Invited speakers
21. International EBHC Symposium 2026
Multilevel HTA. Coordinating affordability across health care
October 8-9, 2026 | Krakow + ONLINE
21. Międzynarodowe Sympozjum EBHC 2026
Multilevel HTA. Coordinating affordability across health care
October 8-9, 2026 | Krakow + ONLINE
Małgorzata Bała, MD, PhD works at the Jagiellonian University Medical College in Cracow. She has worked on various aspects of evidence-based healthcare since the beginning of her professional career. She is the co-author of several chapters in the handbook "The principles of EBM – evidence-based medicine for doctors and students of medicine students" (2008) and published many articles on systematic reviews. top
National consultant in the field of lung diseases. Head of the Department of Pulmonary Diseases and Respiratory Failure with NIV Unit and Sleep Disorders Unit, Head of the COPD and Respiratory Failure Centre at the Kuyavian and Pomeranian Pulmonology Centre in Bydgoszcz, Doctor of Medical Sciences, specialist in internal diseases and pulmonary diseases, expert in sleep medicine (certified by the Polish Sleep Research Society). President-Elect of the Polish Respiratory Society, Board Member of the Polish Sleep Research Society, Deputy Head of the Intensive Care and Rehabilitation Chapter of the Polish Respiratory Society, Member of the Non-Invasive Ventilation Group (ERS), Spokesperson for the Polish Respiratory Society since 2012. Co-author of the Polish Respiratory Society Guidelines. Member of the Pulmonary Team appointed by the Ministry of Health (2011). Medical expert in working groups of the Ministry of Health, the Agency for Health Technology Assessment and Tariff System (AOTMiT), the National Health Fund and the WHO. Author of over 100 publications in the field of pneumonology and health promotion, participant in many international multicentre works. Lecturer at pre-graduate and post-graduate training courses for doctors doing their specialisation in pulmonary diseases, balneology and family medicine. Founder and President of the Board of the “ODDECH NADZIEI dla Cierpiących na Schorzenia Płuc i Oskrzeli” foundation focusing on patients with lung and bronchial diseases, between the years 2003 and 2010 Vice-Chair of the Social Council for Persons with Disabilities to the President of Bydgoszcz. Author and coordinator of more than 20 health promotion programmes, particularly in the field of lung disease prevention and anti-smoking activities. Member of the team developing and implementing the "Interactive Programme for the Control of Nicotinism in Patients Treated in Spa Conditions". Organiser of the first COPD and Respiratory Failure Centre in Poland, the first Pulmonary Home Respiratory Treatment Centre in Poland, initiator of Non-Invasive Mechanical Ventilation (NIV) units in Poland, coordinator of the Ministry of Health policy programme entitled "National Programme for Reducing Mortality Due to Chronic Lung Diseases through the Establishment of Non-Invasive Mechanical Ventilation (NIV) Rooms for 2016-2019". She works on improving patient outcomes by developing standards of practice and applying new diagnostic and treatment techniques to lung diseases. top
Karen Facey worked as a statistician in pharma and medicines regulation, before becoming CEO of the first national HTA Agency in Scotland. For the past 20 years, she has worked as an international consultant in HTA, with special interests in use of real world data, evaluation of rare disease treatments and patient involvement. She is senior advisor for HTA at FIPRA, providing secretariat to the payer-led learning network, RWE4Decisions. top
Edition speaker: 2025
Paweł Grzesiowski – Chief Sanitary Inspector. Graduate of the Medical Faculty of the Medical University of Warsaw, Medical Doctor, paediatric specialist, expert in infection prevention. In the years 1989-1998, he worked as an assistant and then as an assistant professor at the Children’s Clinical Hospital in Warsaw, and then as the head of the Department of Infection Prevention and Hospital Infection Prevention at the National Medicines Institute in Warsaw. He has been working as a university professor since 2001, at, among others, the Department of Public Health of the Medical University of Warsaw, at the Postgraduate Course of Medical Law of the University of Warsaw and the Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University. Moreover, he cooperates with the National Centre for Quality Assessment in Healthcare. He authored or coauthored over 250 scientific publications in national and foreign medical journals on immunology, preventive vaccinations, prophylaxis, infection therapy and control, as well as on hospital infections. Additionally, he popularises medical knowledge and received a “Great Educator” award of the Journalist for Health Association (Stowarzyszenie Dziennikarzy dla Zdrowia). top
