João Filipe Raposo graduated in Medicine in 1988 from the Medical School of the University of Lisbon and obtained a PhD in Medicine (Endocrinology) in 2004 from Nova Medical School, with a thesis on mathematical models of calcium physiology. He has been the Clinical Director of APDP – Diabetes Portugal since 2008 and a Guest Professor at Nova Medical School since 2006, teaching Public Health. He is also Chair-Elect of IDF Europe (2025)
Board
President: Tatjana Milenkovic, North Macedonia
Tatjana Milenkovic is a Professor of internal medicine at the University “St Cyril and Methodius”, Medical Faculty in Skopje, Macedonia. She works at the Clinic of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolic Diseases since 1985, where in 1995 she has established the Department of education for people with diabetes – and she has been Head of the department ever since. She completed her specialty training in Internal Medicine 1991, a PhD in Medical Science in 1999, and sub specialty training in Endocrinology in 2004.
She completed clinical training 1996 in Steno Diabetes Center, Denmark and 2000 at Ipswich Hospital, UK. She is engaged in education for patients and families with diabetes and in designing and implementing a program for certification of diabetes educators in Macedonia. In co-operation with the World Health Organisation (WHO), she has organised education in Macedonia for healthcare professionals dealing with diabetes. She has been an invited lecturer at several EASD Postgraduate Courses, where she has educated future diabetologists, both theoretically and practically, on TPE. She organised a similar course together with EASD in Macedonia.
Since 2013, she is the President of Macedonian Diabetes Association, also the President of the Macedonian Scientific Association of endocrinologists and diabetologists since 2014. Elected as the President of the Diabetes Education Study Group 2023/27. She served as a member of IDF Europe board 2020/2023, reelected 2023/2025. She served as a member of ESE (European Society of Endocrinology) educational committee 2021-2025.
President elect: João Filipe Raposo, Portugal
Executive committee: Prof. Florian TOTI, Albania
Received the title of Doctor in Medical Sciences on 2005, with the thesis: « Prevalence of Diabetes, and its chronic complications, metabolic control and Diabetes treatment in Tirana district » Faculty of Medicine, Tirana University Tirana / ALBANIA.
Prof. Assoc. in 2010 and Professor of Medicine, Tirana Medical University in 2015.
Participant on several national and international programs on Diabetes, such as ALBDIAB, Screening Diabetic retinopathy 15 year s after St. Vincent, IMAGE Project, invited lector at EASD postgraduated course, and national representant of IWGDF.
Initiator and moderator of different training programs for PWD, GP, nurses and pharmacists in Albania.
Executive committee: Prof Mohamad Hassanein, FRCP, CCST, MPHIL, MBCHB, UK
Mohamed Hassanein is a Professor of Medicine, at Mohamed Bin-Rashid University, Dubai, senior consultant in Endocrinology and Diabetes at Dubai Hospital, Dubai, and H Professor of Medicine, Gulf Medical University, UAE. He’s also a co-founder of diabetes diploma/MSC for Cardiff University, UK since 2007. He was appointed to the post of Consultant in the Department of Endocrinology and Diabetes at in UK in 2002. Dr Hassanein graduated from the Faculty of Medicine, Alexandria, Egypt. His main research interest is in the field of diabetes and Ramadan. He co-authored recommendations papers on this subject for the American Diabetes Association (ADA) in 2005 and 2010, and for the British Medical Journal in 2010, Diabetes Canada in 2017 as well as the IDF-DAR practical guidelines, 2016 and 2021. Dr Hassanein other areas of interest are educational programs for people with diabetes and/or HCP where he won the first prize for this from Diabetes UK and EASD. He has participated as the first author and/or a co-author in numerous studies, regional and international guidelines including studies on prevalence of diabetes, obesity, hypertension and is the first author for the Emirates Cardiometabolic guidelines. He has published over 100 papers. He’s also the associate editor of Dubai Diabetes and Endocrinology Journal
Executive committee: Prof. Tsvetalina Tankova, MD, PhD, DMedSc Medical University – Sofia, Bulgaria
Professor of Endocrinology, Head of Department of Diabetology at University Hospital of Endocrinology, Faculty of Medicine, Medical University – Sofia. Specialist in Internal Medicine and Endocrinology and Metabolic Diseases. Master’s degree in Public Health and Health Management, MU-Sofia. Trainings at WHO Collaborating Center, University Hospital, Geneva; Switzerland; King’s College Hospital, London, Oxford, Cambridge, UK; Steno Diabetes Center, Copenhagen.
