Lionis Christos, MD, PhD, HonFRCGP is a Professor of General Practice and Primary Health Care at the School of Medicine, University of Crete and Head of the Clinic of Social and Family Medicine at the School of Medicine, University of Crete. With a passion for the importance and the value of PHC and Family Medicine, Christos is actively involved in the development of Primary Care and General Practice on Crete, particularly in rural areas. He currently co-ordinates a thriving GP network with 18 GPs, and is also responsible for the supervision of a number of PhD students. Christos and his research team at the University of Crete are involved in four FP7 European funded projects (one as coordinator). Christos is involved in an editorial and advisory capacity with a number of international journals (BMC Family Practice IF 1.7, Rural and Remote Health Journal IF 0.87). Also is a member of the Executive Boards of various professional organisations and has published 252 papers in international journals (cited in PubMed). Member of the International Editorial Board of the Higher School’s Pulse.

William E. Hills is a Professor of Psychology at Coastal Carolina University in Conway, South Carolina, USA. He earned a Ph.D. and Master’s degree in biological psychology from the University of Georgia, and holds a Master’s degree and license to practice in the field of Social Work from the University of South Carolina. He is a past chair of the Department of Psychology at Coastal Carolina University, where he teaches courses in gerontology, the history and systems of psychology, and applied research in psychology. His research interests are focused in the area of gerontology, and he has published and presented numerous times both nationally and internationally on his work; he is a Fellow in the Academy for Gerontology in Higher Education of the Gerontological Society of America. He has previously taught gerontology on a Fulbright Scholarship to the Russian Federation (2013), and he has twice participated in study groups for Fulbright-Hayes Group Projects Abroad to Poland (1992, 2003). He recently conducted U.S.-Russia Peer-to-Peer Dialogue grant-funded research in Russia, and he maintains an active, working relationship with a Moscow-based physician who provides home-based medical services for pensioners and older adults in Russia identified as Victims of Repression. Hills is currently serving as a Fulbright Scholar to the Medical University of Lublin, where he has an appointment to teach gerontology during spring 2019 in the Department of Family Medicine.

Prof. Peggy Kendall is a Professor of Communication Studies at Bethel University in St. Paul, Minnesota, located in the snowy north central part of the United States. She earned a PhD from the University of Minnesota and has been teaching, researching and writing for the past 25 years where she studies the impact of technology on relationships, as well as the challenges faced by in-home care providers. She has published 2 popular books examining the impact of social media on young people, and her most recent book, titled Reboot: Refreshing Your Faith in a High-Tech World, that explores the impact of technology on faith. She has also written dozens of articles in publications ranging from Youthworker Journal and Momsense to the Journal of Communication Studies. She is a regular community speaker, presenting on topics including “How to Raise Children in a Digital Age” and “Deconstructing the 21st Century Learning Paradigm”. Prof. Kendall is committed to conducting research that addresses everyday issues in a way that will ultimately make a difference in her community.

Michael Bamberg received his MPhil from the University of York (Linguistics) and PhD from UC Berkeley (Psychology). Previous to his appointment as professor of psychology at Clark University (USA), he held teaching positions in Sociology (FU Berlin), in Linguistics (University of York, UK), and Foreign Languages (Tongji University, Shanghai). He spent previous sabbaticals as fellow with the DFG-Exzellenzcluster „Languages of Emotion“ at FU Berlin, as Yunshan chair professor at the Guangdong University of Foreign Studies, Guangzhou (2013-2016), and Vertretungs-Professur at the Universität Saarbrücken, Germany. His scholarly interests are in narrative, identity, and qualitative methodology. He currently serves as Fulbright-chair scholar in Poznan, Poland.

First Doctor of Medical Science in field of General Practice – Family Medicine in Ukraine, Professor of Department of Family Medicine at Shupyk National Medical Academy of Postgraduate Education (NMAPE), a senior lecturer, a researcher, a general practitioner, Ukrainian representative or observer in WONCA World Council and WONCA Europe Council Meetings (2010-2019), Life Member of WONCA, active member of WONCA Parties, Head of Ukrainian movement of young general practitioners (UMYGP) and International Exchange Coordinator, Ukrainian representative and member of Europe Council of Vasko da Gama Movement (2010-2016), participant of VDGM exchange programs (Portugal, Israel, Spain, Netherlands, Chroatia, Great Britain), Council Member of the Ukrainian Association of Family Medicine, the Vice Chair of Scientific Council of Institute of Family Medicine at the Shupyk National Medical Academy of Postgraduate Education, an Academician of Academy of Science of High Education of Ukraine, WHO National trainer in noncommunicable diseases, author and co-author of over 350 scientific publications in national and foreign editions on the variety of topics of family medicine.

