Early Career Professionals Network

Soumya is a researcher in health data privacy at the Berlin Institute of Health at Charité, Germany, where she focuses on consent-based access models in electronic patient records (EPRs). Her work examines how patient privacy and autonomy can be balanced with the practical demands of clinical workflows in Germany, with the aim of developing solutions that are both ethically robust and operationally viable. She holds a medical degree from Dr. DY Patil Medical College and Research Centre in Pune, India, and a Master’s in Epidemiology from Utrecht University in the Netherlands. Her interdisciplinary background enables her to integrate clinical insight with public health and data governance perspectives. Originally from India and currently based in Berlin, Soumya is committed to advancing trustworthy and efficient use of health data through research, collaboration, and innovation. In addition to her academic work, she is a member of a Berlin-based FLINTA choir network with an international presence across the UK, Germany, and New Zealand.

Ahmad is a dentist, graduated from Shahid Beheshti Dental School in Tehran, Iran. He is working as a member of Cochrane Iran steering group and the manager of volunteer translators. Also, he is a steering member of the Oral Health Department of Non-Communicable Diseases Research Center (NCDRC) of Iran, founder and manager of Dahaan project (delivering evidence-informed dentistry recommendations to the Iranian community), and a member of the Informed Health Choices (IHC) project. His areas of interest are evidence-informed healthcare, health policy and management, and oral health inequalities.

Ana Beatriz Pizarro is a Nurse by training from Colombia, with expertise in evidence synthesis, systematic review methods, and knowledge translation initiatives with a commitment to health equity, and diversity. She is certified in Clinical Research through the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. She currently works as Future of Evidence Synthesis Implementation Officer at the Cochrane Central Executive Team and is affiliated with the Department of Health Systems of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), She is interested in improving and protecting the quality of life of families and communities in the global south. She is a past member of the Editorial Board of the Cochrane Library.

Dr Alexis ‘Ceecee’ Britten-Jones is a postdoctoral research fellow in ophthalmology and vision research at the University of Melbourne, Australia. Her primary research foci are genetic eye diseases and gene therapy. Her broader research interests include clinical trial design and outcomes, research implementation, and evidence synthesis methodology. As a clinician-optometrist, Ceecee is passionate about developing practical methods to bridge the gap between evidence and clinical care implementation. Ceecee is also a strong advocate for effective science communication and is open to engagement and collaboration with others in Cochrane networks.

Alvina is a medical doctor specializing in Radiation Oncology and Clinical Epidemiology. She currently serves as a medical fellow and PhD candidate focusing on oncology trial optimization.

Amin is a PhD candidate at the University for Continuing Education Krems. With a background as a PharmD hospital pharmacist, he has clinical experience in patient care across various settings, including the vascular surgery, urology, and neurosurgery wards, as well as the intensive care unit and the emergency department. Within Cochrane, Amin serves as a spoke leader for the Cochrane Planetary Health Thematic Group. He has collaborated with several groups, including the Cochrane Hepato-Biliary Group, contributing to the latest findings from the LIVING VACCINE Project, and working with Cochrane Sweden on various initiatives. His contributions also encompass writing Cochrane Clinical Answers and creating informative blogs for Cochrane First Aid. Amin is committed to engaging with patients in his projects, ensuring their perspectives are integrated into his work. He believes that evidence-based medicine can bridge the gap between the medical community and the general public, and he is dedicated to promoting its principles through his professional endeavours.

Dr Aoife O’Mahony is a postdoctoral researcher at University College Cork, where her current research focuses on barriers and enablers to vaccine implementation in Ireland. Her interests span implementation science, evidence synthesis, and meta-research, particularly in relation to research transparency, open science, and public trust in health research. She also teaches psychology as an Associate Lecturer at The Open University. Aoife completed her PhD in Psychology at Cardiff University, where she studied whether the Registered Reports publication format is associated with greater rigour and transparency of published scientific articles. She also holds a BSc in Health Studies from University College Cork, and MSc in Cognitive and Clinical Neuroscience (Psychopathology) from Maastricht University. She is actively involved in the Cochrane community, including co-leading the update of a Cochrane review on tailored interventions for addressing determinants of professional practice, and she has recently been appointed as Associate Convener of the Cochrane Qualitative and Implementation Methods Group. She is interested in supporting collaboration and capacity building among early-career researchers in evidence synthesis.

Ariel is an NIHR doctoral fellow at the Institute of Ophthalmology, University College London, and senior ophthalmology registrar at the Oxford Eye Hospital. She has been involved in the Cochrane community since 2016, and has led two reviews with the Cochrane Eyes and Vision group. Her doctoral research focuses on the clinical validation, safety and bias of artificial intelligence diagnostics, using ophthalmology as an exemplar. Her broader research interests include retinal diseases, retinal imaging, and evidence synthesis.

Augusta Chiugo Okpara is an Italian citizen of Nigerian origin, based in Italy, with a B.Sc. in Medical Rehabilitation (University of Nigeria) and an M.Sc. in Peace Building Management (Seraphicum, Rome). Combining a background in international administration and communication, she has worked with the United Nations (UNICRI, Turin; IFAD, Rome). Augusta is currently collaborating with the Cochrane Rehabilitation, Disability & Functioning, and the Global Consortium for Stroke Rehabilitation, where she supports social media and knowledge translation. Augusta is skilled in multilingual content creation, medical transcription, and digital outreach. A member of the Nigerian Society of Physiotherapists and the International Association of Professional Writers & Editors, she is passionate about evidence communication in global health. 

