Scientific Committee

The IMI Scientific Committee is an advisory group within IMI whose members are top experts from a range of different fields. They are appointed further to suggestions made by the States Representatives Group for a renewable term of two years and participate in their individual capacity. The Scientific Committee has 10 members and 2 ad hoc members, and they elected Prof. Isabelle Bekeredjian-Ding and Prof. Alfonso Valencia as chair and vice-chair of the committee respectively. The current committee was appointed in 2018, and in April 2020, the IMI Governing Board voted to extend the mandate of the committee members to 30 September 2022.

The role of the Scientific Committee

The Committee gives strategic science-based recommendations to IMI and advises on the continued relevance of the Strategic Research Agenda and the scientific priorities. It is also formally consulted on our topic texts – which are based on the scientific priorities – before our Calls for proposals are launched.

More specifically, the Scientific Committee provides advice on:

  • scientific priorities to be included in the Strategic Research Agenda taking into account related activities in Horizon 2020;
  • scientific priorities to be addressed in the IMI Annual Work Plans;
  • scientific achievements described in the IMI Annual Activity Reports.

When requested by IMI, the members of the Scientific Committee provide their consolidated advice in writing. Scientific Committee members also take part in IMI’s Strategic Governing Groups.

The Scientific Committee Chair attends meetings of the IMI Governing Board as an observer and takes part in the deliberations, but has no voting rights.

More information about the Scientific Committee is available in the Scientific Committee's Rules of Procedure.

Scientific Committee work plan 2019: In mid-2019, the Scientific Committee adopted a work plan which sets out the areas where the committee plans to focus its efforts and provide effective support to IMI during the rest of its mandate. The work plan covers both topics related to IMI2 JU’s governance and structures as well as topics related to the research programme. Recommendations resulting from the work plan will be published on this page.

Recommendations issued by the Scientific Committee

Agendas of the Scientific Committee meetings

Cooperation with the IMI States Representatives Group

The Scientific Committee collaborates with the IMI States Representatives Group. The two bodies meet once a year to exchange views and discuss common areas of interest, such as IMI’s scientific priorities, and ways to enhance involvement of SMEs and patients into IMI activities. 

View a diagram of how the two bodies interact during their advisory process

Interested in learning more about the role of these advisory bodies in IMI and how they collaborate? Watch our 2017 interview with Maria Beatriz Da Silva Lima and Marta Gómez Quintanilla, who were chairs of the Scientific Committee and the IMI States Representatives Group respectively at the time.

 

     

     

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    Isabelle Bekeredjian-Ding

    Chair

    Head of Division Microbiology, Paul-Ehrlich-Institut, Langen, GERMANY

    CV

     

    Alfonso Valencia

     

    Alfonso Valencia

    Vice-chair

    Life Sciences Department Director / BSC – Barcelona Supercomputing Center;
    ICREA Research Professor;
    Head of the Spanish node of ELIXIR; Director / Spanish National Bioinformatics Institute, SPAIN

    CV

     

     

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    Kjetil Taskén

    member

    Professor of Medicine, University of Oslo and Head and Director of Institute of Cancer Research, Oslo University Hospital, NORWAY

    CV

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    Merete Osler

    member

    Clinical Professor, Section of Epidemiology, Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen; consultant, Center for Clinical Research and Prevention, Bispebjerg and Frederiksberg Hospitals, DENMARK

    CV

     

     

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    Anna Chioti

    member

    MD in charge of the creation of the Agency for Medicines and Health Products, Directorate of Health, Ministry of Health, LUXEMBOURG

    CV

     

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    Zoltán Kaló

    member

    Professor Health Economics, Centre for Health Technology Assessment, Semmelweis University, Budapest, HUNGARY

    CV

     

     

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    Paula M Alves

    member

    CEO / iBET – Instituto Biologia Experimental e Tecnologica; Associate Professor & Principal Investigator/ ITQB & FCT - NOVA New University of Lisbon, PORTUGAL

    CV

     

    Olivier Blin

     

    Olivier Blin

    member

    Professor of Pharmacology at Aix-Marseille University, FRANCE

    CV

     

     

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    Tanel Tenson

    member

    Professor of molecular biology at the Institute of Technology, University of Tartu, ESTONIA

    CV

     

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    Claas Röhl

    member

    President NF Kinder;  President EUPATI Austria; President NF Patients United, AUSTRIA

    CV

     

    Eduard Montanya

     

    Eduard Montanya

    ad hoc member

    Professor of Medicine at the University of Barcelona; Head of the Diabetes Section of Bellvitge University Hospital; Coordinator of the Diabetes and Metabolism Research Program at IDIBELL; Scientific Director of CIBERDEM, SPAIN
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    Corinne de Vries

    ad hoc member

    Head of Science and Innovation Support, Human Medicines Research & Development Support Division, European Medicines Agency, Amsterdam, THE NETHERLANDS

    CV