mediterranean Regional Board Member, The Network: Towards Unity For Health (TUFH)

Assistant Professor of Medical Education, College of Medicine and Acting Director of Medical Education Center, University of Sharjah, United Arab Emirates

North American Regional Board Member, The Network: Towards Unity For Health (TUFH)

Amy Clithero-Eridon is a faculty member in the Department of Family & Community Medicine at the University of New Mexico School of Medicine.  Amy has a PhD in Family Medicine from the University of Kwazaulu-Natal in Durban, South Africa as well as a Masters of Business Administration with a health systems concentration and a Masters level certification in Medical Education.  In addition to teaching medical students about social determinants of health, health policy, and health services research, Amy participates in numerous educational research initiatives focusing on educational best practices and social accountability within medical education. 

Chair, WONCA Rural South Asia

Dr.  Pratyush  Kumar  is  a  rural family  doctor from Bihar, India.  He  has  published  many  research  papers  on  infectious  diseases,  diabetes and rural health. He  is  passionate  about  rural  health  and  currently  chairs  rural  health  group  of  South  Asia Wonca  Rural  South  Asia  (WoRSA), advisory board member – TUFH and executive member of world organhttps://tufh2021.com/wp-admin/post.php?post=5242&action=edit#isation of family doctors (WONCA).

Executive Director, Community Partners International (CPI)

Shortly after graduating from medical school in Yangon, Myanmar in 2008, Dr. Si Thura joined the relief and recovery efforts to support communities in the Ayeryarwady Delta devastated by Cyclone Nargis, the worst natural disaster in Myanmar’s recorded history. He witnessed first-hand the terrible scale of destruction and the almost total absence of services and infrastructure, health or otherwise, to help survivors rebuild their lives. He also witnessed the profound resilience and resourcefulness within communities as they set out to overcome the adversities they faced. This experience convinced him that the key for the future was to strengthen and build on this fundamental resilience and resourcefulness – to support the development of community-based and community-led services to provide for essential needs such as health care and education.
 
In 2009, Dr .Si Thura joined CPI as the organization’s first Myanmar-based member of staff. Starting from a small office in Yangon, he has played an instrumental role in bringing CPI from its roots on the eastern border to the forefront of health systems strengthening in Myanmar. Today, under Dr. Si Thura’s stewardship, CPI supports its network of community-based partners to deliver lifesaving health care to hundreds of thousands of people in conflict-affected, remote rural and urban poor communities across the country. Dr. Si Thura has successfully positioned CPI as a key contributor to national health reform efforts in Myanmar, leveraging the unique relationships and expertise that the organization has developed over 20 years to support cooperation between the national government and ethnic and community-based health care providers around shared priorities in health.
 
Dr. Si Thura is a co-founder and Joint Secretary of the Liver Foundation (Myanmar). In 2013, Dr. Si Thura received the Australian Leadership Award which enabled him to complete his Master’s degree in Public Health at the Australian National University. In 2016, Dr. Si Thura received InsideNGO’s Emerging Leader Award in recognition of his significant contributions to health care in Myanmar.

Professor in Basic and Clinical Epidemiology, College of Medicine, University of the Philippines Manila

Dr. Noel Juban, MD, MSc, is a professor in Basic and Clinical Epidemiology at the College of Medicine, University of the Philippines  Manila  with more than 20 years of experience in research, education and training. He led and organized local and international projects in coordination with WHO, International Development Research Center of Canada (IDRC-Canada), USAID, Rockfeller and the World Bank. Locally, he managed several projects with DOH and the Philippine Council for Health Research and Development (PCHRD). He also established the Social Innovation in Health Initiative- Philippines Hub (SIHI-Philippines Hub), which aims to utilize social innovation in addressing persistent and systemic health challenges through research, capacity-building and advocacy. 