Aelita Skarbalienė is an associate proffesor and a research fellow at Klaipėda University (Lithuania). She specializes in health care quality issues and psychosocial healthcare aspects: leadership, emotional intelligence, verbal and non-verbal communication, etc. That is her both research and teaching interests. Beside teaching in Lithuania, she gives lectures to medical and nursing students in Sweden, Finland, Portugal, Czeck Republic, Greece, etc. Aelita has a PhD in Social Sciences and her researches has been published in academic peer-review journals and presented at many international conferences. Her experience aslo includes development and implementation of training programs aimed to increase competencies to better address psychosocial dimensions of health care problems and enhanced abilities to apply skills for behavioral change communication. Aelita has worked in many national and international projects with a particular focus upon psychosocial, health and education issues. She has great experience in coordinating and managing projects and is currently involved in few EU projects. Beside academical work, Aelita acts as a deputy director at Lithuanian National Blood Center Klaipeda Branch and is an advicer of the Deputy Chairman of the Parliament of Lithuania (working on public grounds).

Milen Todorov obtained his MSc (2003) and PhD (2009) degrees at the University “Prof. Dr. Assen Zlatarov” Burgas, Bulgaria. After that, he did postdoctoral studies at the Laboratory of mathematical chemistry at the same university. Since 2010, he was a research associated professor at the Department of chemistry and from the mid of 2017 is associated professor at the same department. He is a lecturer of courses related to theoretical chemistry (QSAR, Molecular modeling). His research interests are focused in the development and application of in silico approaches to predict the toxicity and biological activity of chemicals. Of particular interest is the assessment of different predictive techniques to make toxicological decisions from a variety in silico, in vitro and in chemico information. In addition, as a member of the Laboratory of mathematical chemistry he has been involved in various EU projects (such as ReProTect, OSIRIS).

Gergana Avramova- Todorova is assistant at the University “Prof. Dr. Assen Zlatarov” Burgas, Bulgaria. She is a lecturer of courses related to law. In 2018 she has obtained a master degree in psychology and at present she is in a process of obtaining a PhD in pedagogy and a master degree in art therapy. Her research interests are focused in the development and application of art therapy, particularly in connection with emotional intelligence. According to her interest s she is a member of an international online group of art therapists, called “Art therapy now community”.

Assoc. Prof. Mark Hunt carried out his PhD research at the Department of Pharmacology, University of Cambridge. He continued his biomedical research at institutes in France and UK and over the past 10 years has been based at the Nencki Institute, Poland where he was recently awarded his habilitation degree. He has published over 20 papers in international journals including Biological Psychiatry, Journal of Neuroscience and Trends in Neuroscience and has over 15 years of experience proofreading scientific manuscripts. Over the past 3 years he, together with his wife Dorota Sakowska-Hunt (MBA), has established a scientific proofreading and editing service for academics and researchers who intend to submit their manuscripts to international journals for publication. Further information can be found here. http://ecorrector.com/.

Prof. Andrey Szpakov, MD, Ph.D was born on 8 th February 1962 in Siberia. He defended his doctoral thesis in 1991 in St. Petersburg. In 1992, he was appointed to the position of Associate Professor at the Department of Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation. In 2001, he became Head of the Department of Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation. Author of about 200 scientific and scientific-methodological papers published in Europe. Owing to the established cooperation with scientific and research units, he has participated in joint research with scientists from medical universities in Poland and other EU countries and China. Member of the scientific boards of several renowned journals in Poland (Family Medicine and Primary Care Review, Prog. Health Sci.). Deputy Editor-in-Chief of the scientific quarterly Medical Science Pulse

Prof. Aleh Kuzniatsou, MD, Ph.D was born on 21 th December 1974 in Belarus. He defended his doctoral thesis in 2009 in Minsk.

