About us

About

Vision – Constructing the Global Health Tech Lab network through initial building of Health Tech ecosystem of Serbia. This network will include ecosystems of all developing countries of Africa, South America and Asia and all other emerging health tech markets. Furthermore, it will provide knowledge share among developing countries as well as among developing and developed countris enabling crossing of the divides and resulting in health without borders.

Mission – Health Tech Lab will make an impact on global health tech ecosystems and communities through multiple glocal activites, projects and events. There is a real need of gathering all healthcare and tech stakeholders, students and professionals in multidisciplinary settings. This is where the innovation occurs and where innovation growth is enabled and promoted.

Our story

Health Tech Lab (HTL) was created in 2018 to meet the real need of building an impactful health-tech ecosystem of Serbia. Core mission of HTL is to identify health challenges and create and support innovative, technological solutions with the patient always being at the core.

Some of the key achievements during the first two years are the following:

  • Enabling total of of 8 health-tech meet-ups from which 5 were part of partnering conferences
  • One self-orchestrated conference marking the partnership and membership within European Connected Health Alliance
  • 1 ducational workshop on data protection – GDPR in Health
  • Co-organization of health-tech startup competition Startup Jerusalem, together with Israeli embassy in Serbia and Friedrich Naumann Foundation for freedom
  • Co-organization of pre-acceleration program for health startups in collaboration with the Innovation Forum Cambridge, UK and the Science and Technology Park Belgrade
  • Active collaboration with government officials in order to address key legal and bureaucratic barriers for health tech startups
  • Membership with European Connected Health Alliance-ECHAlliance since June 2018
  • Becoming local expert and international jury at the United Nations based World Summit Awards since February 2019
  • Distinguished as one of four finalists of the Science & Research for Women In Tech program in Paris, France.

The ultimate goal is glocal multidisciplinary lab, from research to prototyping, up to ready–to-market solutions. After Serbia, Health Tech Lab model will be reproduced in other developing countries: Africa, South America and Asia and others.

We look forward to collaborating with you. Best regards!

Cordially,

Ivana Kostić & Damjan Damnjanović

Team

Ivana Kostić

Dr. Ivana Kostić is the co-founder of the Health Tech Lab (HTL). HTL was created after the organization of the First MIT Medical hackathon in Belgrade, in cooperation with MIT hacking medicine. She is also a technology transfer associate at the Innovation Fund and MASHAV alumni.

Ivana holds PhD degree from MIT Portugal Program in Bioengineering Systems in collaboration with Portuguese Laboratory-Biomaterials & Stem Cell-based Therapeutics Lab- and -Karp Lab at MIT together with Brigham and Women’s and Boston Children’s Hospital. These collaborative efforts are aimed at developing minimally invasive and effective therapies for ischemic organs. The collaboration is still ongoing.

Her initial interest in the field began during her studies in physiology at the University of Belgrade and further enriched by the practical knowledge gained through the practice of IAESTE in Brazil and the First BSRT Summer School for Regenerative Medicine in Berlin.

Dr. Ivana Kostić je suosnivač Health Tech Lab-a / Laboratorije zdravstvenih tehnologija. HTL je nastao nakon organizovanja Prvog MIT medicinskog hakatona u Beogradu, u saradnji sa MIT hacking medicine. Ona je takođe saradnik za transfer tehnologije u Fondu za inovacionu delatnost i alumnista MASHAV-a.

Ivana je doktorirala na MIT Portugal programu / Bioinženjerski sistemi u saradnji sa portugalskom laboratorijom –Biomaterials & Stem Cell-based Therapeutics Lab– i –Karp Lab-om na MIT-u zajedno sa Brigham and Women’s i Boston Children’s Hospital. Ovi zajednički napori su usmereni na razvoj minimalno invazivnih i efikasnih terapija za ishemične organe. Saradnja je još uvek u toku.

Njeno početno zanimanje za ovu oblast započelo je tokom studija fiziologije na Univerzitetu u Beogradu i dodatno obogaćeno praktičnim znanjem stečenim kroz praksu IAESTE u Brazilu i Prvu BSRT letnju školu za regenerativnu medicinu u Berlinu.

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Damjan Damnjanović

Born and raised in Belgrade. Graduated from the Faculty of Dramatic Arts at the Department of Movie and TV Production. Received his Master’s degree in State Management and Humanitarian Affairs as a scholarship holder from the Government of Italy and the European Parliament.

Dina’s father, expert in direct marketing, digital nomad, bibliophile, co-founder of Blue circle, ex President of Serbian patient Association. Co-Founder Health Tech with Ivana Kostić.

Rođen je i odrastao u Beogradu. Diplomirao na Fakultetu dramskih umetnosti na Odseku za filmsku i TV produkciju. Magistrirao je iz oblasti državne uprave i humanitarnih poslova kao stipendista Vlade Italije i Evropskog parlamenta.

