Astrid Van Wilder has a background in pharmaceutical sciences, in which she obtained her MSc in 2016 at KU Leuven (Belgium) after a research stay at UCL School of Pharmacy (UK). While practicing pharmacy, she developed an interest in healthcare policy and patient safety, leading to the obtainment of an MSc in Healthcare Policy and Management in 2017 (KU Leuven, Belgium) and a PhD in Biomedical Sciences in 2023 (KU Leuven, Belgium) focusing on nationwide variability in patient outcomes across Belgian hospitals. Her current research at Brown University School of Public Health focuses on differences in health service organization, both within and across countries, and their impact on patient outcomes.

Kris Vanhaecht is Full Professor in Quality and Patient Safety at the Faculty of Medicine, KU Leuven, University of Leuven, Belgium. He is teaching quality and safety in the master programs at Leuven University and is also affiliated to Erasmus Centre for Care Policy at Erasmus University Rotterdam. Next to his academic work he is senior policy advisor to the management team of Leuven University Hospital, an 1800 bed academic medical center. His main interests involve general quality management, the organization of care processes, the care for second victims after adverse events and person cantered care. Kris is an IHI Improvement advisor, an ISQUA expert and is the Secretary General of the European Pathway Association