Prattama is a lecturer in the Department of Medical Education and Bioethics, Faculty of Medicine, Public Health and Nursing, Universitas Gadjah Mada and practices as an emergency physician. Serving as a managing editor of the Indonesian Journal of Medical Education, his research interest is in health professions education; particularly peer-assisted learning (PAL) and clinical skills training; and general medicine. He is involved in the curriculum committee of undergraduate medicine and clinical skills laboratory management in the medical school. He also co-coordinates of the FAIMER Regional Institute of Indonesia for Educational Development and Leadership (FRIENDSHIP).

Diannisa is a lecturer in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Faculty of Medicine, Public Health and Nursing, Universitas Gadjah Mada. She is a consultant in social obstetrics and gynecology. It is a tailor-made division in Indonesia College of Obstetrics and Gynecology. which widely cover the dynamics of maternal health issues, aiming in the reduction of matenal mortality rate and to increase women’ quality of life. 

As part of her interest, Diannisa and her team actively involved in numerous social/community services and conduct several studies and research. In the last 5 years, she is also one of the trainer for The International Comprehensive, Rights-based Family Planning Training Program held by UGM, BKKBN and UNFPA. Currently, Diannisa is the secretary of Skills Laboratory in the faculty, and actively involves in academic activities.

Hanggoro is a pathologist and lecturer in the Department of Anatomical Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Public Health and Nursing (FM-PHN), Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM)/ Dr. Sardjito Hospital, Yogyakarta, Indonesia.  He is also passionate about inter-professional education and community empowerment. Therefore, other than practicing and teaching pathology, he is active as a member of community service team and takes part in the advisory board of the inter-professional student community engagement program of FM-PHN UGM. To further promote community empowerment and multidisciplinary-based activities through scientific publications, he also officiates as an associate editor for Journal of Community Empowerment for Health.

Muhammad Nurhadi Rahman, also known as Adi, is a young obstetrician and gynecologist working as lecturer and part of the community service team in Faculty of Medicine, Public Health and Nursing, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Indonesia . He is also working as clinician  in urogynecology field in Sardjito Hospital, Yogyakarta, Indonesia. He is  involved  in various efforts  to improve quality of women health through community services (online/offline), especially targetting adolescent girl, pregnant women, reproductive women and menopause women in Indonesia.

Director Professor and Dean, Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences

Dr Nitin Gangane is an alumnus of MGIMS. He passed his MBBS and MD (Pathology) from this institute and later completed DNB in Pathology and also Postgraduate diploma in hospital and health management. He is also PhD in Medical Sciences with orientation to epidemiology and public health from University of Umea, Sweden.

He has been awarded Yamagiwa-Yoshida Memorial International Cancer Study Grant by UICC to work at International agency for research on cancer (WHO), Lyon, France and NIDCR/NIH, Bethesda, USA. He also received fellowship from Association of Nordic cancer society’s and Indian Council of Medical research. He has more than 120 national and international publications to his credit. He is a principal investigator in seven research projects and co-investigator in 12 projects. The projects are funded by international bodies like IARC, UICC, NIH, University of Umea and National funding agencies like ICMR, UGC, and DST.

He is member of governing body of Indian council of medical research. He is also member of management and academic council of Maharashtra University of health sciences. He has earlier worked on Senate of MUHS, Nashik. He was president of Maharashtra chapter of Indian association of Pathologist and Microbiologist from 2006 to 2009.

At-Large Board Member, The Network: Towards Unity For Health (TUFH)

A medical graduate from Kerala University of Health Sciences, India, currently working as a Junior Medical Officer in the Department of Rheumatology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi in the research project funded by the Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of India. She was previously involved in research projects under the Indian Tuberculosis Research Consortium funded by the Indian Council of Medical Research. She is the immediate past president of the Student Network Organization. As a young health care provider, researcher, and team leader, she is committed to work for the betterment of the community and promote the engagement of youth in the building up of sustainable and equitable health systems.

