About Wikilife
Founders
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Daniel Nofal
Co-founder
dnofal@wikilife.orgAfter years of thinking about it, and a few weeks after returning from TED, I decided to finally start the project and Geraldine came on-board. I am an entrepreneur, founder of IPLAN and Sustentator among many other projects.
My interest in health began ten years ago while studying about physical conditioning, nutrition and the relationship with the environment. I am committed to move this project forward because it is possible, urgent and a wonderful exploration of the human condition.
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Geraldine Gueron, MSc., Ph.D
Co-founder
ggueron@wikilife.orgAs co-founder, I began working at Wikilife in March, 2010. I'm a molecular biologist by profession, with a Master in Science and PhD in Biological Chemistry. My previous and present research focuses on discovering the role of oxidative stress and inflammation in prostate cancer. I've been a research fellow at the Laboratory of Cancer and Apoptosis at the Department of Biological Chemistry, University of Buenos Aires.
Part of my PhD was completed at the Cell Membrane Biology Laboratory at the Biochemistry Department, Institute of Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of Leeds, UK. While at the Department of Organic Chemistry at University of Buenos Aires, my research focused on organic synthesis. I am very excited to become an active part of Wikilife and help promote this breakthrough global health database.
Senior Management Team
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Juan Gargiulo, MSc.
CTO & Executive Director
jgargiulo@wikilife.orgI was immediately attracted by this project because it combines my two passions: health and technology. I have a Master's degree in Computer Science from Drexel University and have been developing consumer oriented software in San Francisco and Silicon Valley for more than ten years. During the past fours years, I've been involved in several projects focused towards finding innovative solutions to improving people's health worldwide.
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Michelle Hines, I.E.
Project Manager
mhines@wikilife.orgAs an industrial engineer, I've been interested in discovering how our lifestyle affects our health. Having worked at Wiikife since October 2010, I've grown confident that this project can help drive research that ill provide unique insight into the human condition. Prior to Wikilife, I spent extensive time in the private sector (as an industrial engineer), working at companies such as Techint, Nestle, Coty, and Lancaster Group. I also have previous experience in event planning.
Science Team
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Pia Valacco, MSc., Ph.D
Science Development Director- Senior Research Scientist
pvalacco@wikilife.orgI joined the Wikilife Team in March 2010. I am a molecular biologist who has been involved in cancer progression-related research for the past 8 years. I have a PhD in Biological Chemistry from the University of Buenos Aires. Part of my research was completed in Marseille, France and with two years at the Mass Spectrometry Lab at UCSF, specializing in proteomics as a tool for identifying tumor markers. I've been been on the faculty (as a teaching assistant) of the Biological Chemistry Department at the University of Buenos Aires, since March 2003.
To protect and preserve our health, it is important to know what is good for us. Becoming a Wikilife user will help us understand which habits contribute to our well-being and will help us improve our lifestyle. Wikilife is a brilliant great experiment, with an unlimited number of participants, and unlimited variables. As a researcher and as an individual who seeks healthy living, I HAD to be a part of Wikilife.
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Maria Cecilia Dignani, MSc., Ph.D
Senior Medical Director, Clinical and Translational Programs
cdignani@wikilife.orgIn May 2010, I had the opportunity to watch Daniel Nofal´s presentation about The Wikilife Foundation. I believe that this project can become THE link between community, health and science. I am a physician specializing internal medicine and infectious diseases. My specific field of research are infections in immunocompromissed patients. I obtained my degree in Medicine at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Buenos Aires and practiced internal medicine at CEMIC in Buenos Aires, Argentina and at The Methodist Hospital in Houston, Texas, USA (1987-1989). I also researched infectious diseases at the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas (1991-1994) and at the Myeloma Institute at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock, Arkansas, USA (2001-2002). From 1994 to 2011, I was the head of infectious diseases at FUNDALEU (Foundation for the Fight Against Leukemia) in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
My research has led to more than 30 publications in national and international scientific journals, with more than 50 invitations to courses, and scientific meetings. Most publications have been related to invasive fungal infections and immunization in the inmunocompromissed host.
