Özge Tunçalp

Özge Tunçalp is a distinguished physician and epidemiologist and currently serving as the Executive Director of Institute of Tropical Medicine Antwerp since 1 January 2025. Prior to her role at ITM, she was a medical officer in the Department of Sexual and Reproductive Health and Research, including the research programme of the UN agencies and the World Bank (HRP), at the World Health Organization (WHO). She spearheaded large-scale implementation and innovation research, and developed evidence-based guidelines and knowledge translation tools for country impact, focusing on antenatal care and quality of care. In collaboration with country, regional, and global partners, she employed quantitative and qualitative methodologies, along with innovative approaches, to improve the quality of maternal and perinatal healthcare, including safe abortion services in low- and middle-income countries.

Dr Tunçalp is a recipient of the Maternal Health Visionary Award from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, recognising her leadership in advancing maternal health globally. She holds an MD from the Istanbul School of Medicine, an MPH and PhD from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Yale School of Medicine. Additionally, she is an honorary professor at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and has co-authored over 200 publications.