In 2002, he was appointed as the head of the Department of Clinical Laboratory Diagnostics of the Grodno Regional Clinical Hospital. Since 2014, he worked as an associate professor at the Department of Clinical Laboratory Diagnostics and Immunology, Grodno State Medical University. Since 2019, he has been working as an associate professor at the Department of Biochemistry of the Yanka Kupala State University of Grodno, associate Professor of the University of Medical Sciences in Bialystok.

Member of the editorial board of international journals: “World of Science” (Russia), “Laboratory Diagnostics: Eastern Europe” (Belarus). Chief the Association of the specialists of clinical laboratory diagnostics in the Grodno region (2007-2014). The author of about 150 scientific and methodological works.

EDUCATION:

• 1965 - 1971 Krasnoyarsk State Medical University, Russia, MD
• 1971 – 1973 Krasnoyarsk State Medical University (Postdiploma education)
• 1988 - 1994 Krasnoyarsk State Medical University
• 1992 - Kanazawa University, dep. Hygiene, Japan

Scientific titles and degrees. Doctor of Medical Sc „Biological monitoring of exposure dose and effects of unsaturated acrylates: pathogenic substantiation”.

1976 -2011 - Cycle training in the specialty of the leading medical universities in Russia: general hygiene, military hygiene, food hygiene, health, information technology and pedagogy, sanitary and epidemiological expertise, technology management organizations in quality management system.

PRACTICE:

• 1992. - Institute of Hygiene, Kanazawa University, Japan.
• 1999, 2002, 2007, 2008 - Munich, Hannover, Germany,
• 2001 - New York, USA.

ADMINISTRATIVE POSITIONS:

• 1973 - 1977 – assistant, Department of Hygiene, Krasnoyarsk State Medical University
• 1979 – assoc. professor, Department of Hygiene, Krasnoyarsk State Medical University
• 1995 – Professor, Department of Hygiene, Krasnoyarsk State Medical University
• 1998 - 2011. – Head of Department of Hygiene, Krasnoyarsk State Medical University
• 2011 09.19 – up to now – professor, Department of Social Pedagogy and Social Work, Krasnoyarsk State Pedagogical University.

RESEARCH INTERESTS: Quality of life for people of different ages. Environmental and biological monitoring of children's health. Formation and maintenance of child health. Nutrition and Health.

SCIENTIFIC ACTIVITY, duties

• Expert, Problem commission № 47.01 and № 47.04, Institute of Nutrition, Russian Academy of Medical Sciences up to 2015
• Member of the Scientific Council № 55 "Medical problems of Nutrition", Siberian Branch of Russian Academy of Medical Sciences up to 2015
• Member of the Dissertation Council DM 208.035.01, Hygiene and Health Organization, Kemerovo State Medical University up to 2011
• Member of the Board of Management of the Krasnoyarsk Territory Rospotrebnadzor
• Expert on the general hygiene certificate number 30 304 of the Health Ministry 10.04.10-10.04.2015
• Expert of Siberian Federal University - Foresight Research “Opportunities and prospects for development of human capital of Krasnoyarsk Territory 2030”.
• Expert of a healthy lifestyle, youth government doubles, the Krasnoyarsk region.
• Member of the Scientific Committee -Foundation for Children of Copper Basin, Legnica, Poland.
• Member of the editorial board of J. Problemy Higieny i Epidemiologii, Poland,
• Member of the editorial board of J. Medical University of Grodno, Belarus
• Member of the editorial board of J. Hygeia Public Health, Poland
• Member of the editorial board of J. Environmental Medicine, Poland
• Member of the editorial board of J. Medical Science Pulse, Poland
• Member of the editorial board of J. Family Medicine & Primary Care Review, Poland
• Member of the editorial board of J. Zdrowie psychiczne, Poland.

