Speaker Bio
Internationally trained biotechnology scientist and entrepreneur formed at the heart of Silicon Valley and currently innovation professional for the European Institute of Innovation and Technology in Health (EIT Health), Zara was born in Mallorca, Spain. She studied Biotechnology and did her PhD in Biomedicine and pharmacology at the Rovira I Virigili University (Catalonia) and at Yale University (USA) resulting in more than 20 peer review papers, multiple presentation in international congresses, a patent and pilot clinical trial phase 3. She then moved to one of the top medical universities in the world, Karolisnka Institutet, home to the Nobel price awards were she did her postdoctoral training.
Soon after she joined EIT Health as a scientist and entrepreneur to support the Nordic start-up ecosystem and shortly after stepped out of the position to become Strategy Manager and work linking the advanced innovation ecosystem in the Nordics with the rest of Europe. She set up the Swedish and French accelerator program, financed by Vinnova, the Swedish innovation agency to support Swedish startups in Digital Health and AI entering in the French market. Additionally she lead the Horizon Europe project for EIT Health in Innovation 4 Active and Health Ageing.
Currently she is partnership manager for EIT Health in the Nordics, working on establishing links and connections between the Nordics and Baltics to the different regions in Europe to guarantee that innovation happening in one side of Europe is implemented in other regions. She is also supporting projects applications, reviewing and building international consortium for the EIT Health partners. She is leading the EIT Health project aiming to promote the secondary use of data and samples for commercial purpose.
Zara, as part of EIT Health is really interested in the uptake of Digital Medical Devices, the creation of the European Health Data Space for secondary use for innovation and in new ways of delivering healthcare.