Programme Subcommittee

Grzegorz Owsianik, PhD, is the Team Leader responsible for non-communicable and infectious diseases policy programme oversight and planning in the unit “Combatting Diseases” in the Directorate PEOPLE of the Directorate-General for Research and Innovation at the European Commission. His experience covers program and policy development, research funding and project management. Before joining the Commission, he worked as a research assistant in the Faculty of Medicine at the University in Leuven, Belgium (KU Leuven).

Jessica Mankowski is a Deputy Director with the Priority Research Initiatives-Strategy and Management branch at the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR). Jessica manages multiple strategic research initiatives to advance research impacts, working closely with CIHR’s Institutes, partners and the research community. She has over 13 years of experience in health research program management, knowledge mobilization, and partnership development, and a Masters in Environmental Studies from Dalhousie University.

Brad Newsome, Ph.D., is a Program Director in the Division of International Training and Research (DITR) at the Fogarty International Center (FIC), part of the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH). Brad oversees an applied global health research portfolio geared toward advancing mobile and digital health, point-of-care technologies, data science and innovation, dissemination and implementation research, climate and health, and medical/research capacity building efforts. Brad is a biomedical scientist trained at the interface of materials engineering, toxicology, environmental public health, and science policy, with research geared toward holistically addressing global health concerns associated with environmentally-induced non-communicable diseases. Prior to Brad’s career at FIC, he led the global health and implementation research portfolio at NIH’s National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), and served as a AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellow in the NIH Office of the Director.

Dr Jurairat Phromjai serves as a research manager at HSRI (Thailand). She manages a medical technology research and development program for research translational and utilization. She also coordinates an international research collaboration program. Dr Phromjai has more than 10 years of experience in research on the development of detection technology, focusing on genomic detection and nanotechnology.

Dr Phromjai obtained her Ph.D. in Medical Virology from University of Toyama (Medical and Pharmaceutical School), Japan. She received a Masters in Biochemistry from Chulalongkorn University and a Masters in Biotechnology from Mahidol University.

Currently heading the Division of Noncommunicable Diseases at ICMR. Activities include Research , Administration, coordination and Management including reviewing, monitoring and conducting research activities in all areas Noncommunicable diseases. Have been actively involved in the area of environmental and occupational health for the last 20 years.

Mr Chris Jennaway

Executive Director (acting), Research Partnerships

Chris currently leads NHMRC’s Research Partnerships branch, which is responsible for promoting collaboration and delivering strategic and health priorities through innovative research partnerships. The branch manages national and international funding schemes that support priority driven research, translation of findings into policy and practice, and initiatives to strengthen consumer and community involvement in health and medical research.

Chris has more than 15 years’ experience at NHMRC – spanning roles in investigator-led and priority driven funding schemes, clinical trials, international collaborations, dementia research, and the Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF). Most recently, he led NHMRC’s Research Strategy and Engagement section, overseeing international engagement, research translation strategy, health priorities, dementia, and several advisory committees.

DIrector, SAMRC

Scientist D | International Health Division

Indian Council of Medical Research, New Delhi, India

Department of Health Research, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Govt. of India