Assoc. Prof. Monika Sawhney is presently working as an Associate Professor of Public health at The University of North Carolina at Charlotte, NC, USA. Currently, Assoc. Prof. Sawhney also serves on the Global Burden of Disease expert team where she works on assessment of various health outcomes and diseases. Assoc. Prof. Monika Sawhney completed her Ph.D. in International Health at Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, Assoc. Prof. Sawhney completed two Master’s degree: (i) Social Work and (ii) Human Resources Management (with a focus on Non-profit sector). She also has received certifications from the World Health Organization for management of communicable diseases in emergencies and certification from The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine with regard to Ebola in Context. Currently, Assoc. Prof. Sawhney’s is collaborating (in the areas of teaching, research, and field-based assignments) with grassroots non-governmental and governmental organizations as well as educational institutions in India, Rwanda, and Tanzania with an overall aim to eradicate diseases (neglected tropical, non-communicable, and communicable diseases) in low- and middle-income countries. In the course of her career, Assoc. Prof. Monika also worked as a consultant for UNICEF, WHO, and John Snow Inc. in program implementation and evaluation projects. Working with Clinton Global Initiative University, Monika honored her commitment to saving orphan and vulnerable children in India. Her initiative involved collaborating with a Not-for-profit organization to start the diarrhea management center. On several occasions, she has received awards for her research and fieldwork in the area of Global Health. Assoc. Prof. Monika’s professional and research interests primarily focus on developing innovative digital technology and engineering to reduce the disease burden from non-communicable and communicable diseases more so across low and low-middle income countries. Assoc. Prof. Sawhney has rich and extensive research, field, and teaching experiences in Austria, China, Costa Rica, Ethiopia, India, Kenya, Tanzania, and the United States.

Rector of the Opole Medical School. Author of about 40 scientific publications in Polish and foreign journals, reviewer of national journals, member of the Board of the Polish Society for Physiotherapy of the Opole Branch, winner of the High Level award from the Elamed Publishing House. Chairman of the Scientific Council of the Medical Science Pulse quarterly.

Donata Kurpas, MD, PhD, Assoc. Prof. with habilitation (Poland)

Full time senior researcher and lecturer at the Department of Family Medicine, Wroclaw Medical University (WMU). Medical doctor degree (1999) from WMU; PhD in family medicine from WMU (2003); habilitation in family medicine (Chronic Care Model in Polish primary care) (2014); specialist in family medicine (2005); specialist in public health (2017); engaged in undergraduate and postgraduate training of medical students and family physicians. 2003-2007 – national coordinator of the European MedSkills Project (B/04/B/F/PP-144.333); 2015-2018 – national coordinator of 45/3HP/FOCUS/2015 Project (3HP – EU). She also led several research projects at the Wroclaw Medical University. She is an author and co-author of above 600 scientific publications and chapters to books, especially in the field of family medicine and primary care, public health, geriatrics, management of chronic diseases, and in 2015 she received the Minister of Health First Degree Award for scientific achievements, which were the basis for awarding the scientific degree of doctor habilitated. She is the chair of the International Advisory Board of the European Rural and Isolated Practitioners. Association and the active member of many scientific societies, e.g. the European Academy of Teachers in General Practice, the Polish Society of Family Medicine, the Polish Society of Psychiatry.

Regardless of the purpose of the activity, the commitment and passion direct Donata, and her actions have been noticed not only by independent medical staff from other Medical Universities in Poland (Szczecin, Białystok, Torun, Warsaw, Lodz, Katowice and Lublin) but also the Marshal's Office (Department of Health and Promotion of the Region, Lower Silesia, Poland) and the City Council (Department of Social Affairs, Wrocław, Poland), as well as the Cluster of Innovative Medicine in Poland. She has participated in many multicenter projects in Poland and abroad (including the Fulbright Foundation scholarship), is a reviewer of the National Centre for Research and Development, a member of the Interdisciplinary Team for the Research Infrastructure Support Program (Ministry of Science and Higher Education in Poland), an expert of the Polish Agency for Enterprise Development and the European Commission (H2020 - SC1-PM-04-2016). She is the editor-in-chief of the Family Medicine & Primary Care Review journal (Web of Science, Scopus) and the Medical Science Pulse Quarterly (List of the journals - Ministry of Science and Higher Education in Poland, 6 points), as well as the BMC Family Practice and the Rural and Remote Health Journal. In addition, she is the scholar of: EURACT (conference scholarship for young doctors), SOROS Foundation, Foundation for Polish Science, Foundation of E. Niedzwirski. She has been awarded several times for academic and didactic work by the Rector of Wroclaw Medical University and the Rector of Opole Medical School. She is also an Honorary Citizen of Roanoke County, VA, USA and Honorary Citizen of Roanoke, VA, USA as well as the ambassador of the Saint Francis Service Dogs Foundation (Roanoke, VA, USA).