Author of over 290 articles in national and international peer-reviewed journals; Over 510 presentations at national and international congresses and symposia.
ASCLEPIUS Award for outstanding achievements in medicine of the Medical University – Sofia in 2024; awarded the Grand Prize for Research in Life sciences of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences in 2025.
Member of the Board of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD). Author in 2022 ADA/EASD consensus report on management of hyperglycemia in type 2 diabetes. Member of the Guidelines Oversight Committee (GOC) at EASD.
Chair of the Expert Committee on Endocrinology at the Bulgarian Ministry of Health.
Main research interests in the field of prediabetes, obesity, metabolic syndrome, glucose variability, prevention and complications of diabetes, technologies in diabetes control and management.
Executive committee: Associate professor Dario Rahelic, Croatia
Associate professor Dario Rahelic, MD, Ph.D., FACE, FDI, FRCP Edin. is a specialist of internal medicine, endocrinologist and diabetologist. He is the director of Vuk Vrhovac University Clinic for Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolic Diseases, Merkur University Hospital, Zagreb, Croatia. Dr. Rahelic served as a Board member and Secretary of IDF Europe in the biennium 2015-2017 and chair of IDF Young Leaders in Diabetes Programme. He was a president of the Croatian Society for Diabetes and Metabolic Disorders of the Croatian Medical Association 2014/2026 an executive committee member of Diabetes and Cardiovascular Disease Study Group of EASD. He is an associate professor at Catholic University of Croatia School of Medicine and an associate professor at Josip Juraj Strossmayer University of Osijek School of Medicine. Ass. prof. Rahelic is a Fellow of the American College of Endocrinology (FACE), a Fellow of the American College of Nutrition (FACN), a Fellow of Diabetes India (FDI), and a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh (FRCP Edin). He is a visiting professor at the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Skopje, Republic of North Macedonia.
Executive committee: Professor Zelija Velija Asimi, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Professor Zelija Velija Asimi is a specialist in internal medicine and a subspecialist in endocrinology and diabetology, currently employed at the Medicana Sarajevo hospital (Medicana Health Group) in Sarajevo. She is a full-time professor of internal medicine and endocrinology. She is the president of the Association of endocrinologists and diabetologists in Bosnia and Herzegovina since 2016. She is a member of the American College of Endocrinology (FACE) and a member of the Membership Committee of the European Society of Endocrinology. She is the author of more than 40 scientific papers, a participant in numerous scientific projects, conferences and trainings. She is a member of the European Society of Endocrinology (ESE), the American Association of Clinical Endocrinology (AACE), the European Society for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) and the International Diabetes Federation (IDF).
Executive committee: Cornelia Bala, MD, PhD, LL.B, Romania
Cornelia Bala, MD, PhD, LL.B is a board-certified senior physician and works as Professor of Diabetes and Nutrition at “Iuliu Hatieganu” University of Medicine and Pharmacy Cluj-Napoca, Romania. She has over 70 publications in peer reviewed journals and is the author and co-author of 20 book chapters and 2 books. Main research areas include diabetes and its cardiovascular and neurologic complications, biomarkers and metabolomic analysis, chronobiology and sleep disorders, obesity, patient education. Cornelia Bala serves as president of the Society for Diabetic Neuropathy, director of communication of the Romanian Federation of Diabetes, Nutrition and Metabolic Diseases, vice-president of the Romanian Association for the Study of Obesity, secretary of the Diabetes Education Study Group and vice-president of the Consultative Commission for Diabetes at the Ministry of Health. She has a degree in law at Babes-Bolyai University in Cluj-Napoca and is involved in diabetes and obesity policy-making initiatives in Romania and at European level.