VIRTUAL BLOCKCHAIN
in Healthcare Symposium 2021

Heather Leigh Flannery is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of ConsenSys Health, a spin-off from ConsenSys AG effective March 2nd, 2020. She chairs the IEEE SA Open P2418.6 Standards Development Working Group (blockchain in healthcare and life sciences), served as FY19 and '20 Co-Chair and FY21 Chair of the global HIMSS Blockchain in Healthcare Task Force, Chairs the Healthcare Interest Group at the Enterprise Ethereum Alliance (EEA), and is an Associate Editor of the peer-reviewed journal, Frontiers Blockchain for Science. She is also Co-Founder and Board Chair of Blockchain in Healthcare Global ("BiHG"), a 501(c)6 trade association organized under the IEEE ISTO. Ms. Flannery has served as Industry Faculty for the United States Department of Health and Human Services Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (US HHS ONC) and is an active consultant, advisor, and keynote speaker. Prior to ConsenSys, she founded and led Obesity Prevention, Policy, and Management, Inc. ("Obesity PPM"), an innovative provider of disease management, population health, research administration, and information technology managed services for health systems in the Americas, and an early adopter of blockchain technology. Ms. Flannery has driven business model innovation via technology early adoption throughout her 25-year career as an entrepreneur, technologist, and strategist. She has consulted in the public sector in context of international development, bringing a global health perspective to her work. Focusing in the health sector since 2006, Ms. Flannery is a broad, lateral thinker who applies complex adaptive systems thinking to make progress against macroscopic challenges. Due to her personal life experience, Ms. Flannery is intrinsically motivated to impact population health and economic prosperity. She builds mission-driven organizations aligned by shared values: making measurable societal contributions, creating economically sustainable interventions, and prioritizing diversity and inclusion.

BIO: Osama El-Hassan, B.Sc., M.Sc., D.I.C.,Ph.D.

Dr. Osama Elhassan is the Vice President of UAE Health Informatics Society and a co-founder & the coordinator of the GCC Taskforce on Workforce Development in Digital Healthcare (ZIMAM). He is an elected member of several regional and international boards such as the International Society for Telemedicine & eHealth (ISfteH), the Middle East and North Africa Health Informatics Society and the Roaster of Healthcare IT Experts at World Health Organization. He contributes to academia through his adjunct lecturer role at Hamdan Bin Mohammed Smart University in the UAE. He also serves as a Health Informatics specialist at Dubai Health Authority.
Dr Elhassan obtained a PhD in Software Engineering from University of Leicester and an MSc in Advanced Computing from Imperial College in UK. Throughout his 15 years journey within the healthcare domain, Dr Elhassan gained substantial experience in Health Informatics, eHealth workforce development, Health Information Governance and Tele-Health.

Healthcare executive with a relentless focus on improving administration, coordination, quality and efficiency of care. 25 years of healthcare experience as CEO, COO, CIO and CTO in insurance, benefits administration and public programs.

Dr. Razouki has over 15 years of experience in venture capital and private equity investment with a focus on healthcare and technology, shifting from an excellence in clinical practice and research to the management and financing of healthcare and education systems. A graduate of Columbia Business School, Dr. Razouki is the first ever Arab national to receive an MBA with a focus on Healthcare Management and Finance. An Oral and Maxillofacial surgeon by training, Dr. Razouki has completed clinical rotations at New York Presbyterian Hospital of Columbia University Medical Center, Harlem Hospital, Cleveland University Hospital of Case Western Reserve University and Mass General Hospital of Harvard University. Dr. Razouki graduated with Cum Laude Honors from Creighton University with a Bachelors in Biology (Ethology) and TPP (Theology, Philosophy and Political Science).