The most current Projects:

UE Projects:

[1] 2018-2022 – Interregional Coordination for a Fast and Deep Uptake of Personalised Health (Regions4PerMed)

[2] 2015-2018 – FOCUS – 45/3HP/FOCUS/2015 - Frailty management optimization through EIP AHA commitments and utilization of stakeholders input
[3] 2003-2007 – European MedSkills – B/04/B/F/PP-144.333

Other:

• Rural practice and chronic morbidity, problems encountered and solutions. EURIPA investigation study
• Dementia management in European and Mediterranean primary care (PREDEM) - Department of Clinical Sciences in Malmö, Centre for Primary Health Care Research, Lund University, Malmö, Sweden;
• ATTENTIVE study (Antihypertensive TreaTmENT In Very Elderly) - University of Bern, Institute of Primary Health Care (BIHAM), Switzerland

5 the most current publications:

1. Kurpas D, Szwamel K, Lenarcik D, Guzek M, Prusaczyk A, Żuk P, Michalowska J, Grzeda A, Mroczek B. Effectiveness of Healthcare Coordination in Patients with Chronic Respiratory Diseases. Adv Exp Med Biol. 2017 Aug 12. doi: 10.1007/5584_2017_84.
2. Streit S, Verschoor M, Rodondi N, Bonfim D, Burman RA, Collins C, Biljana GK, Gintere S, Gómez Bravo R, Hoffmann K, Iftode C, Johansen KL, Kerse N, Koskela TH, Peštić SK, Kurpas D, Mallen CD, Maisoneuve H, Merlo C, Mueller Y, Muth C, Šter MP, Petrazzuoli F, Rosemann T, Sattler M, Švadlenková Z, Tatsioni A, Thulesius H, Tkachenko V, Torzsa P, Tsopra R, Canan T, Viegas RPA, Vinker S, de Waal MWM, Zeller A, Gussekloo J, Poortvliet RKE.Variation in GP decisions on antihypertensive treatment in oldest-old and frail individuals across 29 countries. BMC Geriatr. 2017 Apr 20;17(1):93. doi: 10.1186/s12877-017-0486-4.
3. Petrazzuoli F, Vinker S, Koskela TH, Frese T, Buono N, Soler JK, Ahrensberg J, Asenova R, Foguet Boreu Q, Ceyhun Peker G, Collins C, Hanževački M, Hoffmann K, Iftode C, Kurpas D, Le Reste JY, Lichtwarck B, Petek D, Pinto D, Schrans D, Streit S, Tang EYH, Tatsioni A, Torzsa P, Unalan PC, van Marwijk H, Thulesius H. Exploring dementia management attitudes in primary care: a key informant survey to primary care physicians in 25 European countries. Int Psychogeriatr. 2017 Sep;29(9):1413-1423. doi: 10.1017/S1041610217000552. Epub 2017 Apr 18.
4. Kurpas D, Bujnowska-Fedak MM, Athanasiadou A, Mroczek B. Factors Influencing Utilization of Primary Health Care Services in Patients with Chronic Respiratory Diseases. Adv Exp Med Biol. 2015;866:71-81. doi: 10.1007/5584_2015_141.
5. Kurpas D, Mroczek B, Bielska D. Rural and urban disparities in quality of life and health-related behaviors among chronically ill patients. Rural Remote Health. 2014;14(2):2485. Epub 2014 Jun 10.

Deputy Editor-in-Chief of the quarterly Medical Science Pulse, library enthusiast, long-term director of the Library and Library and Scientific Information Centre of the Opole Medical School in Opole, lecturer at post-graduate studies in library science and scientific information. Author of conference papers and publications in compact publications and scientific journals in the field of librarianship, practical librarianship, evaluation of science, Editor-in-Chief of university publications, Head of the Science and Publishing Section of the Opole Medical School.

Natalia Gruenpeter - pracuje w Interdyscyplinarnym Centrum Modelowania Matematycznego i Komputerowego Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego, gdzie zajmuje się m.in. promocją otwartych modeli komunikacji naukowej, organizacją warsztatów i szkoleń dotyczących otwartej nauki oraz prowadzeniem Krajowego Biura Otwartego Dostępu OpenAIRE. Członkini prezydium Koalicji Otwartej Edukacji. Ukończyła kulturoznawstwo na Uniwersytecie Śląskim w Katowicach.