Developing future leaders: Building resilient leadership pipelines

Dr Valentina Bugani

Valentina Bugani is Head of Corporate Training and Professional Competency Development at IRCCS Istituto Romagnolo per lo Studio dei Tumori (IRST) “Dino Amadori”, one of Italy’s leading comprehensive cancer centres.

She holds a PhD in Pedagogical Sciences from the University of Bologna, where her research focused on the development and evaluation of the Integrated System of Competencies, an innovative organisational model designed to support workforce development, professional growth and strategic alignment in healthcare organisations.

Her work focuses on health workforce development, leadership, competency management, continuous professional education, organisational learning and change management. She coordinates several institutional initiatives aimed at strengthening leadership capacity, fostering staff engagement and promoting sustainable workforce development.

At the European level, she serves as a member of the Health Working Group of the European Commission’s Harnessing Talent Platform and coordinates the Training Working Group of Clust-ER Health Emilia-Romagna. She is actively involved in European projects and international collaborations focused on health workforce skills, upskilling and organisational innovation.

Her current research and professional interests include leadership development, competency-based management systems and innovative approaches to healthcare workforce sustainability.

Dr Timothy Carandang

Timothy Hudson David Culasino Carandang, MD is a physician from the Philippines with expertise in clinical epidemiology, medical statistics, and health systems research. He is currently pursuing a Master of Science in Epidemiology (Clinical Epidemiology) at the University of the Philippines Manila and serves as a research specialist at Dr. Paulino J. Garcia Memorial Research and Medical Center, where he provides methodological and statistical support to healthcare professionals in designing, conducting, and publishing clinical and health systems research.

As an evidence review expert, he has contributed to several national clinical practice guidelines in the Philippines. He has also authored publications primarily in the field of infectious diseases, with a particular focus on evidence synthesis and diagnostic epidemiology, in international peer-reviewed journals, including Frontiers in Immunology, Scientific Reports, International Journal of Infectious Diseases, and the European Journal of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases.

Outside of medicine and research, Dr. Carandang enjoys reading philosophy and history, creating painting-sculptures, singing, and beatboxing. He believes that creativity and science complement one another in fostering innovation, collaboration, and compassionate, human-centered healthcare.

Dr Anish DL

Dr. Anish DL is a Senior Consultant Neonatologist and Deputy Director at Believers Church Medical College Hospital (BCMCH) in Kerala, India.

An accomplished clinician and administrator, he holds an MD in Pediatrics, a Fellowship from the National Neonatology Forum, and a two-year senior clinical fellowship from the Royal London Hospital, UK. To drive administrative excellence, he also holds an MBA in Hospital and Health Care System Management from BITS -PILANI.

Dr. Anish specializes in neonatal transport and neonatal surgical management, while simultaneously overseeing vital institutional operations, healthcare charity funding, and clinical quality initiatives. Grounded in a distributive leadership philosophy, he bridges the gap between advanced neonatological intensive care and strategic hospital governance.

His diverse background spans international clinical research, simulation training, medical education, and emergency disaster relief work. His career reflects a unique synthesis of clinical mastery and healthcare administration designed to elevate health delivery standards.

Dr Ruiling Guo

Dr. Ruiling Guo is a Professor of Healthcare Administration in the College of Business at Idaho State University in the United States, where she teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in healthcare administration. She earned her Doctor of Health Administration degree from Central Michigan University and brings more than 40 years of combined professional and academic experience in healthcare management and health administration education. Dr. Guo has received multiple research grants and distinguished honors, including a prestigious Fulbright Specialist Award. She has published extensively in leading peer-reviewed journals and contributed numerous book chapters in the fields of healthcare administration and health information science, with her scholarly work reaching both national and international audiences.

Dr. Guo currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Association of University Programs in Health Administration (AUPHA), the Editorial Board of the ACHE’s Healthcare Executive, and is a Distinguished Member of the Academy of Health Information Professionals. She is also a Fellow of the Center for Evidence-Based Management and actively serves as a reviewer for multiple professional organizations and peer-reviewed journals. Dr. Guo’s primary research interests include evidence-based management, healthcare leadership styles, patient safety, population health, rural healthcare management, comparative health systems, and health information science.

Prof. Mark Jeembs Pineda

Mark Jeembs M. Pineda, RN, PBT(ASCPi), MHPEd, DHPEd, FAcadMEd, IPFPH, FIOASD, is a Medical-Surgical Nurse at the North Wing of Tondo Medical Center, a tertiary teaching and training hospital in Manila, Philippines. He previously served in the institution’s Public Health Unit, contributing to disease surveillance and health promotion initiatives.

He earned his Master of Health Professions Education and Diploma in Health Professions Education from the University of the Philippines Manila through the National Teacher Training Center for the Health Professions. He is a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Educators (United Kingdom), an International Practitioner of the Faculty of Public Health (United Kingdom), and a Fellow of the International Organization for Academic and Scientific Development.

His professional and scholarly work focuses on healthcare leadership, health professions education, workforce development, public health, patient safety, and organizational improvement. He has presented research at national and international conferences across Asia and Europe and has contributed to initiatives that strengthen leadership capacity and professional development in healthcare settings.

Drawing from experiences in clinical nursing, public health, research, and education, he remains committed to advancing evidence-informed practice, leadership development, and healthcare quality to improve patient outcomes and strengthen health systems.

Dr Woon Li Seo

Dr Seo Woon Li is the Head & Senior Consultant of the Division of Children’s Emergency (CE) in National University Hospital, Singapore.

Her area of clinical expertise is in emergency and urgent pediatric care, and primary and community paediatric health.

She is the director of the institution’s Residency Leadership Development Program (NUHS RLDP) and is a certified practitioner in Personal Profile Analysis (PPA) and Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire (TEIQue).

She also serves as in the Residency Advisory Committee for the Emergency Medicine Residency in Singapore and is the interim Associate Program Director for the NUH Paediatric Residency Program.

She is the Associate Program Director of the Graduate Diploma in Child and Adolescent Health, providing continued professional development of medical professionals in the delivery of care to children and adolescents in the community.

Dr Seo sits on the National University of Singapore (NUS) Medicine Admissions Committee. She is also a member of the Core Committee of the Standardised Patient Programme at the Centre for Healthcare Simulation, NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine.