Who We Are
The Digital Health Literacy & Policy Hub was founded on a shared vision: to create a more informed, inclusive, and connected digital health future. We believe that meaningful progress in digital health and AI must be rooted in collaboration, guided by co-created ethical governance, and responsive to the lived realities of diverse communities around the world.
In a rapidly evolving technological landscape, the Hub acts as a global catalyst—connecting policy, practice, and people. By fostering dialogue between international experts, local practitioners, and community voices, we bridge the gap between innovation and implementation.
Co-founded by Professor Dimitri V. Nanopoulos and Dr. Olga Tzortzatou-Nanopoulou, the Hub brings together interdisciplinary leadership at the intersection of science, technology, and policy. Their combined expertise supports our mission to translate complex knowledge into practical strategies that empower stakeholders at all levels.
Through our work as a think tank and collaborative platform, we champion ethical innovation, informed decision-making, and policies that maximize the impact of digital health. Our vision is to shape digital health ecosystems that are sustainable, transparent, and accessible to all—regardless of geography, background, or digital fluency.
- Meet
Founders
Olga Tzortzatou-Nanopoulou
With nearly 20 years of experience as an in-house lawyer, academic researcher, and Head of the Technology Transfer Office, Dr. Olga Tzortzatou-Nanopoulou, a New York permanent Resident, transitioned into co-funding and leading the Digital Health Literacy & Policy Hub, which focuses on bridging policy, literacy, and healthcare.
As a Principal Investigator in various academic research projects, Dr. Tzortzatou-Nanopoulou has made significant contributions to advancing biomedical research literature in peer reviewed Journals. She has been serving as a Member and Head of Research Ethics Committees, addressing complex issues surrounding new technologies and biomedical research and as an external ethics expert for more than a decade at the European Research Council (ERC) and the European Commission DG Research & Innovation. She is driven by her passion for human-centered innovation in service of all people.
Scientific & Policy Advisory Board of the
Digital Health Literacy & Policy Hub Foundation
The Advisory Board of the Digital Health Literacy & Policy Hub is composed of distinguished experts in privacy, AI, ethics, digital health, and policy-making. Their guidance ensures that our initiatives are grounded in rigorous research, ethical principles, and real-world relevance. Together, they provide strategic direction, foster impactful collaborations, and support our mission to advance sustainable digital health solutions worldwide.
Prof. Manjit Dosanjh
Professor Manjit Dosanjh is the former senior advisor for medical applications at CERN and now a Visiting Professor at the University of Oxford and the Project Leader for STELLA (Smart Technologies to Extend Lives with Linear Accelerators. She holds a Ph.D. in Biochemical Engineering from UK and her professional efforts in medical applications span more than 30 years, during which she has held positions in various academic and research institutions in Europe and the U.S., including the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) at the University of California, the European Commission Joint Research Centre in Italy. She joined CERN in 2000 and focused on applying the technologies developed for particle physics to the life sciences domain and establishing multidisciplinary collaborative approaches for cancer treatment. Her work has included many initiatives to expand access to technology in Low Middle-Income Countries and she is the Project Leader for STELLA (Smart Technologies to Extend Lives with Linear Accelerators) for ICEC (www.iceccancer.org). Manjit is also the Coordinator of ENLIGHT (European Network for Light Ion Hadron Therapy).
In addition, for over 20 years she has worked for civil society initiatives concentrated on raising awareness in disparities in access to STEM and highlighting the importance of STEM for empowerment and development. She is actively involved in helping non-profit health and science education and gender related organizations in the Geneva area and served as the UN representative in Geneva for an NGO in consultative status with ECOSOC for the Graduate Women International-International Federation of University Women for nearly 15 years. Currently she is on the board of directors for ICEC (International Cancer Experts Corps) based in Washington DC with ECOSOC status and a member of the CoNGO (Conference of NGOs) Board.
She is long term member of the NGO Committee on Status of Women Geneva for which she was the editor of the NGO-CSW Geneva Bejing+20 Platform outcome report. She has spoken often on the intersections of health, human rights, diversity and equality and role of STEM for bridging the gap.