Dr. Alex Cahana is Founding member of BTBlock Health Group, Web 3.0 (Healthcare)

Expert for UN/CEFACT, and Board member at AdaLabs in Africa. Alex is a conceptualist, healthcare ‘blockchanger’, and Web 3.0 champion. His areas of expertise are Wellbeing, Social Determinants of Health, Systems Engineering, and Phenomenology. He specializes in offering big-picture, cross-disciplinary advice, strategically assessing early-stage ventures, and designing disruptive solutions in healthcare. His solutions embrace the “holocratizing” of healthcare with Universal Health Income (UHI) with the goal of transforming people from passive health service consumers into active, self-sovereign health and wealth producers.

Dr Vikram Venkateswaran, is the founder and editor of Healthcare India www.healthcare-in-india.net. He is an author of a paper on Blockchain implications in healthcare and serves on the ISO Committee for Blockchain.

Dr. Mazin Gadir is also a Director of Client Relationships, Bid Management and Partnerships at IQVIA Payer Provider Government Group and an External Advisor for healthcare government ministries and authorities with responsibility for Health strategy development, implementation, execution and Transformation. He Accumulated over 20 years of Experience in Digital Health Innovation, Health Informatics workflow optimization, eHealth Regulatory Framework and Compliance, Health Information Systems/Health Information Exchange, Digital Maturity and Accreditation according to International Standards, Project and Change Management experience in Healthcare IT Transformation Programs

Jim Nasr is the CEO of Acoer, an award winning technology firm focused on building usable, open, blockchain-enabled software. Prior to his current role, Jim was the acting CTO at Safe Health System, developing a Digital Health and Connected Diagnostics Platform in collaboration with Mayo Clinic, and the Chief Software Architect at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), leading the modernization of the agency’s scientific applications, culminating in the development of OpenCDC. Jim has more than twenty years of experience in the technology industry, with over a decade as a founder profitably growing the technology firm Armedia LLC from inception to over 100 employees, and a 5-time Inc. 5000 awardee. Jim has co-authored several technology books, guest lectured for a number of universities, co-developed a semester long course on Token Economics for the University of Georgia, and spoken globally at numerous industry events, including many on modern software development practices and blockchain technologies. Jim is on the European Union Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI) PharmaLedger External Expert Advisory Board, Subcommittee Chair for IEEE Interoperable Data Security in Decentralized Clinical Trials standards, Architecture Lead for PhUSE Blockchain Working Group, a Technical Fellow at pioneering digital identity organization EP3 Foundation and on advisory for a number of technology startups. He has an MBA from the University of Connecticut, a BS in Computer Science and Statistics from Coventry University and resides in Atlanta, GA.

Helen Disney founded Unblocked in 2017 as a hub for strategic insights, education and events on blockchain and frontier technologies. She is now regarded as one of the best-known voices on Blockchain and cryptocurrency in the UK and is demand as a speaker and event MC internationally. Helen believes that blockchain, distributed ledgers and cryptocurrencies are changing our world for the better. Those who don’t understand them will miss out on fundamental opportunities for investment, wealth creation and social impact. And those who are harnessing them can grow much faster by telling their tech stories more effectively and meaningfully. Unblocked helps technology businesses tell their story and explain their vision in a way that connects with both a technical and a non-technical audience – be that future clients, investors or the wider public. We have worked with some of the leading blockchain and cryptocurrency companies in the market today and helped take their businesses to the next level.

Dr Ntuthuko Bhengu is the founder of Alchemy Health Technologies, a South African health data management company with a specific interest in application of blockchain in healthcare. Dr Bhengu served as a panellist of the Health Market Inquiry (SA) which was established to probe competition dynamics and factors that underlie price increases and expenditure in the private health sector. He also completed a five-year term as a health sector expert on the SA National Planning Commission. Dr Bhengu’s engagements as a key opinion leader include presentations at the influential Blockchain Africa Conference and the African Union Development Agency, as well as attendance at the OECD’s inaugural Blockchain Policy Conference in Paris. He has also participated as an invited speaker on health policy and management at various prestigious platforms, including the Harvard Global Health Institute, Harvard Business School, Imperial College and the Board of Healthcare Funders of Southern Africa. Dr Bhengu is a Chartered Director (SA) and serves on the advisory board of ConsenSys Health. He has previously served on boards of Nestle (SA) and the Institute of Directors of SA. He is a Fellow of the Africa Leadership Initiative.