Director of the Health Department of the Pomeranian Voivodeship Marshal's Office. Graduate of the Medical Faculty of the Medical Academy in Gdańsk (nowadays known as the Medical University of Gdańsk). Specialist in Public Health. He has a PhD in medical sciences and holds the position of assistant professor in the Department of Public Health and Social Medicine. Author of several dozen articles on public health concerning, in particular, the field of management and organisation of health care, economic aspects and epidemiology. Councilor of the City of Gdańsk (1994-1998) and chairman of the City Commission for Solving Alcohol Problems (1997-2001). Deputy Healthcare Director at the University Clinical Centre in Gdańsk (2010-2014), Deputy Director and then Director of the Pomeranian Branch of the National Health Fund (2008-2009 and then 2013/14); President of the National Health Fund between June 2014 and March 2016. top
Head of Medical Training and Simulation Centre, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, vice-President of The Polish Society for Medical Communication, healthcare expert of the Jagiellonian Club Analytical Centre, President of Polish Prader–Willi Syndrome Association. Member of the Expert Board to the Patients Ombudsman. top
Menedżer, ukończył Szkołę Główną Handlową, a także studia MBA w Wyższej Szkole Przedsiębiorczości i Zarządzania im. Leona Koźmińskiego w Warszawie – Zarządzanie i Ekonomika Technologii Medycznych. Rozpoczynał pracę w bankowości inwestycyjnej w Polskim Banku Inwestycyjnym. Od początku, tj. od kwietnia 1998 r., współorganizował Mazowiecką Regionalną Kasę Chorych i został jej pierwszym członkiem zarządu ds. ekonomiczno-administracyjnych oraz dyrektorem finansowym. Od 2002 r. przez trzy lata prowadził NZOZ Europejskiej Kliniki Rehabilitacji VICTORIA. W latach 2005-2007 pracował w Instytucie Matki i Dziecka jako pełnomocnik dyrektora ds. finansowo-księgowych oraz zastępca dyrektora ds. ekonomicznych. Od czerwca 2007 r. do stycznia 2016 r.był zastępcą dyrektora ds. ekonomicznych Instytutu Kardiologii im. Prymasa Tysiąclecia Stefana Kardynała Wyszyńskiego w Warszawie. W dniu 15 stycznia 2016 r. został powołany na stanowisko Wiceprezesa Narodowego Funduszu Zdrowia ds. Finansowych. Od 2018 roku Podsekretarz Stanu w Ministerstwie Zdrowia. top
Clinical pharmacologist, neurologist; assistant professor at the Department of Experimental and Clinical Pharmacology at the Medical University of Warsaw. He graduated from the Faculty of Medicine at the Medical University of Warsaw in 1997. He concurrently studied at the Warsaw School of Economics, where he obtained a master’s degree in Economics in 2000. Since 1997, he has been working at the Department of Experimental and Clinical Pharmacology at the Medical University of Warsaw, where he obtained a specialisation in clinical pharmacology. He is a lecturer at the Business School of the Warsaw University of Technology and a specialist at the Therapy and Drug Science Committee of the 5th Faculty of Medical Sciences of the Polish Academy of Sciences. In the years 2000-2006, he was an assistant at the 2nd Neurological Clinic of the Institute of Psychiatry and Neurology. In 2004, he received a PhD in Medical Sciences (his doctoral dissertation concerned the costs of stroke from the social perspective), and in 2013, he was habilitated (based on his work regarding the Hospital Register of Strokes in Poland). Since 2009, he has been the CEO of HealthQuest – a consulting company operating in health technology assessment and reimbursement. He co-authored the health technology assessment guidelines adopted by the Agency for Health Technology Assessment, and also co-authored health technology assessment reports, costs analyses, epidemiological studies and studies concerning quality of life and utility. Maciej Niewada is also one of the founders of the Polish Pharmacoeconomics Society (ISPOR Poland Chapter), where he is currently the President. Furthermore, he cooperates with the Ministry of Health, the National Health Fund and medical scientific societies. His research interests include health technology assessment, pharmacoepidemiology and prevention of cerebrovascular diseases. top
