Organizing Committee

Secretary General, The Network: Towards Unity For Health (TUFH)

Elsie is also the Director of the MEPI Coordinating Centre at The African Centre for Global Health and Social Transformation (ACHEST).

Interim Executive Director, The Network: Towards Unity For Health (TUFH)

Nicholas Torres (M.Ed.) works at the cross section between the private sector, government, and not-for-profits and aligns them toward collective social impact goals and public policy. Nick has over 20 years of experience in executive management. Nick founded and currently leads a social sector “think-tank” organization; and teaches at the University of Pennsylvania.

Program Coordinator, The Network: Towards Unity For Health (TUFH)

Aricia, a Midwife, works as an independent midwife in Belgium. She has a Masters in Health Education and Promotion. She co-founded the revived Student Network Organization and was the first president in 2015 – 2016. She is the Editor-In-Chief of the Newsletter, in charge of TUFH Membership and the TUFH Conference Organizer.

Latin America Regional Board Member, The Network: Towards Unity For Health (TUFH)

Paulo is the Executive Director of Medicine at Afya Educacional in Brazil.

Vice-President, Student Network Organization (SNO)

Veronika is a 22-year-old Global Health and Medical student at Maastricht University, The Netherlands. She is half-Polish and half-Dutch. In November 2017 she joined SNO as a Regional Representative for Europe, last year she was the Public Relations manager. Now, she is the Vice-President for SNO and wants to continue working in a multidisciplinary and multicultural environment with students and professionals.

General Secretary Vice Dean of the School of Medicine, National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM)

Irene is a medical doctor with a focus on education and with a Master in Organizational Administration from the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México UNAM. She is currently a doctoral student in education and was a FAIMER Fellow at the Foundation for the Advancement of International Medical Education and Research in Philadelphia.

She is also an Associate Professor in the undergraduate and postgraduate programs at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. Irene has written 13 books and participated as an author in 33 books as well as working on 63 academic improvement courses.

She is responsible for the design, development, operation, supervision and evaluation of various institutional programs (academic and administrative) at the UNAM and the General Health Council for the Mexican Republic.

She is a founding member of the Mexican Council for the Accreditation of Medical Education (COMAEM) and is responsible for the reengineering of the National System of Accreditation of Medical Education in Mexico.

She has held several university positions, in the Mexican Association of Medical Schools and Faculties, COMAEM and the General Health Council of the Mexican Republic.

She currently serves as General Secretary Vice Dean of the School of Medicine of the UNAM and Vice President of the Mexican Council for the Accreditation of Medical Education.

Head of the Public Health Department, School of Medicine, National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM)

Dr. Guadalupe Silvia García de la Torre is a medical doctor graduating from the Facultad de Medicina de la Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México UNAM (National Autonomous University of Mexico) with a Master’s degree in Sociomedical Science with an emphasis on Epidemiology. She has collaborated with the School of Medicine for 31 years in teaching and research.

She is currently the Head of the Public Health Department of the School of Medicine of the UNAM, professor at the undergraduate and postgraduate level (Masters and Doctoral programs in epidemiology), and head of the disciplinary field of Epidemiology from the Master’s and Doctoral Program in Medical, Dental and Health Sciences, from UNAM.

Her research has an epidemiological focus on different topics of importance for public health, such as chagas disease, sexual transmitted infections, violence, diabetes mellitus type 2, life style, and health in the working population.

She is chairman of the Research Committee of the General Directorate of Epidemiology of the Ministry of Health of Mexico.

Head of International Relations, National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM)

Melissa is a medical doctor with a Master in Medical Education and is currently the Head of the International Relations Office of the Facultad de Medicina de la Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM). She has participated in clinical practice and medical research projects (focusing on diabetes and immunology) in Mexico and the USA in various institutions including the Instituto de Oftalmología Conde de Valenciana, Mexico City, Mexico and Johns Hopkins Medical Institute, Baltimore USA where she has also started her Masters in Public Health. She has been a medical manager of Schering-Plough Mexico in charge of the high specialty lines, launching Spriafil on the Mexican market. She has been a professor since medical school and her aim is to aid in the internationalization of medical education.

Head of Library Services Department for the School of Medicine, National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM)

Engineer David Flores Macías is the Head of the Library Services Department for the School of Medicine of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. He is a computer engineer and holds a Master in Organizational Management.

For more than 27 years he has worked in the School of Medicine of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, UNAM (National Autonomous University of Mexico) focused in the areas of information, telecommunications and library services. 

He currently coordinates the Library System of the School of Medicine of the UNAM and of several congresses such as the Health Sciences Book Fair and the Simulation Conference in Mexico (SIMex), in addition to coordinating and providing advice on the development of different national and international academic projects and events.

Head of the Administrative Office, Department of Public Health, School of Medicine, National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM)

Head of the Administrative Office for the Department of Public Health of the School of Medicine of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM). She studied accounting and is currently studying her Master in Executive Business Management from the UNAM. She has received training in various areas like: strategic planning, finance, problem solving, leadership and motivation, academic auditing, fiscal reforms, integral training for the XXI phase I education model, evaluation in learning,  safety and hygiene from the ISSSTE and other institutions, amongst others.

She has participated in several congresses and symposiums including the Asociación Nacional de Facultades y Escuelas de Contaduría y Administración (ANFECA) y el Instituto Mexicano de Contadores Público (IMCP).

She has ample experience in public administration and has held various administrative positions in the education, cultural, science and technology, innovation and health sector.