Department: Department of Public Health and Primary Care

Katrien Vanthomme obtained a PhD in Social Sciences (Vrije Universiteit Brussel, 2017) and a master in sociology (Ghent University, 2008). She is an Assistant Professor Epidemiology and Prevention of Cancer within the Department of Public Health and Primary Care at Ghent University. In this position, she is developing a research line on social inequalities in care throughout the cancer continuum and the development of tailored interventions according to the principles of proportionate universalism.Katrien is, amongst others, co-promotor of a project on the implementation of community health workers as a strategy to increase breast cancer screening participation among underscreened women in Flanders; a project on social inequalities in untimely follow-up of abnormal pap smears; a project studying disparities in the use of preventive health services across migrant backgrounds in Belgium; and a project on social inequalities in HPV vaccination in adolescents.

Walaa Ammar is a postdoctoral fellow at ICRH, Ghent University, where she coordinates research activities and contributes to strategic and operational planning. Her research focuses on the intersections of health and human rights and the sociology of health and illness, particularly in contexts of conflict and complex emergencies. She earned her PhD from the Faculty of Political and Social Sciences at Ghent University in 2024. Her doctoral research examined the experiences of Palestinian women diagnosed with breast cancer, exploring their journeys through an intersectional lens of structural discrimination using a mixed-methods approach. Before joining ICRH, Walaa worked as an Advocacy Officer with WHO, specializing in information management, research, and evidence-based advocacy. She also holds a Master’s in Development Studies with a specialization in conflict and social justice from Erasmus University Rotterdam.

Sara Willems leads the research group on equity in (primary) health care. This interdisciplinary research group leads or partners in numerous national and international research projects on the relation between health care organisation and equity in access to care, treatment and outcomes of care; and the buffering effect of social capital in the relation between social status and health inequity. Publication list: https://biblio.ugent.be. Sara Willems is involved in the development and the implementation of the educational tracks “health equity and diversity” in the medical program at Ghent University. Sara Willems is involved in the design and implementation of several local community health projects and is often consulted by local health authorities. She is chief executive officer of “WGC Watersportbaan”, a community health centre in one of the deprived areas in Ghent.

Sorana Toma is Associate Professor in Migration Studies at the Department of Public Health and Primary Care and a member of CESSMIR. Her research focuses on the intersection of migration and health(care), with particular attention to ethno-racial inequalities in the uptake of preventive healthcare, and the impact of migration experiences — including involuntary immobility — and discrimination on mental health and well-being. She is (co-)PI of several international research consortia, including the PREVENT TOO and PATHWAYS projects. Sorana also coordinates and contributes to several interdisciplinary courses on migration and on ethno-racial inequalities in health and healthcare.

Ines Keygnaert is professor of sexual and reproductive health and coordinates the research line on violence and violation of sexual and reproductive health rights, as well as on gender and sexual health promotion in hard-to-reach, vulnerable and/or minority groups. Her PhD dealt with sexual violence against refugees. Commissioned by the Belgian government, Ines developed, piloted and evaluated the Belgian Care Centres after Sexual Violence. She also coordinated the first representative prevalence study on sexual violence in Belgium, the studies on sexual violence and refugees and developed a range of (inter)national clinical guidelines, prevention tools, procedures and trainings and regularly serves as an expert for various UN bodies and governments. She was awarded the Lucien De Coninck Prize and the Marie Poppelin Prize for her pioneering research with a major social impact .