HELT TALKS

What are the 'HELT Talks' ?

HELT stands for Health, Law, and Technology – three broad subject areas that intersect each other in discourses around improving quality and access to health care, or advancing medical research beyond the state-of-the-art. Following on the success of the HELT Symposium, our annual flagship event which brings together representatives from the academia, industry, research organisations, healthcare professionals and policymakers, the HELT Talks was conceived as a year-round (monthly) event, providing a dynamic platform for thought-provoking discussions and stimulating debates on the future of digital health and care, through the prism of regulatory responses and relevant policy initiatives.

What is the typical format of a session at HELT Talks?

HELT Talks sessions are typically divided into two parts. In the first part, each speaker gives a presentation on a specific topic, touching upon particular challenges and open issues around the integration of technology in the realm of health care that require delving into legal and regulatory frameworks. The second part of the session aims at encouraging a deeper level of reflection on the topic under discussion, through organic conversations between the speakers and the audience.

What kind of topics are covered at HELT Talks?

HELT Talks cover a breadth of topics on law, health and technology, ranging from legal challenges for the use of health data and regulatory issues concerning advanced medical technology, to the use of artificial intelligence in medicine, data governance and data extraterritoriality in health care.

TALK of the Month

16 June 2025 | 17.00 - 18.30

Exploring The Challenges Of Implementing The European Health Data Space (EHDS)

We will have the opportunity to hear from Prof. Paul Quinn, Director of the VUB Health and Ageing Law Lab (HALL), and Dr. Inge Franki, EU Case Manager at Belgian Health Data Agency. During the session, Prof. Quinn will discuss his recent paper on the role of Health Data Access Bodies under the EHDS, whilst Dr Franki will talk about the lessons she has learned in her role in bringing the EHDS to life in Belgium.

Speakers

Prof. Dr. Paul Quinn

Vrije Universiteit Brussel - Health & Ageing Law Lab (VUB-HALL)

Paul is a Law Professor at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB – Free University of Brussels). He is an expert in legal and ethical issues related to the use of health data. His expertise includes data protection, privacy issues, AI, and the secondary use of health data. He also completed his PhD on issues related to stigmatization and discrimination. He is the founder of the Health and Ageing Law Lab (HALL) at VUB. He coordinates research on such issues through a range of international and national consortia. He has successfully secured participation in numerous research projects as an expert on legal and ethical issues related to privacy and data protection. Paul is also a member of the University’s Ethics Board for Research in the Social Sciences and the University Hospital Medical Ethics Commission. Before entering academia, Paul worked in the legal industry in the UK. He trained as a Barrister (Bar of England and Wales) and is a member of Gray’s Inn. Paul holds degrees in European and International Law (LLM, Institute of European Studies, Brussels), Law (MA, University of Sheffield), and Biochemistry (University of Sheffield). Paul is an Irish citizen and has lived in Ireland, the UK, and Belgium.

Dr. Inge Franki

Belgian Health Data Agency

Inge started her first experience with data management at KU Leuven, in 2015, by setting up the Belgian Cerebral Palsy Registry. She then moved to Sciensano as a project and database manager at the disease-specific registries in 2021. Since June 2024, Inge has been the EU Case Manager at the HDA.