BARCELONA INSTITUTE FOR GLOBAL HEALTH (ISGLOBAL)
At the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), the Health Systems/Public Health Liver Group works daily to put the liver at the centre of health policies, strategies, and interventions, particularly addressing liver conditions among those most vulnerable.
Professor Jeffrey Lazarus and his team are dedicated to addressing the urgent public health challenges posed by liver health around the world. They strive to raise awareness and clarify and develop multidisciplinary approaches to drive innovative public health policies. Their overarching goal is to reduce the high and increasing human and economic burden of prevalent liver diseases, whilst increasing individual quality of life and overall health equity.
The team will spearhead all WP5 activities dedicated to public health, in collaboration with industry partner AstraZeneca. Their responsibilities include assessing gaps in liver screening across Europe and examining the public health and health system implications of liver screening uptake. They will also contribute to communications and dissemination efforts in WP7.
Paula Petrone and her group, the Biomedical Data Science team, are dedicated to developing machine learning algorithms and advanced analytics solutions to make healthcare more efficient and accessible to all. This multidisciplinary team consists of data scientists, epidemiologists, computer vision experts, and a clinician, addressing various topics such as early diagnostic solutions, risk scores for chronic conditions, the discovery of digital biomarkers, patient stratification, and drug discovery aided by machine learning.
This team leads the development of the predictive AI platform that will integrate the biomarker panel and clinical data into a predictive tool for early diagnosis of liver fibrosis (WP3). The goal is to leverage diverse data sources, including patient demographics, medical history, lifestyle factors, and biomarkers, so that AI algorithms can accurately assess individual risk profiles and identify patients who could benefit from therapeutic intervention.
TEAM MEMBERS
Prof. Jeffrey V. Lazarus
Jeffrey V. Lazarus (PhD, MIH, MA) is a research professor and the head of the Public Health Liver Group at ISGlobal as well as a professor at the CUNY Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy. He will coordinate WP5 and specific tasks on Education & Training in WP7.
Delfina Boudou
Delfina Boudou is the Project Manager within the Public Health Liver Group at ISGlobal. She will be the administrative lead for WP5.
Aurora Barberá
Aurora Barberá (MSc, PhD) has a strong scientific background covering the multidisciplinary study of human liver disease with a focus on MASLD. She is currently a postdoctoral fellow in the Public Health Liver Group at ISGlobal, and will take an active role in the research component of WP5.
Christopher J. Kopka
Christopher J. Kopka (JD) brings a diverse background in law, strategy, business development and mergers & acquisitions. He now focuses on global public health strategies to increase diagnoses of and reduce risks presented by non-communicable diseases, with an emphasis on steatotic liver disease. He will actively participate in evaluating health systems' readiness for liver screening uptake within WP5, as well as contribute to educational initiatives in WP7.
Dana Ivankovsky-Wajcman
Dana Ivankovsky-Wajcman is a clinical dietitian and postdoctoral fellow within the Public Health Liver Group at ISGlobal. She will actively participate in WP5 and in educational initiatives in WP7.
Emilio Miralles
Emilio Miralles is the data technician within the Public Health Liver Group at ISGlobal. He will actively participate in WP5, as well as contribute to educational initiatives in WP7.
Anthony Armenta
Anthony Armenta is the health communications officer within the Public Health Liver Group at ISGlobal. He works with the Group’s researchers to help them raise the visibility of their findings and achievements related to public health and policy responses to liver diseases such as MASLD, MASH, and viral hepatitis B and C. His contributions will be primarily to communications and dissemination activities in WP7.
Paula Petrone
Paula Petrone is Associate Research Professor and leads the Biomedical Data Science Team at ISGlobal. She will be coordinating WP3, responsible for carrying out analytic tasks in WP2 and designing the digital health solution in WP4.
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