Dinin tata, stručnjak za direktni marketing, digitalni nomad, bibliofil, suosnivač Plavog kruga, bivši predsednik Srpskog udruženja pacijenata. Suosnivač Health Tech s Ivanom Kostić.

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Maša Komnenić

Information Security and Data Privacy Specialist | Certified Data Protection Officer (GDPR)

Masha has been working as a Data Protection Officer for the past 5 years, helping early stage biomedical startups from UK and Ireland, and has contributed as a mentor on many international business accelerators. She specialises in implementing, monitoring and auditing business compliance with privacy regulations (HIPAA, PIPEDA, E privacy directive, GDPR, PCI DSS, EU-U.S. and Swiss-U.S. Privacy Shield Frameworks). As a member of the ECHAlliance Ecosystem Serbia she works closely with patient associations, Serbian Government and private medical secretor advising on information security and personal data protection.

Masha studied Law at the Belgrade University and has Masters degree from the Faculty of Law. She has passed the Bar examination in 2016 and got GDPR certification from the PECAB in 2018.

Areas of Expertise:

  • Early Stage Businesses Development
  • Information Security
  • Regulatory Compliance
  • Legal research

Stručnjak za sigurnost informacija i privatnost podataka | Ovlašćeni službenik za zaštitu podataka (GDPR)

Maša poslednjih 5 godina radi kao službenik za zaštitu podataka, pomažući biomedicinskim startapima u Velikoj Britaniji i Irskoj te je tako doprinela mnogim mentorima za međunarodno poslovanje. Specijalizovala se za sprovođenje, nadzor i reviziju usklađenosti poslovanja sa propisima o privatnosti (HIPAA, PIPEDA, E direktiva o privatnosti, GDPR, PCI DSS, EU-SAD i švajcarsko-američki okviri zaštite privatnosti). Kao članica ECHAlliance ekosistema Srbija usko sarađuje sa udruženjima pacijenata, lokalnom Vladom i privatnim medicinskim sektorom koji savetuje o sigurnosti informacija i zaštiti ličnih podataka.

Maša je studirala pravo i magistrirala na na Pravnom fakultetu, Univerziteta u Beogradu. Položila je pravosudni ispit 2016. godine i od 2018. godine stekla je GDPR certifikat od PECAB-a.

Područja stručnosti:

  • Razvoj preduzeća u ranoj fazi
  • Sigurnost informacija
  • Pridržavanje propisa
  • Pravna istraživanja

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David Vučen

David Vučen is a student of medical biochemistry at the Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Belgrade. He is very active in the student organizations BPSA and NAPSer, where in the past few years he has participated in the organization of numerous educational and mobility projects, workshops and congresses. He is the co-founder of the AlgiOx startup and served as Public Relations Officer in 2019. He started working as a teaching assistant at the Health Tech Lab since its inception and is currently serving as a Community Manager. He is driven by a strong desire to support and develop health care start-ups and innovations in the future, with a focus on disruptive technologies.

David Vučen je student medicinske biohemije na Farmaceutskom fakultetu u Beogradu. Veoma je aktvan u studentskim organizacijama BPSA i NAPSer, gde je u proteklih nekoliko godina učestvovao u organizaciji brojnih edukativnih projekata, projekata mobilnosti, radionica i kongresa. Ko-osnivač je startapa AlgiOx i tokom 2019. godine je vršio funkciju Public Relations Officer-a. Svoj rad u Health Tech Lab-u je od samog osnivanja počeo kao asistent, a trenutno vrši fuknciju Community Manager-a. Vođen je velikom željom da se u budućnosti bavi podrškom i razvojem staratpova i inovacija u oblasti zdravstva, sa akcentom na disruptivne tehnologije.

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Milica Zlatanović

Milica Zlatanović is a second-year student at the Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Belgrade. From 2015 to 2019, Milica was a member of the local youth establishment “Vladimir Mandić Manda” in Valjevo. During that time, she volunteered and organized numerous educational projects. Milica was a scholarship holder at Goethe Institute and has participated in Europen Youth Parliament of Serbia events. In 2020, she took part in UNICEF Serbia and U-Report project focusing on mental health and well-being during the quarantine. She plays piano, speaks both English and German, and is keen on volunteering and youth engagement.

Nowadays, Milica writes articles and news stories for the faculty journal, SupHa magazine. She is a motivated individual, always curious and eager to learn more about the world she lives in.

Milica Zlatanović je studentkinja druge godine Farmaceutskog fakulteta Univerziteta u Beogradu. Od 2015. do 2019. godine, Milica je bila član lokalne omladinske organizacije „Vladimir Mandić Manda“ u Valjevu. Za to vreme, organizovala je i bila deo brojnih obrazovnih projekata. Milica je bila stipendista Gete instituta i učestvovala je u događajima Evropskog parlamenta mladih u Srbiji. Tokom 2020. godine bila je volonter projekta UNICEF-a Srbija i U-Report-a koji se fokusirao na mentalno zdravlje tokom karantina. Svira klavir, govori engleski i nemački jezik, a gaji i veliku ljubav prema volontiranju i angažovanju mladih.