Samantha Nazareth, MD, FACG is a practicing gastroenterologist, received a medical degree from Brown University and trained at both Cornell and Columbia. She serves as Chief Medical Officer of metaMe and advises early-stage startups in the healthtech space.

Claire is a data scientist at AICE (AI Centre of Excellence) which is based in Nairobi, Kenya. She has a strong background in Statistics and has acquired hands on experience in the implementation of various AI and Data Science techniques to benefit businesses. She looks forward to having AI spearhead a technological revolution in nearly every industrial sector in the world.

David is an entrepreneur, author, philosopher, attorney, and educator whose recent research focuses on the nexus of science, technology, ethics, and public policy. He has provided commentary regarding ethics, society, religion, and technology on: MSNBC, Fox News Channel, The Guardian, The Washington Times, NPR Radio, Radio Free Europe, Air America, The Atlanta Journal Constitution, and the Associated Press, among others. He has been a tenured Associate Professor of Philosophy at the Delft University of Technology, Faculty of Technology, Policy, and Management in the Netherlands, Visiting Professor at UNAM, Instituto de Filosoficas and the Unidad Posgrado, Mexico, Director of Research and Strategic Initiatives at COMISION NACIONAL DE BIOETICA in Mexico, and Asesor de Rector at UAM Xochimilco. He is the co-founder and CEO of EncrypGen, Inc., Venture Partner at Impact Rooms, and Research Associate Prof at the University at Buffalo Dept. of Philosophy. http://davidkoepsell.com

Dr Najeeb Al-Shorbaji is from Jordan. He is the President of the Jordan Library and Information Association, President of the eHealth Development Association (Jordan), President of North Africa and Middle East Health Informatics Association, Vice-President of the International Medical Informatics Association for MEDINFO’21 and Fellow of the International Academy of Health Sciences Informatics. Dr Al-Shorbaji has been working as consultant in eHealth (digital health), health information systems, knowledge management, medical librarianship and electronic publishing since September 2015. He has been an eMarefa Advisor and working as part-time researcher and lecturer at the PLRI Institute of Medical Informatics at TUB, Germany since June 2016, he is a Visiting Professor at Ain Shmas University, Egypt and member of the Scientific Council of the International Academy of Public Health. Immediately before this, he worked as Director of Knowledge, Ethics and Research Department at the World Health Organization (WHO/HQ) between 1st September 2008 to 31st August 2015 as he retired from WHO/HQ. From 1st February 1988 to 31st August 2008, he worked for WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean in Amman, Alexandria and Cairo as Information Scientist, Regional Advisor and Coordinator for Knowledge Management and Sharing. He has published over 210 research papers, book chapters and presentations. He attended, presented and delivered keynote addresses in over 200 professional conferences and seminars at national, regional and international levels. He is the Chief Editor of the Jordanian Journal of Library and Information Sciences, member of editorial boards of others and a peer-reviewer of a number of scientific journals. He is a member of a number of international scientific associations and committees. He holds a PhD in Information Science since 1986 from United Kingdom.

Sophie is the Co-founder and CEO of Nabta Health, a hybrid healthcare platform for women providing personalized healthcare to women in emerging markets. Prior to co-founding Nabta, Sophie worked for Accenture as a technology consultant and then founded several impact enterprises including myZindagi (a doctor-finding platform based in Pakistan) and Le Plastics (a plastic recycling company based in Sierra Leone). Sophie’s lifetime ambition is twofold: to empower women to manage their health with privacy, autonomy and convenience, and to make healthcare affordable and accessible for all women. Sophie read History at the University of Cambridge and completed an MBA with Quantic School of Business and Technology.

