Vanessa CAMPO-RUIZ, MD PhD

Welcome! My name is Vanessa Campo-Ruiz, MD PhD.

I am a medical doctor and researcher, also trained in business management and administration and in diplomatic affairs. Through my blog I share information about why health, science and technology improve our daily lives in so many ways.

I have 20 years of hands-on experience in medical laboratory research, healthcare research management and EU research and innovation policy and project management across 6 positions as:

1. Medical Research Fellow at Harvard University – Wellman Center of Photomedicine, Boston, MA, USA., where I carried out laboratory research with cells and animals focused on laser confocal microscopy and other novel medical imaging technologies useful for early diagnosis and guidance of treatments.

2. Chief Research Officer of Hospital General Universitario Gregorio Marañón, Madrid, Spain – Fundacion para la Investigacion Biomedica, where I founded and lead the Office for Sponsored Research and Technology Transfer at Spain’s largest academic hospital.

3. Medical Innovation Scholar at the Karolinksa Institute – Unit for Bioentrepreneurship, Stockholm, Sweden, where I researched the biomedical research and innovation system across Sweden.

4. Science Adviser to the CEO of the European Science Foundation, Strasbourg, France, where I oversaw science policy initiatives, corporate relations with global partners and management of biomedical grants to European consortia grants.

5. Policy Officer at the European Commission Directorate General for Research and Innovation – DG RTD, Directorate of Bioeconomy Unit F4, Brussels, Belgium, serving as unit coordinator and drafter of strategic funding opportunities (topics) within the European Union Horizon 2020 Work Programmes for research and innovation – Societal Challenge 2 and project portfolio analyst in areas like marine biotechnology. I also organised meetings and delivered tailored presentations for EC officers and external stakeholders, in events like the SC2 Encounters for EC policy officers and project advisers, or presentations for the research community at the Horizon 2020 Information Days or global high-profile meetings like ESOF in Europe and AAAS in USA.

6. Project Adviser at the European Research Executive Agency established by the European Commission (REA) Unit B2 and Unit B4, Brussels, Belgium, where I manage the entire lifecycle of Horizon 2020 grants awarded to large consortia of entities. I organise and chair proposal evaluations, grant agreement preparations, project monitoring and periodic reviews, ex post checks and sign off payments. On the international front, I have lead my Unit’s taskforce in the EU-China Food and Biotechnology Initiative, conducting a survey across all participating EU-funded projects. I have also contributed as chair of debate sessions such as one at AAAS meeting discussing a Horizon 2020 project.

Prior to joining my current job at the European Commision, I also served as a member of advisory boards such as:

  • Vicechair and Member of 3 European Commission Horizon 2020 Advisory Groups: Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions MSCA, Science With and For Society SWAFS and Gender.
  • Observer Member of the World Health Organization (WHO) European Advisory Committee on Health Research (EACHR) 
  • Elected Member of Euroscience Advisory Board
  • ESF Representative at Council of Europe Steering Committee on Educational Policy and Practice
  • ESF Representative at European Parliament’s STOA

and an expert scientific evaluator for governmental agencies worldwide that fund research institutions and R&I programmes, including:

  • USA and Canada: Panellist, National Institutes of Health – National Cancer Institute, NIH / NIC, USA. Evaluator for Canada Foundation for Innovation, CIF.
  • European Union: ERA-Nets, ERAFRICA; European Union “Innovative Medicines Initiative”, IMI; EU “International Association for the Promotion of Cooperation with Scientists from the Independent States from the Former Soviet Union”, INTAS; EU “International Scientific Cooperation”, INCO.
  • Spain: Expert Scientific Evaluator in Healthcare, Science and Technology, Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation & Ministry of Healthcare, MICINN; Spanish Agency for Evaluation and Prospective, ANECA; Catalan Regional Agency for Research and Innovation, CERCA.

As part of my societal engagement and volunteering activities now in Brussels, I have also lead a REA taskforce in the 2019 World CleanUp Day to carry out a litter clean up action and contributed to the European Commission volunteers helping out in shelters for the underprivileged.

Let us connect! You can also find me on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and ClubHouse.

Vanessa CAMPO-RUIZ, MD PhD | LinkedIn

@vcstx

DISCLAIMER: My website and my blog only reflect publicly available information. Any opinions are purely my own personal views, and do not necessarily represent those of my current or past employers. I am also not liable for the use or misuse that the reader may make of any health or medical information conveyed here. If you wish to receive medical counsel or advice related to health, please seek personalised advice from your own health provider.