Bahaaeldin Baraka is currently working as an Oncologist at Nottingham University Hospitals. Over the course of several years, Dr Baraka has accumulated substantial experience in the comprehensive care of cancer patients and has actively contributed to cancer research. Dr Baraka has been deeply involved in numerous Phase III clinical trials related to cancer as a sub-investigator, and additional contributions extend to published research within the domain of oncology. Primary areas of focus revolve around conducting systematic reviews and evaluating the quality of evidence in the context of cancer guidelines, as well as enhancing patient care.

Dr Elpida Vounzoulaki is a Postdoctoral Epidemiologist at the Leicester Real World Evidence Unit, Diabetes Research Centre, University of Leicester. She has a solid background in clinical practice and research, having graduated with a BSc(Hons) in Nursing, an MSc in Medical Research, and a PhD in Diabetes Epidemiology. Elpida has been awarded the prestigious NIHR Development and Skills Enhancement (DSE) Award to enhance her skills in health data science, particularly around Artificial Intelligence. Her primary interests include cardiometabolic complications, women’s health conditions and real world epidemiology.

Hebatullah is a family physician and a health scientist, with expertise in systematic review methodology. She currently participates in research projects as an associate researcher at the School of Medicine and Health at the Technical University of Munich, Germany. Her research interests include primary health care, women's health, communicable and non-communicable diseases, as well as the implementation and sustainability of digital health technologies. Within Cochrane, she participated in the Cochrane US Mentoring program as both mentee and mentor, as well as a Cochrane review project in the Cochrane Hepato-Biliary Group. Hebatullah believes that collective support and the dissemination of rigorous evidence synthesis knowledge can transform the professional careers of junior peers and enhance the health outcomes of communities.

Dr. Jehath Majid Syed is a clinical pharmacist currently serving as an Assistant Professor and researcher in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences at Dr. Vishwanath Karad MIT World Peace University, Pune. She holds a PharmD and a PhD in Geriatric Clinical Pharmacy from JSS Academy of Higher Education and Research, Mysuru. Her doctoral research focused on the implementation and evaluation of a comprehensive clinical pharmacist-led geriatric care model in a tertiary care hospital. She is also certified as an Age-Friendly Pharmacist by the American Society of Consultant Pharmacists.

João Vitor Ziroldo Lopes is an Internal Medicine Resident at the Hospital das Clínicas, University of São Paulo (USP). His academic interests focus on Medical Education and the application of Evidence-Based Medicine (EBM) to laboratory diagnostics and clinical reasoning. A dedicated proponent of the Cochrane framework, João aims to democratize access to evidence-based tools for medical students globally. He is currently leading the Cochrane ECP Lecture Series, bridging the gap between clinical practice and high-quality evidence.

Lucy is a diabetes researcher from Tanzania. Lucy is a Ph.D. student and researcher at the National Institute for Medical Research – Mbeya. Passionate about diabetes research in sub Saharan Africa, Lucy's work is focused on understanding the unique sociodemographic factors, environment and biological factors and their impact on diabetes care in the region.

Luisa Fernanda Murcia-Soriano is a pharmacist, epidemiologist, and researcher at the Research Center and the Evidence Synthesis Unit of Hospital Universitario Mayor – Méderi in Bogotá, Colombia. She has participated in the design, coordination, and methodological evaluation of observational and interventional studies, as well as in the development of evidence synthesis products to support clinical and institutional decision-making and the development of training initiatives in evidence synthesis for healthcare professionals. Her interests include knowledge translation and strengthening the use and accessibility of evidence synthesis tools for healthcare professionals in the Global South.
 

Madaline Witort is a PhD student in Clinical and Translational Science at Case Western Reserve University with bachelor’s degrees in Communication Science and Disorders and Cognitive Science from Case Western. She conducts her research at the Cleveland Veteran’s Affairs Medical Center, where her work focuses on acquired brain injury, virtual reality therapy, and functional outcomes. Her research interests include clinical trial design, research implementation, and evidence synthesis methodology. Madaline is committed to ensuring that evidence-based findings are translated to measurable patient outcomes. Madaline also welcomes engagement and collaboration with others in Cochrane networks.
 

Madeleen van der Merwe is a Senior Research Assistant at the Institute for Evidence-Based Healthcare, Bond University, Australia and a higher degree researcher focusing on statistical errors in health research. She holds a Master of Biostatistics from the University of Queensland and is developing a structured framework to identify and classify statistical errors in published studies. Her work spans systematic reviews, health system evaluations, and large-scale data analysis, with a focus on improving research quality and strengthening the reliability of evidence used in clinical decision-making.

Paweł Jemioło is a researcher working at the intersection of artificial intelligence and evidence-based medicine. He is the co-convenor of the Cochrane AI initiative and is actively involved in GRADE AI and the International Collaboration for the Automation of Systematic Reviews, where he contributes to advancing the responsible use of AI in evidence synthesis and guideline development. Paweł has an interdisciplinary background spanning engineering, computer science, and psychology. He graduated from AGH University of Krakow with degrees in Automatic Control and Robotics as well as Computer Science, and from Jagiellonian University with a degree in Psychology. He is currently pursuing a PhD in medical meta-research focused on the use of artificial intelligence in evidence synthesis and clinical guideline development, as well as exploring AI literacy in researchers. His primary interests include methodological innovation in systematic reviews, and the integration of AI tools to enhance the efficiency, transparency, and quality of evidence synthesis.

Reem Fakak is a final-year medical student at the University of Nicosia Medical School, originally from Norway with Eritrean heritage. With clinical experience in neurology and surgical wards, she is actively engaged in research and has a strong interest in neuroscience and neurosurgery. She is passionate about evidence-based medicine, collaboration, and supporting meaningful research that can strengthen healthcare and improve patient outcomes.