Rama is an entrepreneur who is passionate about developing solutions to accelerate clinical trials with 28 years’ experience in the Pharma industry (Lilly/Novartis) in leading roles. He is currently the CEO/Founder of Bloqcube NJ, USA. Bloqcube is a next gen e-clinical system that promises to accelerate clinical trials by significantly decreasing operational efficiencies at a trials site, facilitating decentralized clinical trials for BioPharma/CROs, leveraging an iPad/Cloud/Distributed ledger platform. He is a speaker/thought leader at many leading blockchain conferences in the world. He also is an Adjunct Professor of Finance at Fairleigh Dickenson Univ. NJ, where he teaches Finance and Blockchains. Prior to this, he was the CFO for Novartis Pharma Russia (2013-2016) and was for a brief period the interim CEO in Russia. Rama’s roles over 27 years at Novartis and Eli Lilly, have included being the Development Finance Head for Novartis – Oncology Global Development and later the US Finance head for Clinical Development, and Lead Faculty for Novartis’s R&D Finance College - that trained over 150 associates in R&D Finance. Rama also was the CFO for Novartis Canada, and a Financial Advisor in Lilly’s M&A group at their headquarters in Indianapolis, IN, USA in addition to other key roles for Lilly in US/Europe. He holds an MBAs from INSEAD, France, Indian Institute of Management Calcutta, a B.Tech. from Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, is bilingual in English & French, and has worked in seven countries.

Anshul is a global technology leader who has been instrumental in driving technology transformations for businesses in the range of to multi Billion USD as revenues. He has been key player at organizations which have been on an average 30% growth year on year in a career spanning almost two decades . Experience has been around taking up strategic technology initiatives, architecting, delivering and managing it at an enterprise level. Anshul has several notable career accomplishments, wherein he has led, created and launched the key ecommerce, mobile and business intelligence initiatives for world's #1 insurance brand AXA in the fastest growing emerging markets of Asia Currently in a leadership role as Chief Information Officer Information Technology and Digital Officer, leading the IT Strategy, Technology Transformations, Analytics, software delivery, architecture and Cloud for Union Insurance (UAE and Oman) across all lines of Business (Life, General (P&C) and Health Insurance) Creating and Driving big strategic Initiatives aligning through IT transformation to deliver business value. Transformational leader and Senior Management IT professional, with almost two decade of experience spreading across multiple geographies (US, Europe,South East Asia and Middle East). Anshul has built & led local, regional, and global teams across 3 continents. Capitalized on opportunities to drive revenues, profits, and growth. Strong P&L management. Couple of Awards CIO MENA 2017. CIO of the year award, InfoSec Maestro Award, CSO Next of the year award. CISO award from MESA. AXA Innovation award won 3 times in a row.

Dr. Jason Cross (PhD, JD) is co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer for Rymedi, a cloud-based disease testing and treatment workflow management solution. Dr. Cross' area of expertise is business model innovation focused on expanding access to high quality healthcare. He was a professor at Duke University and Founding Director of the Innovation & Technology Policy Lab where he spearheaded value-based contracting between countries and pharmaceutical and medical device companies. Dr. Cross is also Chair of the Intellectual Property Subgroup of the IEEE Blockchain in Healthcare and Life Sciences Working Group.

Ronald M. Harris, MD, MBA, FAAD is a native of San Francisco, California. He completed medical school at University of California, San Francisco, an internship in internal medicine at Kaiser Permanente Medical Center, San Francisco and dermatology training at the University of Utah Health Sciences Center. In addition to board certification in dermatology, Dr. Harris is also a board certified dermatopathologist with fellowship training in the Department of Dermatology at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Harris has been in academics and private practice for the past 19 years in Utah, Arizona and California and is currently Health Sciences Clinical Professor of Dermatology at the University of California, Irvine School of Medicine. Additionally, Dr. Harris has been involved in several global health projects in sub-Saharan Africa since 2003 and started an NGO, the Malama Global Health Fund, to address the structural inequities of providing care in rural Kenya and Ethiopia. He has been a visiting professor of dermatology in more than a dozen countries, lecturing on dermatologic emergencies, tropical dermatology and delivering quality healthcare in resource poor settings. He has trained a number of dermatology residents in the US, Ghana, Ethiopia and Kenya. He’s also a recipient of several Humanitarian awards and has partnered with the Clinton Global Initiative from 2005-2016 providing care for HIV/AIDS patients in Nakuru, Kenya. Most recently, he has become a co-founder and Board member of Afyarekod, a secure decentralized multilanguage electronic health records platform based in Nairobi, Kenya designed to address the challenges of health record keeping in Africa and beyond. AfyaRekod is the first decentralized EHR platform utilizing blockchain level security and disease modeling via artificial intelligence. Users of the platform also enjoy sovereign ownership of their health data and can leverage the ownership of their data to improve health outcomes.

