PROGRAM

Keynotes speakers 2023

Leocadio Rodríguez Mañas, PhD Hospital Universitario de Getafe (Spain)

“ Frailty: Twenty years later, twenty years ahead “

Head of the Geriatrics Service of the Getafe University Hospital (Madrid) and Scientific Director of the Spanish Center for Biomedical Research on Frailty and Healthy Aging (CIBERFES) (Ministries of Health and of Economy and Competitiveness). He has led several publicly-funded research projects and scientific publications, many of them focused on frailty and functional decline in older people.
He has participated in the preparation of technical reports on these topics for national (Ministry of Health, Scientific Societies, Research Organizations and Agencies) and international organizations (WHO, PAHO, DG-SANTE, DG-Research, IAGG, Governments of Mexico, Costa Rica and Chile, etc).

Ann Belien, PhD Rejuvenate Biomed (Belgium)

“ How to develop drugs on sarcopenia? “

Ann Beliën, PhD, founded Rejuvenate Biomed in 2017, where she currently functions as CEO. As entrepeneur, she matured the company in 5 years from a discovery start-up to a clinical-stage company, by building a team of 15 experts that are enthusiastically engaged. All this was made possible by attracting international investors from seed funding up to series B. Additionally, she has over 22 years of experience in drug development from bench to market, which she acquired throughout multiple international assignments (US, NL, BE).
Over the years, she developed from scientist to operational and strategic roles (oncology, neurology, immunology, infectious diseases), including external and open innovation (therapeutics and prevention).
Ann previously worked as due diligence representative for R&D at Johnson & Johnson and served on the management board of Janssen Prevention Center for 5 years. She joined Johnson & Johnson in 2000, after a postdoc at ETH, Zürich, Switzerland. She holds a PhD from the University of Irchel, Zürich, Switzerland and a master’s degree from the Free University of Brussels (VUB), Belgium.

Mikel Izquierdo, PhD Universidad Pública de Navarra, Pamplona (Spain)

“ ViviFrail - Exercise for Older Adults with Frailty “

Dr. Izquierdo is a full Professor of Biomechanics and Exercise Physiology and Physical Exercise prescription in the Department of Health Sciences of the Public University of Navarra and Head of the Unit of Physical Exercise, Health and Quality of Life (E-FIT) at the Biomedical Research Center of the Government of Navarra, Spain . He also holds an appointment as professor of Sport Biomechanics at the Centre of Studies of the Spanish Olympic Committee.
He has served as an expert in the Healthy aging Consortium of the World Health Organization (WHO) and has been worked as principal investigator and senior researcher in several EU- funded projects focused on frailty and exercise: VIVIFRAIL to Promote and recommend changes in lifestyle associated with physical exercise for frail patients at risk of functional decline and MID-FRAIL to test the efficacy of a multimodal intervention in prefrail/frail older patients with type 2 diabetes.
He is involved in a H2020 funded project of the European Comission DIABFRAIL-LATAM. Professor Izquierdo is also collaborating with WHO in the implementation of a physical exercise program as a global strategy of intervention in frailty and risk of falling prevention.

John Beard, PhD Director of the Board of the Global Centre for Modern Ageing (Switzerland)

“ What Icope can bring to the prevention of frailty “

Dr. Beard is an Australian physician who initially worked in primary health care, including several years with an Aboriginal Medical Service. From 1991, he held a range of senior public health and academic roles in Australia including Manager of Public Health for the Sydney 2000 Olympics, followed by three years as Senior Epidemiologist with the New York Academy of Medicine in the USA.
From January 2008 until he retired in December 2018, Dr Beard was the Director of the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) Department of Ageing and Life Course. In 2010, he launched the Global Network of Age-friendly Cities and Communities and from 2010 to 2012, he held the additional position of Director, Department of Gender, Women and Health with WHO. He is an Honorary Professor with University of Sydney. Dr Beard has published widely in the international literature. He was the vice-chair and immediate past chair of the World Economic Forum's Global Agenda Council on Ageing, and acted as co-editor of the 2014 Lancet series on Ageing, and the special issue of the Bulletin of the World Health Organization on "Women Beyond Reproduction".
He remains actively involved in several large international research projects and has an interest in the influence of the physical, social and economic environments on health. Dr Beard was a lead writer and editor of the first World report on ageing and health (2015) and oversaw the development of the Global strategy and action plan on ageing and health, adopted by WHO Member States in May 2016.
Dr Beard was appointed Director of the Board of the Global Centre for Modern Ageing in January 2019.

Emanuele Marzetti, MD, PhD Catholic University of the Sacred Heart School of Medicine, Rome (Italy)