Course of Global Health 2025

Dr. Dirk Horemans is a medical doctor and senior public health expert with over 35 years of extensive experience. He currently co-leads the Health Systems Policy in Practice module for the MSc in International Health and Tropical Medicine in Oxford (UK). He served the World Health Organization (WHO), in the Health Services Performance Assessment unit within the Integrated Health Services department. Dr. Horemans joined WHO in 2014 during the West African Ebola outbreak to aid in health system recovery efforts across the affected nations. His expertise encompasses primary healthcare measurement, quality of care, health services resilience, and the convergence of health systems and health security, particularly in emergency situations and fragile, conflict-affected, and vulnerable settings. In particular during the COVID-19 pandemic, he played a pivotal role in WHO’s initiatives to assess national and global health service capacities. Before his tenure at WHO headquarters, Dr. Horemans held various influential roles across different levels of the healthcare system, in many countries. He also collaborated with multiple international organizations, assisting in the development of health sector plans and evaluations of health projects across Africa and Asia.

Prof. Eliana Amaral is a tenured full-professor of Obstetrics and coordinator of the Center for Assessment and Research in Health Education (NAPES) at the School of Medical Sciences at the University of Campinas (UNICAMP). She has been the vice-chair for the Specialized Antenatal Care Committee at the Brazilian Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics Societies (Febrasgo) (2024-2026). Eliana was also the first chair for the Infections during Pregnancy Committee at the International Federation of Obstetrics and Gynecology (2022-2024), were she now is an active member due Oct 2025. Finally, she joins the Research Project Review Panel – RP2 for the World Health Organization. Eliana holds a position as the vice-chair for Higher Education at the São Paulo State Council of Education (2024-5) and have been previous chair (2022-4), and chair for the Global Advisory Committee (GAC) of the National Board of Medical Examiners – NBME/USA (2022-5), and serves as an international facilitator for the Faimer Institute – Philadelphia/USA. She has received awards and honors for her contributions to the advance of Obstetrics and training of healthcare professionals.

 

She has also led research on masculinities in the context of sexual and reproductive health as a gender equality issue. Avni is a passionate feminist scientist with a fierce commitment to gender equality and women’s health. Avni is a passionate feminist scientist with a fierce commitment to gender equality and women’s health. She has a PhD in International Health from the Johns Hopkins University, Bloomberg School of Hygiene and Public Health. She is originally from India and considers herself as a global citizen.

Dr. Werneck is a medical doctor by training that do mostly teaching and research in infectious disease epidemiology. Got a PhD degree in Public Health and Epidemiology from the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH). Completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Department of Global Health and Population (HSPH), where served as a visiting scholar. From 2019 to 2020 visited a scholar at the David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies (Harvard University). After many years working as a professor and researcher at the State and Federal Universities of Rio de Janeiro, assumed the position of Director of Strategic Actions in Epidemiology and Health Surveillance at the Brazilian Ministry of Health. Is a senior researcher at the Brazilian Research Council, and his work focuses mainly on the social and environmental determinants of neglected tropical diseases. He is also a board member of SciELO Brasil, a pioneering open-access initiative that contributed to changing the shape of academic publishing in Brazil. He committed to providing better access to scientific knowledge to improve public policy and education, combat disinformation, and promote diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility in both research and society.

 

She has also led research on masculinities in the context of sexual and reproductive health as a gender equality issue. Avni is a passionate feminist scientist with a fierce commitment to gender equality and women’s health. Avni is a passionate feminist scientist with a fierce commitment to gender equality and women’s health. She has a PhD in International Health from the Johns Hopkins University, Bloomberg School of Hygiene and Public Health. She is originally from India and considers herself as a global citizen.

Prof. Luca Ragazzoni is an Associate Professor of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care at the Università del Piemonte Orientale (Italy). He currently serves as Director of CRIMEDIM – Center for Research and Training in Disaster Medicine, Humanitarian Aid, and Global Health – a World Health Organization Collaborating Center. Within CRIMEDIM, he is Course Director of three academic programs: the European Master in Disaster Medicine (jointly organized with the Vrije Universiteit Brussels), the Master of Science in Disaster and Health Crisis Management, and the Doctoral Program in Global Health, Humanitarian Aid, and Disaster Medicine. Professor Ragazzoni is principal investigator of multiple international research projects addressing disaster preparedness and response, including PREPSHIELD, funded under Horizon Europe, and TEAMS, supported by DG-ECHO. He has successfully secured several European and non-European grants and is the author of more than 130 peer-reviewed publications in the field. Beyond academia, he has extensive field experience, having been deployed to disaster-stricken areas with the United Nations, governmental bodies, and non-governmental organizations. He also contributes at the national level as a member of the expert team appointed by the Italian Ministry of Health to oversee monitoring and implementation of the national influenza pandemic plan.