John Kamara is a Tech Entrepreneur with over 20 years’ experience working in new market acquisitions across various technology verticals in Europe, America, Asia and Africa. John is one of Africa’s leading experts on how businesses can leverage key technology trends, transform organizations and drive competitive advantage for impact in industries including finance, agriculture, health, education, gaming and startup enterprises. He is a Pan African renowned business leader, entrepreneur, investor, consultant, mentor and public speaker holding multiple roles including: John is actively involved and heavily invested in new technologies focusing on IoT (Internet of Things), AI (Artificial Intelligence), Blockchain and Crowdfunding. Having worked in market growth leadership roles for global technology companies at Google, Sun Microsystems, eir Ireland, Digicel, BMC Software and others, John is committed to seeing technology play a critical role catapulting Africa into the Fourth Industrial Revolution while creating critical mass impact. He has excited audiences in many countries and continents as he shared insights in various global stages like AI Expo Africa, AI For Good Global Summit, Bio2019, ICE London, Abuja Blockchain & AI Roundtable, Malta Blockchain Summit and Africa Fintech Summit to name just a few. John’s current focus is how smart technologies can be leveraged in solving some of the most prominent and pertinent socio-economic challenges in Africa; and how various players can play a role through empowerment of existing structures and systems to build holistic sustainable ecosystems in problem solving. Having founded and successfully sold his first company SpadeSocial – a lifestyle and entertainment focused tech startup (2009 – 2012), John dedicates his time sharing his knowledge, experiences and network with up and coming entrepreneurs in tech and beyond fueled by his passion to see more successful tech driven companies launch out of Africa.

Irene Kiwia is a champion for social economic development for Africa, whose career spans over 17 years in Media, Marketing, Communications, Technology and Development Programs that are focused on youth and women empowerment. Irene takes a vision and makes it a reality through sound strategy development. She intuitively sees the threads of opportunity that wind through an organization, brings them together into a coherent whole, helps others extend their thinking and drives implementation to impact advantage. She is an inspirational leader who tells stories that inspire action while at the same time is grounded in the reality of resources that levers progress. Respected as a credible voice in decision making; a champion in finding strategic partners; and a visionary in how she perceives the future. Irene is a master at integrating innovation in all that she does and has earned a seat at the table wherever she serves. Irene who is a mom of three, holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in International Relations from the University of Dar es Salaam, and an MBA in Marketing from the same institution

Dr. Anjan Saha, M.D., Ph.D. is an incoming Apgar Scholar in the Department of Anesthesiology at the Columbia University Irving Medical Center. Dr. Saha has experience that spans a wide gamut of competencies that are essential to modernizing the healthcare landscape of the 21st century. He is originally from the northern Virginia suburbs of Washington D.C., where the proximity to government informed his interest in making an impact on a global scale. He subsequently graduated with distinction from the University of Michigan, dual majoring in Cell and Molecular Biology and Interdisciplinary Physics. After completing his undergraduate studies, Dr. Saha enrolled in the Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP) at the University of Michigan. During his time in the MSTP, Dr. Saha effectuated his desire for global impact through contributions to the fields of molecular/cellular biology, bioinformatics, clinical informatics, and global health. He has published numerous peer-reviewed articles in reputable journals and has won awards for his work locally and nationally. Dr. Saha also started a digital health company, called Deoxylytics, whose aim is to commercialize the insights from genetic testing into clinical workflows. Dr. Saha is at the forefront of international collaboratives that aim to expand care capacity in Southeast Asia and in Africa. His long-term goals are focused on propagating a culture that values the democratization of health data collection, storage, and retrieval as the foundation for creating integrated healthcare circuits that traverse international borders. Pubmed: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/myncbi/anjan.saha.2/bibliography/public/ LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/anjan-saha-36351732

