Associate Professorial Fellow | Oxford University

Prof. Dr. Asghar Zaidi is an Associate Professorial Fellow at the Oxford Institute of Population Ageing. He is a globally acclaimed educationist and social policy expert, holding a PhD in Economics from Oxford and leadership experience across the UK, Europe, and Asia. He has served as Senior Economist at OECD (Paris), Director of Research at the UN-affiliated European Centre (Vienna), and Professor of Social Gerontology at Seoul National University and Professor of International Social Policy at Southampton. His research spans measurement of active and healthy ageing, the wellbeing of older persons and those with disabilities and data on ageing and older persons. Since 2012, he has led the research work of the Active Ageing Index (AAI) Project for the European Commission and UNECE and the Global AgeWatch Index project for HelpAge International. He has also developed the Wellbeing in Later Life Index for the UK, working alongside the research team at Age UK London. He has recently completed projects on human rights of older persons for British Council Islamabad and on dementia in Pakistan. He is a Steering Committee member of the ASEM Global Ageing Centre and a member of the Steering Group of the Titchfield City Group on Ageing. Currently Provost at University of Management & Technology, Lahore, he previously transformed Government College University, Lahore as Vice Chancellor. Recipient of Pakistan’s Tamgha-i-Imtiaz (2022), he serves on WHO and EU advisory boards and at Oxford’s Institute of Population Ageing.

Chair | WPA

Andrew Spiegel has nearly two decades of experience in the patient advocacy arena. Spiegel co-founded the Colorectal Cancer Alliance, now the leading US based national patient advocacy organization dedicated to colon cancer. Mr. Spiegel, an attorney, besides being a co-founder of the organization and longtime board member of the Alliance became CEO in January of 2008 and he ran the CCA for nearly 5 years, before undertaking his next venture, the Global Colon Cancer Association (GCCA). Currently, Spiegel is co-founder and executive director of the GCCA, an international patient advocacy organization. This organization is an international community of nearly 50 colon cancer patient advocacy organizations and stakeholders dedicated to end the worldwide suffering of the 3rd leading cause of cancer deaths. In addition to his work in the colon cancer community, Spiegelis an active advocate for health care policies both in the US and now worldwide. He is a co-founder and currently serves on the steering committee of the Alliance for Safe Biologic Medicines (ASBM). He is on the Board of Directors, and in December 2014 was elected to Chair, of the Digestive Disease National Coalition (DDNC),a founding member of the Coalition to Increase Clinical Trial Participation. In addition to his work in the colon cancer community, Spiegelis an active advocate for health care policies both in the US and now worldwide. He is a co-founder and currently serves on the steering committee of the Alliance for Safe Biologic Medicines (ASBM). He is on the Board of Directors, and in December 2014 was elected to Chair, of the Digestive Disease National Coalition (DDNC),a founding member of the Coalition to Increase Clinical Trial Participation. Spiegel is a 1986 graduate of Temple University in Philadelphia where he earned a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science with minors in English and Philosophy. He is a 1989 graduate of the Widener University School of Law. After working for a Philadelphia litigation firm, Spiegel opened his own law firm in 1995.

Secretary | WPA

Penney Cowan In 1980 Penney Cowan founded and became CEO of the American Chronic Pain Association (ACPA). Ms. Cowan is a recognized speaker advocating a multi-disciplinary approach to pain management. She has been an outspoken advocate and consumer representative for pain issues, contributed to numerous books, videos and Websites, consulted on the development of several pain management programs, issues and received numerous awards from organizations, such as the Institute for Public Service, American Pain Society, and American Academy of Pain Medicine. She served as Consumer Representative for the FDA/CDER Anesthetic and Analgesic Drug Products Advisory Committee (AADPAC); Interagency Pain Research Coordinating Committee (IPRCC) of the National Institute of Health; and Co-chair of the National Pain Strategies Public Education and Communication Working Group, part of the IPRCC. Ms. Cowan is the author of Patient or Person, Living with Chronic Pain. She has also written all manuals and materials used by the American Chronic Pain Association. She successfully established September as Pain Awareness Month in 2001.

Director, Policy and Advocacy | International Federation on Ageing

Ms. Katrina Bouzanis is the Director of Policy and Advocacy at the International Federation on Ageing, where she leads global efforts to drive policies and partnerships that foster healthy ageing and advance the rights and well-being of current and future older people. She oversees the development and implementation of cross-sector advocacy strategies focused on healthy ageing, including strengthening noncommunicable disease responses, expanding adult vaccination, fostering age-friendly environments, advancing sensory health, and improving long-term care systems. Ms. Bouzanis works across civil society, academia, governments and industry to champion age-inclusive policy and build healthier, more resilient societies and systems for people of all ages. She holds an MSc in Global Health from McMaster University and a BSc (Honours) in Microbiology and Immunology from Dalhousie University in Canada. Since joining the International Federation on Ageing, she has represented the organization at numerous international events, congresses, and high-level meetings, contributing across diverse portfolios including adult vaccination, hearing and vision health, and broader healthy ageing initiatives.

CEO | WPA

Hussain Jafri is the Chief Executive Officer of the World Patients Alliance (WPA) which is the largest umbrella organization working across all disease areas. He also serves as a Assistant Professor at the Institute of Patient Safety Research, University of Kalisz, Poland, where he advances academic work in patient safety and healthcare quality. He serves on the WHO Civil Society Commission Steering Committee, strengthening engagement between WHO and civil society worldwide. He is also a member of the Advisory Group for WHO’s Patients for Patient Safety (PFPS) program, where he previously served as Vice Chair. At the national level, Hussain founded the Pakistan Patient Safety Initiative and was appointed by the Government of Punjab as Provincial Focal Person on Patient Safety and Quality, where he led the development of provincial healthcare policies and services. He also established Alzheimer’s Pakistan, the country’s first national association for Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias, inspired by his experience as a caregiver for his grandfather. With over three decades of advocacy, Hussain has worked extensively with governments, patient groups, and international organizations. He is a member of the Person and Family-Centred Advisory Council (PFCAC) of ISQua and serves on the taskforce of the Global Alliance of Partners for Pain Advocacy (GAPPA). An accomplished speaker, Hussain has addressed international conferences on patient safety, caregiving, person-centred healthcare, and advocacy. He has published widely in peer-reviewed journals and holds a PhD from the University of Leeds, UK, with research focused on the prevention of genetic disorders. He also served as Director General of the Punjab Thalassemia & Other Genetic Disorders Prevention & Research Institute.