Currently, I am a member of the Commission for Infections in Immunocompromissed Patients at the Argentinean Society of Infectious Disease (SADI), faculty member of the Faculty of 1000 Medicine and the principal investigator or the first national registry of invasive mold infections in immunocompromissed patients (REMIIN, registry number 18219, Dirección de Protección de Datos Personales, Ministerio de Justicia, Argentina).
After 25 years of experience in patient care I realize that healthcare systems around the world have limitations, several of which that Wikilife can overcome. I am very glad to be part of Wikilife because it can help improve the quality of life by merging technology, science and healthcare into one cohesive platform. Just an example: Wikilife will allow you to have all your healthcare data in one place, anonymously, and readily available to any doctor around the world that you may visit. So with Wikilife, no more frustrating home or hospital searches for old lab works or medical histories. Plus, scientists will have a new source to look for research ideas or hypotheses.
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Federico Prada, MSc., Ph.D
Genomic & Health Data Integrity Manager- Senior Research Scientist
fprada@wikilife.orgAfter attending the first public presentation of Wikilife, I knew immediately that I had to be part of this amazing project. It only took one meeting with founder, Daniel Nofal, for me to join the team. I'm a molecular biologist at University of Buenos Aires– UBA (MSc. Biological Sciences – Cum Laude). After working for more than eleven years in the "Molecular and Cellular Therapy Laboratory" at Leloir Foundation (formerly Campomar Foundation), I obtained a Ph.D from UBA University and a post-doctoral position at The WOUND Consortium (which belongs to the 6th Framework Program for Research, Technological Development and Demonstration for the European Union).
I am currently the director of the Bachelor's of Bioinformatics, and associate professor, and researcher at the Faculty of Engineering and Sciences at UADE. Since 2007, I have worked as a professor at Di Tella University in the Executive Education Program: "Innovation, Biotechnology and Business".
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María Binaghi, MSc., Ph.D. Candidate
Head of Science Programs- Content Manager
mbinaghi@wikilife.orgI joined the Wikilife team in March 2010. I am a molecular biologist specializing in plant viruses and biotechnology and am currently writing my Ph.D thesis at the Department of Physiology and Molecular and Cellular Biology at the University of Buenos Aires. I have done part of my Ph.D studies at Oklahoma State University, USA and at the University of Bordeaux, France. I have also worked at the National Academy of Medicine focusing on mammalian cancer. I have been a teaching assistant at the Biology Department at the J.F. Kennedy University and I am currently a professor at University of Belgrano.
I have always been interested in the mysteries of human health and am extremely excited to be part of this revolutionary and dynamic platform. Please join us in this inspiring worldwide health project and become a part of Wikilife!
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Sonia Loizaga
Head of Psychology and Mental Health Programs
sloizaga@wikilife.orgI joined the Wikilife Team in November 2011. I am a Psychologist from the University of Belgrano and have a post-Graduate degree in Clinical Psychology for Adults, from the “Hospital de Clínicas, José de San Martín”. I have experience in private clinical practice, private psychodiagnostics and I have performed psychotechnical tests for several companies such as Von Der Heide. I have always been interested in technology, psychology and finding ways to combine both in a productive manner.
I believe Wikilife offers a great opportunity for people to become aware of how feelings, thoughts and behavior can affect their health and lifestyle by understanding how they influence one another.
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Pilar Valacco
Nutrition Content Manager
mpvalacco@wikilife.orgI received my B.A in Nutrition from the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Buenos Aires. In addition to receiving a post-graduate degree in Food Marketing, I'm a certified Gastronomic Professional. In 2008, I began working as a nutritionist at a physical rehab clinic for people with special nutritional needs. I designed and supervised the diets of the patients according to their needs, preferences and clinical history. My career has shown me entire new perspectives on the body´s needs, and the effects of food on our health and well-being.