Nadia Hewett is a project lead for Blockchain, Digital Assets and Data Policy at the World Economic Forum’s Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution. She leads projects at the Forum that shape the future of technology governance. Under her leadership, deliverables focus on unlocking data and 4IR technologies to benefit society while protecting users from risks associated with the data economy. She led the ‘Redesigning Trust: Blockchain Deployment Toolkit’, a gold standard in blockchain development that supports organizations in more responsible, well-designed and inclusive blockchain deployments. She has lived and worked across Asia, Europe, Africa and the last decade in the Americas.

Priyank Jani is Blockchain Architect at Icertis, where they focus on building a Blockchain framework that can be plugged into to contracting system. At Icertis presently they are working on a Clinical trial App. Passionate about blockchain, he has found a community called “LetsBlockchain”, which enables businesses and individuals in adopting blockchain technologies. He recently volunteered as an Incubation mentor at Apiary, Center of Excellence in Blockchain technology. He is a member of the Government Blockchain Association and drives the Pune chapter.

Ahmed Al-Bader is Board member at ASH, chairperson of strategy and investment. Co-Founder & CEO of SihaTech. He has also founded Db8. He holds an Master in major programme management from Oxford University another MBA from Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Currently an advisor for HE Minister Assistant of economy and planning, He was also a former advisor for Minister of Commerce and Industry, and an advisor for King Abdul Aziz Center for National Dialogue (KACND) and other private public and private institutions. He was also formerly Chief Strategy Officer of Saudi Industrial Property Authority (MODON), and director general of Economic city operations and previously the investment strategy director for MASIC investment company. Ahmed worked with Unilever plc in south Africa and Dubai to establish many hubs of technology and transformative projects. His current recent crypto project was health based crypto.

Principal Architect, CTO Office, Icertis GmbH, Frankfurt Germany. Heading the blockchain group focusing on applications of blockchain, AI/ML and Common Data Models in the world of contracts. Building the new smart and autonomous contract engine in Icertis.

An academic, public speaker, entrepreneur, former IBK-Fellow, and patient-centricity advocate. Dr. Alsalamah is a contributor to the healthcare sector modernization movement and policymaking for better disease detection, prevention, and treatment. She has 11 years of experience in building secure, mobile, and intelligent solutions using emerging digital technologies that solve local problems with the potential to have a global impact. Currently, Dr. Alsalamah is a full-time Consultant at the Department of Digital Health and Innovation, World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland; a part-time Consultant at the National Health Information Center, Saudi Health Council, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; An Assistant Professor of Healthcare Information Systems Security at King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; and a Research Fellow, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA, United States. In addition, Dr. Alsalamah serves on a number of national and international blockchain, artificial intelligence, and information security boards including, but not limited to, The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Blockchain Expert Policy Advisory Board, Paris, France; The International Association for Trusted Blockchain Applications, Brussels, Belgium; TheDevMaster AI company, Los Angeles, CA, United States; and The Saudi Association for Information Security, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. https://www.shadaalsalamah.com/

Dr Shweta Nanda is Assistant Professor at IILM with more than 15 years of experience. She is a passionate researcher in the field of Blockchain in Healthcare. Dr Shweta Nanda has published papers in the area of Healthcare and Start-ups. Shweta is a mentor to various start-ups in preparation of suitable Business Pitch and Seed funding opportunities. Her area of expertise is Emerging Technologies and Entrepreneurial Marketing. She has organized various National and International Conferences as Conference convener.