Dr. Andreas Mershin is an MIT Research Scientist and the Director of the MIT Label Free Research Group. He also teaches at the MIT Sloan School Executive Education and Advanced Management programs, has founded and serves as President of the non-profit Osmocosm Foundation, co-founder and director of MycoHab.com and co-founder of artificial dog intelligence olfactory diagnostic startup Scentient. His work spans a wide range from the (quantum) biophysics of the cytoskeleton, learning and memory, photosynthesis and olfaction to perceptual engineering and mycotecture and the physics of odorants.
Deborah Mascalzoni
Dr. Deborah Mascalzoni is an Associate Professor in Biomedical Ethics at the Centre for Research Ethics and Bioethics (CRB) at Uppsala University, Sweden and research group leader of the ELSI Research Group at the Institute for Biomedicine (IfB) of Eurac Research in Bolzano, Italy.
She is fellow of the Helex Center in Oxford and past fellow of the Science Technology and Society program at the Kennedy School of Government, Harvard.
Her main research interests are the privacy and broader human rights implications of genetics and new technologies, with a focus on rare diseases and vulnerable communities.
With a major in philosophy of science and a Ph.D. in Bioethics at Bologna University, she applies her background in philosophy, law, and ethics to her current research to drive policy change. She has been extensively working on research participant engagement and participant rights in biobanking. To date, this has resulted in her leading (with IT experts) the development of the Dynamic Consent Platform for the Cooperative Health Research in South Tyrol (CHRIS) Study at Eurac Research. This platform has been used by 13.500 individuals since 2011.
She is a member of the Italian Society of Human Genetics and of the task Force on genetic testing of the International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society. She serves as an advisor on multiple EU initiatives, is a member of different international and national advisory boards is member of the PEC of the European Society of Human Genetics and member of the WHO Technical advisory group on genomics.
Dr. Michaela Th. Mayrhofer
Michaela Th. Mayrhofer is a political scientist, sociologist and historian by training. Educated in Vienna, Louvain-la-Neuve, Essex and Paris, her academic career led to various positions and stays at the Centre de Recherche Médecine, Sciences, Santé et Société, the University of Vienna, the Institute of Technology and Society Studies at the Alpen-Adria-Universität Klagenfurt/Vienna/Graz, the Technical University of Vienna, the Fondation Brocher and the Medical University of Graz. She retained a Research Fellowship at the Institut für Technik-und Wissenschaftsforschung at the Alpen-Adria-Universität Klagenfurt as well as at the University of Newcastle. In 2010, she gained her PhD from both the University of Vienna and the Ecole des Hautes Edudes en Sciences Sociales (Vienna/Paris) and was shortlisted for best PhD 2010 by the Austrian Political Science Association (ÖGPW). She was a member of the editorial staff of the Austrian Journal of Political Furthermore, she has served as a member, respectively chair on several scientific and ethical advisory boards, ethics advisory boards and review boards. Science (2013-2017) and is a review editor for Frontiers in Genetics (since 2023). Between 2013 and 2025, she worked at BBMRI-ERIC, the research infrastructure for biobanks and bimolecular resources, where she served as Co-Interim Director General (Feb-Aug 2020) and Head of ELSI Services & Research department (2019-2025). Most recently, she joined the Medical University of Innsbruck's Institute of Human Genetics. Her research focus includes the governance of the life sciences.
Danai Spentzou
Danai Spentzou holds an LLB from National Kapodistrian University Law School, and an LLM in Human Rights Law from Queen Mary University of London. During the last 3 years she has been working as a policy advisor for legislative files in the field of health and environment, for one of top-20 influential Members of the European Parliament for 2024 according to EUmatrix, and she is currently continuing her work alongside the Vice Chair of the Committee on Environment, Health and Food Safety. In parallel to her work in the parliament, she is a PhD candidate for her research related to the legal and ethical issues of bioengineering, at the School of Applied Mathematical and Physical Sciences in the National Technical University of Athens. She is also a coordinator of the Young Voices in Health Policy, an independent and informal network dedicated to bringing together young professionals in the field of EU health policy.
Dr. Ciara Staunton
- What We Stand For
Digital Health Literacy Policy Hub
- Fairness, Transparency & Trustworthiness Ensuring fair access to digital health technologies for all people
- Ethical Innovation: Addressing ethical issues such as privacy, bias, and transparency in AI tools.
- Global Collaboration: Uniting experts from the academia, industry, and government with the communities to co-shape the future of healthcare.