Danas, Milica piše članke i vesti za fakultetski časopis SupHa. Ona je motivisana osoba, uvek radoznala i željna da sazna više o svetu u kojem živi.

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Arsen Pejin

Made his first steps in Sombor before moving to Belgrade where he studies Pharmacy at the Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Belgrade. As a member of Belgrade Pharmacy Students’ Association coordinated international Student Exchange Programme with students from more than fifteen countries. Trumpet player who enjoys nature and wants to contribute to making world a better place for all of us and believes health care innovations are one step forward to achieving that goal.

Advisory board

Martin Mössler

Mag.phil. Martin Mössler, MSc (LSE)
Managing Director | ESA BIC Austria General Manager | ESA BA Austria Ambassador

Martin Mössler studied mechanical engineering at Graz University of Technology, then Political Science
in Salzburg, International Relations in Oxford, and completed a Master’s degree at the London School
of Economics and Political Science (LSE). Professional positions led to the staff of Austria’s Federal
President, Dr. Heinz Fischer, the management of a tourism company as well as the rectorate of the
University of Applied Arts in Vienna as well as University of Technology. From 2010-2016 he
furthermore served as assistant to the Rector of Graz University of Technology.
Since 2015 he is member of the “Council for a 21st Century” dealing with the future of technology
related employment. Martin is furthermore on the board of Europe’s biggest business incubator
network, European Business Network (EBN).
In 2016, Martin Mössler was appointed Managing Director of Science Park Graz, General Manager of
ESA BIC Austria and ESA BA Ambassador. Since then, Science Park Graz was developed into the leading
start-up incubator in Austria and SEE.

Consultants & friends

Ivan Delević

PRESIDENT & CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, ORTHOSENSOR INC.

Ivan Delevic brings a wealth of medical device industry experience from his 25 years of leadership roles with Johnson & Johnson, GE Healthcare, more recently as an SVP Corporate Development and an officer at MAKO Surgical where he played a pivotal role in the company’s successful growth and acquisition by Stryker. Ivan is currently the CEO of OrthoSensor, a technology leader in orthopedic sensor technologies. He has experience both domestically and internationally with previous roles at GE Healthcare including General Manager for Molecular Imaging EMEA, Global Marketing and Sales VP for Surgical Navigation and extensive Business Development/M&A expertise. Mr. Delevic was also a co-founder of a business where he has served as a business development and strategy advisor to numerous medical device companies. He is a Board Member of OrthoSensor, Insightec, Dermasensor, Pristine Surgical and Enmovi. He holds a M.B.A. from the Technical University of Budapest through a joint program with Herriot-Watt University and a M.S. in Electrical Engineering from the Technical University of Budapest.

Startup advisors

Maja Čonkić

Seasoned professional in clinical research industry with over 20 years of experience, with expertise in rare disease, pediatrics and medical device.

Managing Director and owner of AXIOM International Contract Researh Organization (CRO) operating in the region of ex-Yugoslavia and surrounding countries for over 12 years.

Vice-President of KLINIS Association of Advancement of Clinical Research of Serbia since its foundation in February 2012.

Member of EFGCP and MedTech Europe Medical Technology Stakeholder Alliance since its foundation.

Member of the EFGCP Initiative on Patient Information Sheet (PIS) Improvement Working Group .

Author and director of INFORMED CONSENT short educational film explaining 20 elements of Informed Consent process (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qUBmcn0acwI)

Co-Author of Clinical Trials Hero Exibition at Educational Museum Belgrade (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64sdb9xiYTU)

In parallel translator and court interpreter for the courts of law in Serbia and Bulgaria. Also, international lecturer, author of several textbooks and dictionaries.

 

Професионалац у индустрији клиничких испитивања са преко 20 година искуства, са експертизом у области ретких болести, педијатрије и медицинских средстава.

 

Директор и власник уговорне истраживачке организације AXIOM International, која послује у региону бивше Југославије и суседним земљама преко 12 година.

Подпредседник Удружења за унапређивање клиничких испитивања Србије КЛИНИС од оснивања фебруара 2012. год.

Члан алијансе EFGCP и MedTech Europe (Medical Technology Stakeholder Alliance) од оснивања.

Члан радне групе Иницијативе за побошање формулара информисаног пристанка Европског форума за Добру клиничку праксу

Аутор и режисер кратког образовног филма ИНФОРМИСАНИ ПРИСТАНАК, који објашњава 20 елемената процеса информисаног пристанка (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qUBmcn0acwI)

Коаутор изложбе ХЕРОЈ КЛИНИЧКИХ ИСПИТИВАЊА у Педагошком музеју у Београду (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64sdb9xiYTU)

Упоредо, преводилац и судски тумач за судове у Србији и Бугарској. Такође, међународни предавач, аутор неколико уџбеника и речника

 

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