Elli Karagianni, is SNE/ Scientific Project Officer at the Innovative Medicines Initiative JU (IMI JU) , a public- private partnership (PPP) for health between the European Union (represented by the European Commission) and the European pharmaceutical industry (represented by EFPIA,)

Elli is responsible for developing and implementing the Patient Engagement Strategy in IMI which aims to enhance the quality and relevance of the IMI programme from the  patient perspective through early and meaningful engagement.

After obtaining a BA (hons) in Political Sciences, she was  admitted in 2002 to the National School of Public Administration in Greece (ESDD),   and  in 2004 she was appointed as  public administrator to the Greek Ministry of Health where she gained first-hand experience and insights of the planning and implementation of health and social policies at the national level.

Elli has held administrative positions in the public hospital sector where she  became involved  in different projects such as  the Greek Health Atlas project; a perpetual system of data used for measuring and assessing  the adequacy, effectiveness and efficiency of the country’s health services.

She has completed a three year  postgraduate research programme MSc (Master à finalité recherche) at the   School of Advanced Studies in Social Sciences  (Ecole des Hautes  Etudes en Sciences Sociales,  EHESS) in Paris, France where she conducted a qualitative field research studying the evolution of patients’ rights in Europe,  as well as  the different levels of  patient involvement  in the decision-making process on  health policies in France.  This research involved key  players  in health care, such as patients, carers, patient organisations, policy makers  and health care  practitioners.

Elli  also  holds a  joint Master degree in Economics and Human Sciences from the University of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne  and the École Normale Supérieure Paris-Saclay (ENS Paris-Saclay).