ERAB Team
Within the ERA4Health Partnership, the Management Board is being supported by an Ethics and RRI Advisory Board (ERAB), as the body which will guide the wider anticipatory and reflective activities of ERA4Health.
This board is responsible for ethics oversight of the programme and it is the body for ethics and Responsible Research Innovation (RRI) advice towards the Strategic Advisory Board (STAB) and the Management Board for its full duration. They also advice on strategic documents, e.g. Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA) and RRI Guidelines
A core ERAB of six members is established. Find out more about each member by clicking on their name below.
Dr. Perihan Elif Ekmekci. (ERAB Chair)
Dr. Perihan Elif Ekmekci is a distinguished leader in the fields of bioethics, medicine, and artificial intelligence (AI) ethics. Her extensive career reflects a deep commitment to addressing the ethical dimensions of healthcare and emerging technologies. With significant contributions spanning medical ethics, public health, psychiatry, and AI, Dr. Ekmekci's interdisciplinary expertise and influential roles underscore her pivotal impact on these disciplines.
Dr. Evert van Leeuwen
Evert van Leeuwen is emeritus professor in medical ethics and philosophy at the Vrije Universiteit of Amsterdam and the Radboudumc in Nijmegen, The Netherlands. He has been a longtime member of the Dutch Central Committee Medical Research (CCMO). At present, he is chair of the National Dutch Medical Care programme PSIDER, that deals with pluripotent stemcells.
Dr. Ewa Bartnik
Professor in the Institute of Genetics and Biotechnology, Faculty of Biology, University of Warsaw. Research on human mitochondrial diseases. Author of over 130 papers and recipient of numerous grants. Alexander von Humboldt Fellow at the University of Cologne, Germany 1986-1988; post doc at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA 1976-1977. Member of many grant review bodies in Poland as well as for the European Commission. 2006-2009 Member of the OECD PISA Science Expert Group, 2010-2017 member of the UNESCO International Bioethics Committee, since 2015 Member of the Bioethics Committee of the Polish Academy of Sciences. In 2016 and 2021 member of the European Commission Identification committee for selection of EGE (European Group on Ethics in Science and New Technologies) members. 2019 – 2021 member of the WHO Expert Advisory Committee on Developing Global Standards for Governance and Oversight of Human Genome Editing.
Dr.phil. René von Schomberg
Dr.phil. René von Schomberg is a philosopher and STS scholar. He is currently a Senior Research Fellow at RWTH Aachen University. He was an European Commission official from 1998-2021. He is author/co-editor of 15 books, among other, the first editor of the International Handbook on Responsible Innovation. A Global Resource (2019). He has worked extensively on the issues of deliberative democracy, technology assessment, scientific advice for policy, ethical and socio-economic aspects of emerging technologies, the precautionary principle, open science and responsible innovation. He is running a blog with OA resources: http://renevonschomberg.wordpress.com
Dr Franziska Soergel
Dr Franziska Soergel is a Cultural Anthropologist specialized in Science and Technology Studies (STS), with a focus on artificial intelligence and health technologies in innovation processes. Her work explores the dynamics of knowledge production, emotional construction, and the societal impact of emerging technologies. She brings deep expertise in ethnography and qualitative research methods to assess and interpret complex socio-technical landscapes.
Giulia Cavaliere
Lecturer in Engaged Philosophy at UCL Philosophy. Her research focuses on infertility, reproductive ageing, the desire to have children and the legitimacy of funding fertility services. She teaches undergraduate and postgraduate courses on applied ethics and feminist philosophy. She is an associate editor at Res Publica.