Mateusz Oczkowski is Deputy Director of the Department of Drug Policy and Pharmacy at the Ministry of Health. He has been with the Ministry since July 2019. Previously, he worked as a reimbursement specialist in the reimbursement division of the Department of Drug Policy and Pharmacy, then as a senior specialist, and finally as head of department. He is a pharmacist by profession, having graduated from the Faculty of Pharmacy at the Medical University of Warsaw. He also completed postgraduate studies in pharmaceutical management at Lazarski University. He began an MBA program at the same university in 2022. top
Managing Director of CEESTAHC. Graduate of the Faculty of Medicine of the Medical University in Łódź and Postgraduate Health Care Management Studies in the Nofer Institute of Occupational Medicine. Expert in cooperation and creation of health projects with local government units, with many years of experience in creating an educational platform for developing high-quality health programmes in important areas of public health. President of the European Foundation for Solving Health Problems (Europejska Fundacja Rozwiązywania Problemów Zdrowotnych). Co-creator of the “Zdrowie/Człowiek/Profilaktyka” educational programme, aimed at local governments and employers. Initiator of www.dobreprogramyzdrowotne.pl, a website containing a Health Programme Creator and educational materials for creators of health policy programmes. top
PhD in economics, professionally involved with the University of Szczecin; her field of work involves management of healthcare systems and support for children with rare diseases; member of the Council of Experts on Rare Diseases at Medyczna Racja Stanu (Medical National Interest, Polish think-tank), CEO of Platynowa Drużyna (Platinum Team Foundation) – patient organisation for patients with type 2 neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis (CLN2); member of the NCL Gruppe Deutschland e.V. patient organisation. top
Edition speaker: 2025
Expert in healthcare research and market analysis; she has over 25 years of experience in this area. She has been the head of the Department of Population Health Monitoring and Analysis at the National Institute of Public Health, NIH – National Research Institute since 2024. There, together with her team she implements projects and research on, among others, population health analysis, inequalities in health, and social, behavioural and environmental determinants of health. Anna Smaga runs epidemiological and social research, as well as analyses based on integration of data from public statistics. She worked at IMS Health (now IQVIA), Sequence, and PEX PharmaSequence, where she led research and analytic teams working on healthcare market tasks, in particular medicines, while implementing hundreds of advisory and research projects. She is a graduate of Applied Mathematics and Management at the University of Warsaw and the University of Warsaw MBA programme organised together with the University of Illinois. top
Political scientist, assistant professor at the Institute of Public Health of the Jagiellonian University Medical College. Collaborator of the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies (Brussels) and the Partnership for Health System Sustainability and Resilience. Guest lecturer at the University of Copenhagen. Conducted research at, among others: Maastricht and Harvard universities. Presented his research at numerous conferences, including at: Sciences Po in Paris, as well as Universities of Manchester and Canberra. Areas of specialization and interest: health policy analysis; organization of health systems; deliberative democracy and deliberative governance; health equity and theories of justice; health in all policies (HiAP) and health impact assessment (HIA); challenges of evidence-based policy-making; and analysis of public debates on health and the above-mentioned issues. In his approach he utilises deliberative democratic theory, in particular the theory of deliberative systems, and the three inputs of governance framework – analysing intersection of emotions, self-interests and expertise in policy-making. He is also involved in the popularization of research as the founder of the Blog of the Institute of Public Health and the author of numerous popular science press publications. top
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