Boards

Smart decision making & supervision

General Assembly

The General Assembly (GA) is the highest decision-making governance body in IHI-funded projects. When planning a GA Meeting, all members of the consortium are invited (including team leaders, medical and research personnel, as well as student and trainees). The voting body of the GA is composed of one representative from each partner within the consortium – ideally the team leader. The GA acts as the primary democratic mechanism for the project and is responsible for defining the overall policies, strategic direction, and critical decisions. In AF-B-STEP, the GA consists of at least one representative from each of the 18 consortium partners, while all members of the consortium (including patient representatives, data analysts, and students) are cordially invited to participate in a GA Meeting.

Steering Committee

In IHI-funded projects, the Steering Committee (SC) meets frequently and is the key decision-making body responsible for the overall strategic direction, governance, and management of the project. The SC ensures that AF-B-STEP achieves its objectives. It is composed of the project coordinator (Prof. Paulus Kirchhof, UKE), the project leader (Dr. Mirko de Melis, Medtronic), and the work package leaders, while the project manager (Dr. Christiana Krammer, concentris) organises and facilitates the SC meetings. The SC holds the authority to make high-level decisions, resolve disputes between partners, and monitor risks throughout the project’s lifecycle.

Impact & Innovation Board

The Impact and Innovation Board (IIB) consists of junior and senior members of AF-B-STEP from academia and industry as well as patient representatives. The IIB approves the project’s Dissemination, Exploitation, and Communication (DEC) Plan, monitors the steps being taken, and evaluates dissemination of the project’s results and knowledge gain. Importantly, the IIB oversees and assigns responsibilities for filing and protecting novel intellectual property (IP) generated within the AF-B-STEP project. The IB has been elected during the kick-off meeting in February 2026. The following consortium members serve on the IIB:

  • Dr. Anders Gaarsdal Holst

    CEO

    Acesion Pharma ApS
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  • Prof. Barbara Casadei

    Head, National Heart and Lung Institute

    Imperial College London
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  • Benedict Brown

    Senior Director

    Medtronic Bakken Research Center B.V.
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  • Celestine Sonia Matsinkou Feutu

    EU Project Officer

    European Society of Cardiology
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  • Fernanda Santana

    EU Project Manager

    European Society of Cardiology
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  • Inga Drossart

    Patient Engagement Officer

    European Society of Cardiology
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  • Prof. Dr. Jeff S. Healey

    Professor of Medicine,
    Director of Cardiology

    McMaster University
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  • Prof. Dr. med. Larissa Fabritz

    Full University Professor,
    Consultant Senior Physician

    University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf
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  • Steven A. Lubitz, MD

    Lecturer, Electrophysiologist,
    Translational Medicine for Novartis

    Novartis Pharma AG
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  • Wendy Davis

    Patient Representative
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Data Committee

The Data Committee (DC) acts as the central governing body for managing, protecting, and sharing research data, ensuring compliance with legal regulations (most importantly with the European General Data Protection regulation, GDPR) and project-specific requirements. Their primary roles include developing and reinforcing a data management plan (DMP), monitoring data quality, ensuring ethical compliance of data use, and facilitating the secure sharing and archiving of project data. The Data Committee (DC) has been elected during the kick-off meeting of the AF-B-STEP project. The following consortium members serve on the DC.

  • Alessio Gargaro

    Director Scientific Affairs CRM/EP

    Biotronik SE & Co. KG
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  • Amy J Sehnert, MD

    Chief Medical Officer

    Thryv Therapeutics Inc.
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  • Christoph Eisert

    Head of New Business Development

    Preventicus GmbH
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  • Prof. Dr. med. Daniel Steven

    Head of the Department of Electrophysiology
    University Hospital Cologne

    AFNET (Atrial Fibrillation Network) – Kompetenznetz Vorhofflimmern e.V.
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  • Dr. med. Fabian Heinrich

    Head of the Department of Epidemiology,
    Deputy Director

    University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf
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  • Dr. med. Julius Obergassel

    Clinician Scientist,
    Cardiology Fellow

    University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf
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  • Dr. Marijke Laarakker

    Senior Manager Medical Affairs,
    RM EMEA

    Boston Scientific International S.A.
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  • Pierre Binon

    Medical Data Science Director

    Withings France S.A.
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  • Raphael Schneider

    Senior Principal Scientist

    Medtronic Bakken Research Center B.V.
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  • Dr. Susanne Sehner

    Deputy Head of the Medical
    Biometry Working Group

    University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf
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  • PD Dr. med. Thomas G. Nührenberg

    Senior Clinical Development
    Medical Director

    Novartis Pharma AG
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  • Dr. Udo Schneider

    Data Analyst, Project Lead TK

    Techniker Krankenkasse
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  • Prof. Dr. Ulrich Schotten

    Professor and Department Chair

    Maastricht University
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  • Prof. Dr. William F. McIntyre

    Assistant Professor

    McMaster University
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Ethics Advisory Board

The Ethics Advisory Board (EAB) has been selected at the start of the AF-B-STEP project. It is an independent advisory body consisting of external experts who kindly advise the consortium in all relevant matters throughout the duration of the project to ensure highest possible scientific standards and best possible results.

  • Prof. John Camm

    Professor of Clinical Cardiology (emeritus)
    St. George's University, London, UK

  • Prof. Jonathan Piccini

    Professor of Medicine
    Duke University, North Carolina, USA

  • Prof. Stephen Gilbert

    Professor for Medical Device Regulatory Science
    TU Dresden, Germany

External Steering Committee

The External Steering Committee is an interdisciplinary group of key opinion leaders and data owners who advise the project on analyses, scientific performance, ethical issues and quality of results. It is comprised of the principal investigators (PIs) of the clinical trial and observational research data sets used in the project. This committee will meet once after data harmonisation to discuss the draft analysis plans, another time for commenting on the data analysis procedures, and one last time towards the end of the project for feedback on the results.

  • Prof. Atul Verma

    McGill University Health Centre

  • Prof. Danny Singer

    Massachusetts General Hospital

  • Associate Professor Emma Svennberg

    Karolinska Institute

  • Dr. Giovanni Luca Botto

    Azienda Socio-Sanitaria Territoriale (ASST) Rhodense,
    Garbagnate Milanese

  • Prof. Giuseppe Boriani

    Modena Polyclinic,
    Modena University Hospital

  • Prof. Jason Andrade

    Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute

  • Prof. Jesper Hastrup Svendsen

    University of Copenhagen,
    Department of Clinical Medicine

  • Prof. Jose Luis Merino

    La Paz University Hospital

  • Prof. Kamel Hooman

    New York City Presbyterian Hospital

  • Prof. Karl Georg Häusler

    University of Würzburg

  • Prof. Michiel Rienstra

    University Medical Center Groningen

  • Dr. Nassir Marrouche

    Tulane University

  • Prof. Philipp Sommer

    Heart and Diabetes Center
    North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW), Germany

  • Prof. Rod Passman

    Feinberg School of Medicine,
    Center of Arrhythmia Research

  • Prof. Roland Veltkamp

    Alfried Krupp Krankenhaus

  • Dr. Søren Diederichsen

    University of Copenhagen,
    Department of Clinical Medicine

  • Prof. Wolfram Döhner

    Department of Cardiology, Angiology and Intensive Care Medicine
    Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin

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