Prof. Mark Jit is professor and chair of the Department of Global and Environmental Health at New York University (NYU). He also holds honorary professorships at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, the University of Hong Kong and the National University of Singapore. His research focuses on epidemiological and economic modelling of vaccines to support evidence-based public health decision making. This work has influenced many of the major changes to immunisation policy around the world. He also organises or contributes to academic and professional courses on vaccine modelling, economics and decision science around the world.

Dr. Mariângela Batista Galvão Simão is the current Secretary of Health Surveillance and Environment at the Ministry of Health. A pediatrician, she holds a Master's degree in Public Health from the University of London, United Kingdom. She has served as Assistant Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) for Access to Medicines, Vaccines, and Pharmaceuticals, and as Director of Community Support, Social Justice, and Inclusion at the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS). At the Ministry of Health, she was Director of the National Department of STDs, AIDS, and Viral Hepatitis from 2006 to 2010, during which time she was also a member of the UNITAID governance board. She has experience in public health policy, health surveillance, and access to medicines.

Prof. Mario C.B. Raviglione is Full Professor of Global Health at the University of Milan, Italy, where he is also Coordinator of the Master in Global Health online and co-director of the Centre for Multidisciplinary Research on Health Science (MACH). Between 1991 and 2017, he worked at the World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva where he was Director of the Global Tuberculosis (TB) Programme (2003-2017) and responsible for global policies and standards on TB care, control and research. He joined WHO in 1991. He contributed to the development of the DOTS strategy in 1994 and set up global surveillance systems for TB. He conceived and directed the development of the Stop TB Strategy in 2006 and of the current End TB Strategy approved by the World Health Assembly in 2024. As a WHO official he worked with more than 50 countries worldwide. He graduated from Turin University, and trained in internal medicine, infectious diseases and AIDS at Cabrini Medical Centre, New York, and Beth Israel Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston. He has authored >350 publications on TB, AIDS, infectious diseases, COVID-19 and global health. He edited books on TB and was chief editor of “Global Health Essentials” (Springer, 2023). His h-index is 121 and his work has been cited >69,000 times. He has served as a visiting professor and taught at major universities worldwide and has lectured at top international health conferences in over 60 countries. He received several international awards for his work in global health and tuberculosis.

Professor Marlou de Rouw, The Constellation is co-founder and board member of the international NGO The Constellation and former empoyee of UNAIDS. The Constellation is dedicated to encourage, and learn from, community-led responses to health and other life issues. Over 20 year Marlou was active in the management of the organisation. She accompanied learning processes with groups in Asia, Africa and Europe on issues such as HIV/AIDS, Ageing with Dignity, Sexual Health for young Women and Girls and Living Together. Trained as a journalist (Tilburg, Hogeschool) and with a master degree in cultural anthropology (Utrecht University), she is curious about the impact of global issues on local communities and individuals..

Dr. Raymond Hutubessy is a Senior Health Economist and lead the team Value of Vaccines, Economics & Modelling (VoV) within the Department of Immunization, Vaccines and Biologicals (IVB) at at the World Health Organization (WHO) headquarters in Geneva, overseeing economic evaluations and modelling of vaccine-preventable diseases . He has over 25 years of experience in health economics, working extensively on cost-effectiveness, budget impact, and financing strategies in both low- and middle-income countries and high-income settings. He is a central figure in informing global vaccine policy, economic modelling, and equitable vaccine introduction strategies worldwide.

Dr. Silvana Luciani is the Unit Chief of Noncommunicable Diseases, Violence and Injury Prevention in the Department of Noncommunicable Diseases and Mental Health at the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO). Dr Luciani is a public health professional who has led international and national health programs on noncommunicable disease prevention and control. At the Pan American Health Organization, she is working with Ministries of Health in Latin America and the Caribbean to better understand the burden and impact of noncommunicable diseases, and implement evidence based NCD prevention and control interventions. She has been advocating and promoting innovative public health strategies, and building capacity for NCD prevention and control, collaborating with governments, international health organizations and civil society groups in the Americas region.

Dr. Vanessa Garcia-Larsen MSc MEd PhD, serves as Chief of the Risk Factors and Nutrition Unit, at the Pan American Health Organization/ World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO). The Unit leads PAHO's regional work to address tobacco control, physical activity and malnutrition in all its forms to prevent and control noncommunicable diseases (NCDs). She was Associate Professor in Human Nutrition at the Bloomberg School of Public Health, USA, where she led several international research efforts to advance public health evidence on the role of diet and lifestyle in the risk of NCDs, with emphasis on chronic respiratory diseases. Her evidence-based work on maternal and infant diet and prospective risk of respiratory and autoimmune diseases has directly informed international infant feeding guidelines. She is the author or co-author of circa 150 peer-reviewed publications and technical reports.