Vice-Rector of Research and Community Service, Universitas Gadjah Mada

Dr. Ika Dewi Ana is a dentist by training, graduated from Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM), Yogyakarta, Indonesia in 1993. She was a postdoctoral researcher at the Institute for Frontier Life and Medical Sciences, Kyoto University and Radboud Universiteit Nijmegen Medical Center. Two of her research works have been already translated into the market in Indonesia by a university holding company. She represents UGM industrial start up as a commissioner to deliver more than 16 herbal medicine and medical devices into the market in Indonesia and Asia, including proposing national standards towards ISO. She serves as an Industrial Committee Member and a Council of TERMIS-AP (Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine Society – Asia Pacific).

Director of Community Service, Universitas Gadjah Mada

Irfan Dwidya Prijambada, professor in the field of environmental microbiology/biotechnology, had been appointed as a vice chairman of the Institute for Research and Community Services, a predecessor institution of the Directorate for Community Services, Universitas Gadjah Mada. From 2012-2015. Since 2015, with the establishement of the Directorate for Community Services, he has been appointed as the Director. The Directorate is responsible for disseminating knowledge and research results to be utilized by the community.

Dean, Faculty of Medicine, Public Health and Nursing, UGM

Professor Ova Emilia is the first Indonesian Professor for Medical Education. She was inaugurated as the Dean of Faculty of Medicine for period of October 2016-2021. Prior to the current appointment, she was responsible for the overall academic governance at the Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Gadjah Mada as the Vice Dean for Academic, Student and Alumni for the period of December 2012-2016.

She joined UGM in 1990 at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, and deliver lectures in the field of ObGyn as well as Medical Education. She also works closely with colleagues at the Department of Medical Education for the comprehensive evaluation and improvement of a problem-based learning strategy in a competence-based curriculum for the undergraduate program in medicine. She obtained her Master of Medical Education from the University of Dundee, Scotland, UK before completing her residency training program in ObGyn. After holding her specialization as Obstetric Gynecologist, she was studying in the University of New South Wales, Sydney Australia for her doctoral program. She hold PhD degree within the scope of Clinical Teaching, and Consultant Social Obstetric and Gynecology.

Vice Dean of Academic and Student Affairs, Faculty of Medicine, Public Health and Nursing UGM

Prof. Gandes currently serves as the Vice Dean for Academic and Student Affairs at Faculty of Medicine, Public Health and Nursing, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Indonesia. Before this appointment, she was Head of the Department of Medical Education and Director of the Master Program in Medical Education. From 2010 until 2016, she was selected to serve as an executive committee member for the LINQED international educational network, based in Belgium.

After completing her Medical Doctor degree at UGM in 1997, Prof Gandes earned her Master degree in 2001, graduating with distinction from the Centre for Medical Education, University of Dundee, Scotland, UK. She later earned her PhD in Medical Education from the same institution. Prof. Gandes began her career in Medical Education as a lecturer and went on to become the head of the Committee of Student Assessment at the UGM Faculty of Medicine. She also served as Chair in  the division of Examination Development, National Committee of Competency Examination for Indonesian Medical Students.

Prof. Gandes is a speaker at hundreds of national and international seminars, workshops, and conferences. In 2008, she was awarded an Endeavour Executive Fellowship from the Government of Australia. She is a 2013 Fellow of the FAIMER Institute and a member of the editorial board of the Indonesian Journal of Medical Education. She has supervised and served as examiner for numerous Master and PhD theses.

Widyandana graduated as a medical doctor from Faculty of Medicine Universitas Gadjah Mada, Indonesia and , acquired MHPE and PhD title from Maastricht University, The Netherlands. He is currently a Director of Master in Medical and Health Professions Education (MHPE) Program Faculty of Medicine, Public Health and Nursing Universitas Gadjah Mada, Chairman of Community and Family Health Care and Inter-professional Education (CFHC-IPE), and Chief Editor for Journal of Community Empowerment for Health (JCOEMPH) at the same university. He also working as Ophthalmologist focusing on Neuro-Ophthalmology field.