PRESS RELEASE
Ghent, 12 September 2023
Former director of Health House to lead MEDVIA’s Innovation team
Isabelle Francois, who has led Health House in Leuven for nearly six years, has joined MEDVIA as our new Innovation Director. Isabelle brings a wealth of experience to the post following 25 years of biotech research, intellectual property management and leadership of a world-class showcase for health technology.
Isabelle François is a bio-engineer with a passion for healthcare innovation. She obtained a degree in bio-engineering in cell and gene biotechnology in 1997 at KU Leuven and went on to earn a PhD in Applied Biological Sciences. Isabelle performed research in the field of antifungal medicine and is the (co-)author of more than 30 internationally published peer-reviewed articles.
Before joining MEDVIA, Isabelle was the managing director of Health House in Leuven, a unique experience platform demonstrating the future of health and care. Previous to this, Isabelle was an Intellectual Property (IP) Officer at KU Leuven Research & Development, where she was responsible for writing patents and negotiating contracts between the university and other institutions. Before that, she was a Clinical Trials Coordinator at Fugeia, a company active in the food sector.
Isabelle is the chair of the External Advisory Board of Digital Society at KU Leuven, is the co-chair of the Healthcare Committee at XR Valley and acts as a strategic advisor to Okono food products.
Isabelle Francois, Innovation Director MEDVIA: “I’m excited about joining MEDVIA as it aligns perfectly with my passion for innovation and healthcare. The cluster’s commitment to supporting innovation for better health resonates with my own values. I firmly believe that MEDVIA is at the forefront of revolutionizing the healthcare industry by connecting all relevant stakeholders in the process. I’m looking forward to being part of that transformative journey.”
Herman Verrelst, Chair of the Board: MEDVIA stands for innovation based on collaboration among the medtech, biotech and digital health sectors. With her background in biotechnology and promoting the opportunities provided by AI and other digital health applications, Isabelle Francois perfectly fits in with this value and mission. We look forward to seeing the ways in which she will inspire our current and future members to work together on the goal we all have in common: Improving healthcare for providers and patients.
Also new to MEDVIA
Also joining the MEDVIA staff recently is Lindsay Nuytten. Lindsay will join the communications team as an events organizer and also serve as an assistant to the CEO. Lindsay worked for 14 years for VDAB as the assistant to the director before starting her own business as an event and office manager six years ago.
Continuing to grow
MEDVIA is also looking to expand its team in the coming months and currently has an opening for a Call coordinator to manage the call-for-funding process. Complete information can be found on the MEDVIA website.
About MEDVIA
MEDVIA is one of Flanders’ seven spearhead clusters, each of which represent companies and organizations involved in a key sector in the region. As the healthtech cluster, MEDVIA’s members include medtech and biotech companies, hospitals, life science research centers, digital health services and academia. MEDVIA supports cross-over collaborations among these domains with innovation services that facilitate growth and market access, as well as earmarked funding made available through Flanders Innovation & Entrepreneurship (VLAIO).
For more information:
Lisa Bradshaw, Communications
lisa@medvia.be
