Encarna Guillen-Navarro

Encarna Guillen-Navarro
  • Clinical Geneticist & Pediatrician
  • Virgen de la Arrixaca University Hospital, IMIB-Arrixaca, University of Murcia, Murcia, Spain; and CIBERER-ISCIII, Madrid, Spain

Dr Encarna Guillen-Navarro is head of the Medical Genetics Section at Virgen de la Arrixaca University Hospital, Murcia, Spain, Professor of Pediatrics in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Murcia, and Principal Investigator of Rare Diseases and Genetics Research Group at the Instituto Murciano de Investigación Biosanitaria (IMIB-Arrixaca). She is also a member of the CIBERER-ISCIII clinical research group, and Coordinator of the ERN-BOND Expert Center at Virgen de la Arrixaca University Hospital, Murcia, Spain.

She gained her medical degree from the University of Murcia and became specialist in Paediatrics (MIR System) at Virgen de la Arrixaca University Hospital. She completed a Fellowship in Medical Genetics in the Human Genetics Programme, at New York University Medical Center, and received her PhD in Public Health and Preventive Medicine in 2000 from the University of Murcia. She is also Master in Health Direction and Management. She was Professor of Genetics and Molecular Biology at New York University School of Medicine from 1995–1997. She was Director of the Chair of Medical Genetics and Rare Diseases at the Catholic University of Murcia from 2013–2015, and is currently Associate Professor at the University of Murcia, a role she first held from 2005–2013. Dr Guillen-Navarro was also Resident Teaching Tutor from 2003–2007 in Virgen de la Arrixaca University Hospital.

Her commitment to rare diseases is evident through different translational research projects, publications, clinical guides and involvement in policy actions and in patient advocacy groups. Dr Guillen-Navarro has played a leading role in National and Regional policy, acting as an expert advisor, and she spent two years as Health Ministry, promoting an integral rare diseases plan and setting rare diseases as a priority in the research strategy. She is involved in different Spanish patient advocacy groups, such as CRECER and ALPE, and has been Regional representative of FEDER for 2 years. Dr Guillen-Navarro has defended the digital transformation of health and the development of strategies for personalized medicine as a tool for better prevention and care of chronic diseases, age-related conditions and rare diseases.

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The EAF is supported by educational grants from:

Ascendis
BioMarin
Pfizer