Advocate for Women's Reproductive Health

14+ years of international experience in the academic and nonprofit sector. experienced project and team leader. passionate networker and partnership builder across disciplines and cultures. social scientist with specializations in reproductive health and bioethics.

Expertise

  • Social egg freezing - women's experiences and viewpoints in Austria and the Netherlands; egg freezing regulation in Austria, Germany, Israel, the Netherlands

  • Women's reproductive health - fertility choices; the politics of reproduction; assisted reproduction

  • Donor human milk - regulation of donor human milk in the EU

  • Newborn health - infant and family centred developmental care during the COVID-19 pandemic, preterm health

  • Harmful practices - female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C), prental sex selection and sex-selective abortion

About me

I am a social scientist specialised in women’s health, with a focus on reproductive health and assisted reproductive technologies including social egg freezing, maternal and newborn care, gender equity, and harmful practices such as sex-selective abortion. I hold a PhD in political science and a master’s degree in international healthcare management, complemented by trainings in women’s health counselling, bioethics, and sexual and reproductive health.For more than 14 years, I have worked across public health and academia internationally. Since September 2023, I have served as Deputy Head of Public Affairs at BBMRI-ERIC, a European research infrastructure in the Health and Life Sciences. In this role, I strengthen member state relations, support strategic planning, build partnerships, and contribute to European projects, including in the field of One Health.Previously, I led the Scientific Affairs department at the European Foundation for the Care of Newborn Infants (now the Global Foundation), overseeing EU- and industry-funded research and advocacy projects. Earlier in my career, I was a Marie Skłodowska-Curie postdoctoral fellow at Erasmus University Rotterdam and a lecturer and program coordinator at the MCI Department of International Health and Social Management. I have also held visiting researcher positions at De Montfort University’s Centre for Reproduction Research and at the Karolinska Institute’s Medical Management Centre.Beyond my professional roles, I have volunteered with OCADES Caritas Burkina Faso and UN Women Austria, among others, and I am a European Health Forum Gastein Fellow as well as a member of Women in Global Health Austria.I am a dedicated networker and speaker, passionate about building partnerships that bridge cultures and disciplines.

Talks (selection)

  • Health Science Forum Vienna: Science Meets Demography - Reproductive Medicine at the Intersection of Ethics and Innovation, 2024

  • Congress of the European Academy of Paediatric Societies (EAPS), 2022

  • International Conference on Human Milk Science and Innovation, 2022

  • Infant Health Policy Summit, 2021

  • Policy launch event: Making Human Milk Matter – The need for regulation in the European Union, 2020

  • International Expert Symposium: Comparative and transnational perspectives on technologies of fertility preservation and extension, 2019

  • AFIN International Conference: Towards Reproductive (In)Justice?: Mobilities, Technologies, Labourings & Decisions, 2019

  • UNESCO Chair in Bioethics World Conference, 2018

  • Geneva Foundation for Medical Education and Research in collaboration with WHO/RHR und OMPHI - Oxford Maternal & Perinatal Health Institute, 2017

  • ISA Human Rights Joint Conference, 2015

  • ESC Congress “Challenges in Sexual and Reproductive Health”, 2014

Teaching experience

  • Interdisciplinary Lecture Series “Interventions: Reproduction as Technological, Social, and Cultural Experiment” (Medical University of Innsbruck, master, German)

  • Healthcare Ethics (Erasmus University Rotterdam, master, English)

  • Human Rights & Ethics (Management Center Innsbruck, bachelor, English)

  • Ethical Decision Making (Management Center Innsbruck, master, English)

  • Healthcare Governance (Erasmus University Rotterdam, master, English)

  • Marketing for Nonprofit Organisations (Management Center Innsbruck, bachelor, German)

  • Moderation & Presentation Skills (Management Center Innsbruck, bachelor, German)

  • Advanced Research Methods (Erasmus University Rotterdam, master, English)

  • Thesis supervision (Erasmus University Rotterdam & Management Center Innsbruck, bachelor & master, English & German)

Publications

Find a complete list here:

Scientific articles and commentaries (selection)

  • Perspectives on Implementing European Newborn Health Standards: Insights From Parent Representatives and Healthcare Professionals. Acta Paediatrica, 2025.

  • Identifying outcomes and outcome measures in neonatal family-centered care trials: a systematic review. Pediatric Research, 2024.

  • ResQ Family: Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) Infection in Infants and Quality of Life of Families—Study Protocol of a Multi-Country Family Cohort Study. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2023.

  • Parents’ experiences regarding neonatal care during the COVID-19 pandemic—country-specific findings of a multinational survey. BMJ Open, 2022.

  • An unconventional path to conventional motherhood: A qualitative study of women's motivations and experiences regarding social egg freezing in the Netherlands. Gynecology Obstetrics and Human Reproduction, 2021.

  • Between “Medical” and “Social” egg freezing: A comparative analysis of egg freezing regulations in Austria, Germany, Israel, and the Netherlands. Bioethical Inquiry, 2021.

  • Zero separation: infant and family-centred developmental care in times of COVID-19. Commentary. The Lancet Child and Adolescent Health, 2021.

  • Neonatal care during the COVID-19 pandemic - a global survey of parents’ experiences regarding infant and family-centred developmental care. EClinicalMedicine, 2021.

  • Making human milk matter: the need for EU regulation. Commentary. The Lancet Child and Adolescent Health, 2021.

  • Unveiling the controversy on egg freezing in The Netherlands: A Q-methodology study on women’s viewpoints. Reproductive Biomedicine & Society Online, 2021.

  • Women’s viewpoints on egg freezing in Austria: an online Q-methodology study. BMC Medical Ethics, 2021.

  • Eizellen einfrieren für später? Die Kontroverse um Social Egg Freezing in Österreich. Juridikum, 2020.

  • Harmful Practices on the Global Agenda: Comparing Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting and Gender-Biased Sex Selection. Autrepart, 2018.

  • Setting the International Agenda: The Case of Prenatal Sex Selection. The international journal of interdisciplinary civic and political studies, 2017.

Books and book chapters
(selection)

  • Boon and Bane of Assisted Reproductive Technologies: The impact of son preference and prenatal sex selection in a globalized world. 2019.

  • Human Trafficking and Exploitation for the Purpose of Reproduction. 2018.

  • Human Trafficking and Exploitation – Lessons from Europe. London/New York: Routledge, 2018 (eds).

  • Female Genital Mutilation in Europe – An overall approach to eliminate the practice. Saarbrücken: AV, 2013.

Policy papers and project reports
(selection)

  • Zero separation. Together for better care! Infant and family-centred developmental care in times of COVID-19—A global survey of parents’ experiences. Project report, 2021.

  • Making Human Milk Matter - The need for regulation in the European Union. Policy Recommendations, 2020.

  • Health of the East Coast population of India. ACCESS Health International, Project report, 2011.

  • Health Needs of North Coastal Prakasam region Andhra Pradesh, India. ACCESS Health International, Project report, 2011.

Media coverage & contributions

  • Der Nachwuchs aus dem Gefrierschrank. Wiener Zeitung: 2 August 2024.

  • Ice, ice, baby? Social Egg Freezing und die Hoffnung auf Familie. Die Fruchtbar: 28 October 2023.

  • Der verbotene Kinderwunsch. Falter: 22 February 2022.

  • Social freezing. RoSa vzw, Pers:pectief: 25 February 2021.

  • Frauen: die treibende Kraft. Weltnachrichten: 20 September 2018.

  • Gleichberechtigt? Noch lange nicht. Interview. Kurier: 4 August 2018.

Contact

In case of questions, comments or inquiries, please get in touch.