ECCAM 2026 Launch Event

MEP Romana Jerković

Romana Jerković (born 28 November 1964 in Split, Croatia) is a Member of the European Parliament representing Croatia for the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and the S&D Group.

A medical doctor by training, she studied at the University of Rijeka and earned a PhD in Biomedical Sciences at the University of Padua. Before her EU role, she served in the Croatian Parliament, including as Chair of the Inter-parliamentary Co-operation Committee (2017–2020). In the European Parliament she serves as Vice-Chair of the Sub-committee on Public Health and is a member of the Committee on Environment, Public Health and Food Safety. Her work emphasises access to screening and early detection of disease, with a particular focus on women’s health.

Stefan Gijssels

Stefan Gijssels is Chair of the Patient Expert Center (PEC) in Belgium since January 2021.

His book “De Stem van de Patiënt” (the voice of the patient), was published earlier this year, and advocates for a better and formal integration of the patient perspective in medical practice and health policy. In 2018, Stefan Gijssels co-founded and led Digestive Cancers Europe. Stefan is a survivor of a metastatic colorecal cancer.

Dr Gian Paolo Morgano

Gian Paolo Morgano is a research methodologist specializing in guideline development and decision-threshold determination.

He currently works at the European Commission (EC) Joint Research Centre (JRC), where he leads the development of the Colorectal Cancer Screening and Diagnosis Guidelines and oversees the methodological framework for EC cancer guideline development. Dr. Morgano holds a PhD in Health Research Methodology from McMaster University, where he also serves as a part-time assistant professor.

Prof. Iris Lansdorp-Vogelaar

Iris Lansdorp-Vogelaar is Full Professor at the Department of Public Health of Erasmus Medical Center (MC) and head of the research section on evaluation of screening for gastrointestinal disorders.

She has been responsible for the management and development of the well-established Microsimulation Screening Analysis (MISCAN) models for the evaluation of cancer screening. She operates at the forefront of cancer screening worldwide, evidencing from 80 publications in top clinical journals in the past 5 years.

Her work directly influenced cancer screening recommendations from the BMJ Rapid Recommendations Panel, American Cancer Society, and US Preventive Services Task Force, as well as US Medicare reimbursement decisions on CT colonography and stool DNA screening. In 2020, she received a career development award for her research contributing to the successful implementation of risk-based cancer screening.

Dr David Ritchie

David Ritchie, MSc, PhD, is a Project Officer in the Early Detection, Prevention & Infections (EPR) Branch at the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC).

He coordinates preparation of the Third Implementation Report on Cancer Screening in the European Union and previously coordinated the update of the European Code Against Cancer (ECAC5). Before joining IARC, he spent 13 years in Brussels in research and policy roles, contributing to European public health and cancer focused research initiatives.

Dr Carlo Senore

Carlo Senore has a medical degree from the University of Turin. He also completed his post-graduate degree there in Internal Medicine. Following this he gained a Master of Science, Epidemiology from McGill University in Montreal.

He currently runs the Piedmont Region Screening Program at the region’s university hospital ‘CPO Piemonte; AOU Città della Salute e della Scienza’ in Turin. This is following extensive experience in public health particularly related to cancer screening programs.

Since 2004 he has been a member of the faculty at the University of Turin, Medical School lecturing in evidence based medicine as well as being a part of the post-doctoral School of Oncology there.

His research fields include:

• Colorectal and breast cancer screening organisation and evaluation cancer screening compliance; comparative effectiveness of CRC screening strategies; health technology assessment; guidelines development; smoking prevention and control; cancer screening and healthy lifestyle promotion interventions (diet, physical activity and tobacco consumption).
• Experience in design, implementation and analysis of randomized trials evaluating screening strategies, diagnostic technologies and primary prevention interventions, in the development of clinical guidelines and implementation of quality control projects aimed at assessing quality of treatment of colorectal cancer.

Ms Metka Glas

Ms Metka Glas is a certified Caregiver Coach, currently leading patient and caregiver support programs at EuropaColon Slovenia, an organization dedicated to improving the lives of people affected by digestive cancers.

In this role, she designs and manages initiatives that empower patients and their families throughout the cancer journey. Her personal motivation for this work stems from her own experience—over 20 years ago, her father was diagnosed with colorectal cancer and sadly lost his battle with the disease. This experience gave her a deep understanding of the emotional and practical challenges faced by both patients and caregivers. Professionally, she brings over 20 years of experience in marketing, brand management, strategic employee development, and international team leadership. She is also a certified Team Coach and Reinvention Practitioner, supporting individuals and organizations through transformation and change. Her work is driven by empathy, collaboration, and a strong commitment to making healthcare more inclusive, responsive, and human-centered. She is especially passionate about advocating for early-onset digestive cancer patients and strengthening caregiver support systems. She believes in the power of cross-sector cooperation to drive sustainable improvements in care and cancer awareness across Europe.

• Passionate about improving care for early-onset digestive cancer patients (ages 18–49).
• Strong focus on structured support for caregivers and family members.
• Committed to collaboration with healthcare professionals, policymakers, researchers, and patient groups.
• Prioritize awareness, early detection, and destigmatization of digestive cancers in society.

Ms Zorana Maravić

A part of Europacolon and now DiCE since 2012, Zorana has always worked closely with our Full Members and Associate Members. With grace, poise and calm, she is working to help Members’ organisations and DiCE grow.

As CEO, Zorana continues her commitment to DiCE taking on the management of the organisation and ensuring the delivery of its missions and goals. In her past role as Director of Operations she was responsible for the co-ordination and support of Member groups, as well as strengthening the network, through establishing relationships with new organisations. During this she has proven her capacity to deliver successfully. Key projects have included:

• A Survey on the Unmet Needs of Patients Living with Metastatic Colorectal Cancer (mCRC). She recruited more than 800 patients and had the results under her authorship published widely
• DiCE events: Masterclass events – an educational annual meeting for Member groups
• Awareness campaigns including European Colorectal Cancer Awareness Campaigns (ECCAM)
• Pharmaceutical industry and independent consortia projects
• Developing patient support materials with the Patient Advisory Committee (PAC)

Zorana also acts as a public speaker on topics such as patient support, biosimilars and CRC screening. From 2016 until 2018, Zorana served as a Board Member of EuropaColon.

Before working in the Not-For-Profit sector, Zorana worked for 10 years in the pharmaceutical industry, primarily in sales and marketing of innovative oncology drugs as well as on oncology clinical trials.

She holds a degree in molecular biology from the University of Belgrade, Serbia. In 2017, at the University of Sheffield, UK she gained an Executive MBA in Health Management.

MEP Tomislav Sokol

MEP Tomislav Sokol