Secretariat
With guidance from the Executive Board, the Secretariat provides administration, communication, tools, study support, identifying and securing new business opportunities, supporting business strategy and alliances, with the goal of ensuring the sustainability and innovation of the VAC4EU network. The Secretariat strives to enable the Executive Board to make informed decisions and focus on the strategic vision. Currently, there are six members of the Secretariat based out of University Medical Center Utrecht, and an additional two based out of Teamit Institute.
Daniel Weibel
Secretary General
Daniel did his PhD in Epidemiology at the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute. Throughout his career, he has participated in key roles in the H1N1 pandemic vaccine safety studies and was lead author on the global SOMNIA study investigating H1N1 vaccines and narcolepsy as well as the IMI funded ADVANCE safety POC studies. Daniel also coordinated the Global Vaccine Safety Multi Country study for the World Health Organisation and co-chaired the ISPE Vaccine Safety SIG. In 2021 he began his role as Assistant Professor at University Medical Center Utrecht and Principal Investigator for the VAC4EU Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine multi-center PASS study. At the same time, he was appointed Secretary General of VAC4EU.
Sima Mohammadi
Electronic Health Record (EHR) Code Review
Sima has a background in medicine and served as a medical doctor during the COVID-19 pandemic, where she was responsible for vaccination efforts and monitoring adverse events related to COVID-19 vaccines. Currently, Sima holds the position of Scientific Researcher and Codelist Coordinator at VAC4EU. In this role, Sima specialises in the development and management of Codelists, harmonizing and mapping the clinical codes. Sima also chairs a Task Force comprising medical professionals to rigorously review and validate these codes, ensuring their clinical and technical accuracy for various study objectives. Furthermore, she is actively involved in the development of the CodeMapper tool, an innovative tool designed to facilitate the mapping of medical concepts, thereby streamlining the Codelist creation process. She has also contributed to developing GATTO criteria for feasibility assessment in the projects.
Amirreza Dehghan Tarazjani
Case Validation Coordinator
Amirreza graduated in medicine in Iran in 2020 and worked as a General Practitioner in a hospital for three years before pursuing a PhD at UMC Utrecht. His research primarily focuses on cardiovascular adverse events associated with COVID-19 vaccines. Within VAC4EU, Amirreza serves as the coordinator and trainer for the Validation Task Force. Over the past year, the Task Force has developed customised questionnaires, case definitions, dummy cases, and logic tailored to the needs of all 16 AESIs in VAC4EU studies. They have also successfully completed the training process. Currently, Amirreza is working on double programming the eDCFs to minimise calculation errors and supporting abstractors during real case validation. Additionally, he actively participates in the VAC4EU-SPEAC Living Lab and contributes to the SeValid project.
Henriëtte Mulder
Project Manager
Henriëtte has a background in International Management & Marketing and in Social Psychology and started her career as a Project Manager in Market Research. End of 2021 she joined the UMCU and started working for VAC4EU and other projects. Back then, she helped set up a basic structure within the Secretariat that is being further developed and professionalised now. Currently, her focus of work within the Secretariat is on capacity building of VAC4EU members (course development within VAC4EU Academy and course evaluations), annual member feedback surveys, financial monitoring & and reporting, and setting up an internal VAC4EU Quality Management System.
Ashton Babcock
Project Manager
After completing her BSc (Psychology with a splash of philosophy and digital art), Ashton began working as a Healthcare Informatics Coordinator. She later continued her education with an MSc in Social Policy and Public Health, then completed an internship at UMCU. Together with fellow Secretariat member Taylor Brown, Ashton laid the groundwork for a living systematic review on the performance of prediction models on COVID-19 vaccines. She then began working at UMCU full time in the Global Health Department, working for VAC4EU and other projects. Ashton’s work for VAC4EU is focused on communication and dissemination activities, including design, writing and review support, and social media management. Ashton also works as a freelance content creator with a focus on life science topics.
Taylor Brown
Project Manager
Taylor double-majored in BSc Global Public Health, and BSc Governance, Economics, and Development at Leiden University College The Hague. She first familiarised herself with VAC4EU through an internship in 2021 during her MSc Social Policy and Public Health at Utrecht University. Thoroughly enjoying the time spent with the organisation, she later applied for a more permanent role at the University Medical Center Utrecht. Here, she works as a junior project manager and dedicates her time to VAC4EU. Taylor currently works within the Secretariat, with a specialisation in tools and study support. She is looking forward to getting further involved in strategy and exploring her specialisations.
Gianmarco Di Mauro
Projects & Business Development Manager
Gianmarco Di Mauro holds the position of Projects and Business Development Manager at VAC4EU, where he is responsible for identifying and implementing new opportunities in the field of real-world evidence generation for vaccines’ safety and effectiveness research; moreover, he provides support to the development and implementation of VAC4EU business strategy. With a background in molecular biology and a Ph.D. in biomedicine from Universitat Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona, Gianmarco offers extensive expertise in both the management and business development of scientific research. His knowledge spans various research fields, including pharmacoepidemiology, molecular medicine, neuropharmacology, and epigenetics.
Dana Danielescu
Project Manager
In 2023, Dana joined the VAC4EU business development team as a Project Manager. In this role, she contributes to the network by managing study requests and leading external outreach efforts. Dana plays a key role in building new partnerships and uncovering business opportunities. Dana brings in her professional experience to VAC4EU to drive excellence in real-world evidence generation for vaccines’ safety and effectiveness research. After completing her studies in International Relations and European Studies, Dana’s career has developed from administrative roles to operations management and then to project management. Throughout her career, she has refined her skills in coordination and communication across diverse industries, working closely with cross-functional teams on research initiatives.