Research and Academic Advisor
Tania Pastrana, MD PD
Tania Pastrana currently works as the Senior Research Fellow at the Department of Palliative Medicine at the University Hospital RWTH Aachen in Germany. As the IAHPC Research and Academic advisor, the goal of Tania’s work is to support IAHPC’s efforts in generating evidence that will lead to decision making in palliative care and strengthening palliative care education and skills among providers to achieve IAHPC’S vision of a world free of health-related suffering.
In her role as Research adviser, Tania works supporting the design, implementation, analysis of data and publication of studies conducted by the IAHPC and allied institutions. In her role as Academic adviser, Tania supports the design, development and teaching of courses and workshops for the IAHPC. She works closely with the Senior Advocacy Director in her work with multilateral organizations and with the Executive Director in determining the research and educational priorities.
In addition, Tania writes the column “Under my microscope” in the IAHPC monthly newsletter where she presents current scientific research. She also co-authors journal articles and book chapters, and represents the IAHPC in collaborative research projects with academic institutions and civil society organizations.
Tania joined the IAHPC team in 2010 and since then, has been involved in different research projects, such as the Essential Practices and Opioid Price Watch. Her role has expanded over the years to her current position as Research and Academic Advisor.
Tania earned her degree in medicine from Universidad de Caldas, Colombia. At the University of Munich, she studied Sociology, Social Anthropology and Social Psychology and obtained a doctorate in Psychosomatic Medicine and Medical Anthropology at the University of Munich and Max Planck Institute. She has a master in Community Health (University of Heidelberg, Germany) and other in Medical Education (University of Heidelberg, Germany). She concluded her postdoctoral training (Habilitation) in Global Palliative Care at the University of Aachen.
Tania lives in Aachen, Germany, where she works as Assistant Professor for Global Palliative Care since 2007. She loves dancing and travelling around the world.