After learning about Wikilife, I realized that it is the most effective way to spread the word and educate people about the impact that our diets have on our health. It is time for people to realize that food controls our well-being, mood and energy levels- paying attention to your diet WILL inevitably improve your health. I can’t think of a better way to prove the correlation between diet, lifestyle and health. The more Wikilife users, the more significant impact we can have on global health research!
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Tali Azar
Content Manager- Research Scientist
tazar@wikilife.orgI joined the Wikilife team in November 2011 as an undergraduate Biotechnology student. After initially learning about Wikilife, I knew that I wanted to become part of this amazing project. I believe strongly that in order to improve our lifestyle, it is important to identify which variables contribute to our well-being. Wikilife is the most effective tool to date that can help us achieve this objective.
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Andrea Ares
Content Analyst
aares@wikilife.orgI joined the Wikilife team in January, 2012, as an undergraduate biochemistry student shortly after learning about this project from founder, Daniel Nofal. I have always been interested in how technology can help make healthcare easier. As someone who has been part of the healthcare system, I've had trouble finding an appropriate example until now.
Wikilife connects technology and health in a way none have previously imagined.
Development Team
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Joaquin Quintas
Software Developer
jquintas@wikilife.orgI joined Wikilife in October 2010. The project fascinated me from the beginning and I found it impossible to refuse becoming part of a project that can help humanity. I’ve been developing systems for around 10 years at companies such as Sony, IBM, and Gemalto among others. I also provided courses in UML, Java, Junit, Struts, Hibernate. I am very excited to be working on Wikilife.
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Emmanuel Carelli
Software Developer
ecarelli@wikilife.orgMy work during the last few years has been focused on developing Enterprise Applications and Agile Methodologies. I was attracted to Wikilife primarily because the effort contributes directly to bettering human wellness and gives me the opportunity to collaborate on innovative solutions based on emerging technologies.
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Juan Ignacio Perez
Software Developer
jperez@wikilife.orgI joined the Wikilfe team in October 2010 and was initially motivated by the ambitious goals of the project, the diversity of specialties that comprise it and the ability to positively influence peoples' health using technology.
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Diego Wyllie
Software Developer
dwyllie@wikilife.orgI joined Wikilife because I’m strongly committed to developing software that helps make peoples' lives easier and better. As a software developer and tech journalist, I spend a great deal of my time writing – either code for web and mobile applications or articles for several German tech magazines.
I have a Bachelor’s degree in Information Systems from Technische Universitaet Muenchen and over five years practical experience in the design and implementation of software solutions – working in many international projects for both small businesses and large corporations alike
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Agustín Pecorari
Analyst
apecorari@wikilife.orgI’m a PhD candidate in Computer Science at University of Buenos Aires (MS.c “Operations Research, Combinatorial Optimisation”, ENSIMAG – Grenoble I. France) and Industrial Engineering (UBA). I’ve developed software to simulate and optimize electric and gas markets and optimize telecommunications networks, among other things.
Creative & Communications Team
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Eugenia Kessler
Creative Director
ekessler@wikilife.orgI’m a Graphic Designer, having graduated from the University of Buenos Aires. I have more than five years of experience improving image and visual communication at various companies and projects. I've also acquired extensive experience in POP, marketing (promotional and digital) and everything related to the areas of advertising management and graphic development. I’ve also coordinated collaborative teams, and I’ve routinely found value in learning from everyone’s experiences. Just another reason why I love being a member of the Wikilife team.
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Bobby Sakaki
Community Manager
bsakaki@wikilife.orgI joined the Wikilife team in November, 2011 after working as a political consultant and communications specialist in Washington, D.C. At Wikilife, I help expand our network of users, developers and researchers to ensure our project reaches a global audience. I'm a strong believer that emerging technologies such as Wikilife can enable us to live healthier, happier and more productive lives.