DanceCARE Teams
IRCCS-INCRA
Dr. Sara Santini
Sara Santini is senior researcher at the Centre for Socio-Economic Research on Ageing at IRCCS-INRCA (Italy). Graduated in Political Social Science at the “Alma Mater Studiorum” University of Bologna, she achieved her international research doctorate in Gerontology at the University of Vechta (Germany) in cotutelle with the Free University of Bozen (Italy). She also achieved a master degree in Violin and a 2nd level University Master degree in Management of Health Systems at the Polytechnic University of the Marche Region. Her research interests are focused on formal and informal care, intergenerational relationships, long-term care, music with people with dementia. She can deal with both quantitative and qualitative research and she has extensive experience in qualitative data analysis. She is the coordinator of the project “SOUND-Training Social and health care prOfessionals in mUsic-based therapeutic interventions to support older people with Dementia”, aimed at developing and testing a training curriculum for care professionals and older people with dementia based on music circle activities and of DanceCARE-Dance Movement Therapy and Conscious Movement. She also is the principal investigator of another Erasmus+project named “NEXUS” for which she will develop a training curriculum on participatory research method for involving infomal young carers in research studies. In the last two years she was the principal investigator of “HERO”, a project aimed at designing, delivering and testing an “on the job” elderly health care training for migrants and refugees and of ME-WE, a Horizon Europe project on Adolescent Young Carers, in which she especially focused on intergenerational caring (i.e. positive and negative caring outcomes among adolescents caring for grandparents in multi-generational families).
Dr. Flavia Galassi
Dr. Flavia Galassi has been an IRCCS-INRCA research collaborator since 2009, working on international project related to healthy and active aging. She has contributed to various projects like Careers@Work, EWL (Extending Working Life), AgeWell, HERO and DanceCARE. Flavia holds a Bachelor Degree in Psychological Sciences and Techniques in 2003, a Master Degree in Clinical and Community Psychology in 2006, and specialized in Expressive Psychotherapy and Dance Movement Therapy in 2016. She practices meditation and Psychosomatic Mindfulness, facilitates Self-Help groups, and is a certified health and non-health trainer. Dr. Flavia has experience in mental health, pathological addictions, and ethno-psychology in migrant reception projects. Alongside her private practice, she leads dance movement therapy groups in various settings like socio-cultural associations, adult universities and counseling centers. Dr Flavia integrates her interests in dance, yoga and body awareness with social, clinical and scientific research, emphasizing a holistic approach to weel-being.
European Association of Dance Movement Therapy [EADMT]
Dr. Marloes Shami – van Houten – Research, Education & Team Manager on behalf of EADMT
Dr. Marloes Shami – van Houten was trained first as a professional dancer, and worked globally during the last 20+ years as a freelance dancer, choreographer and art director. She also completed a research master in social sciences, studied intermodal expressive arts therapy (post master) and did her PHD in Hong Kong. Beside working in the art and performance sector, she has been involved in humanitarian care and psychological support in crisis area. From 2013-2023 she ran a private practice in (trauma) therapy, using EMDR, intermodal expressive arts therapy, and somatic experience. She worked academically at multiple universities in the Netherlands, as well as in Hong Kong. As a lecturer, program lead, as post-doctoral researcher. Currently, Marloes works as a lecturer and research supervisor at the Arts and Cultural Studies Department of the Erasmus University in Rotterdam. Also, her interdisciplinary art collective Forge runs community art projects, and produces professional dance theater productions locally as well as internationally. Her role in DANCEcare is Education and Research Manager.
Prof. Rodríguez-Jiménez
Prof. Rodríguez-Jiménez is a professor and senior researcher with 25 years of university experience in university. She holds a BSc and a PhD on Physics of the Atmosphere, a degree in Psychology and in Education for Special Needs. She has been a professional dancer (classical and contemporary Dance) and she trained in Dance Movement Therapy in Spain. She is supervisor member of the Spanish Association of Dance Movement Therapy where she also coordinates the Research Group. She has more than 40 indexed publications and has leaded several research projects focused on experiential learning, development of soft skills in university students, inclusive education, clinical applications of DMT, and dance and embodiment applied to well-being and personal growth in higher education. She participates as a guest lecturer and tutor in national and international DMT trainings, in particular, in research methodology. She is reviewer of several scientific publications and editor in chief of CITARE, first Spanish journal on Dance Movement Therapy. She is very interested in the relationship between art and mental health and care for the caregiver. She has coordinated the conference group of the EADMT during the last three European conferences and is the President of EADMT since September 2022. On behalf of the EADMT Board she is the Project Leader of the DanceCare KA220 Erasmus+ (2023-2026). www.rosamariarodriguez.com/ LinkedIn Profile / Google Scholar Profile
Andrea Tziorta
Andrea Tziorta studied Psychology (BSc) at Brunel University London. She then continued her studies with a post-graduate degree in Dance Movement Psychotherapy (MA) at Goldsmiths University of London. Today, she runs her private practise as a Dance Movement Psychotherapist in Cyprus working primarily with children and young adults. She has also ongoing collaborations with foundations where she offers group and individual sessions to adults with learning difficulties. Beyond her therapeutic work, she is also an educator, teaching psychology to senior classes in the A-level curriculum at the American Academy Larnaca high school. Since 2018, Andrea has been the Delegate of Cyprus for the European Association of Dance Movement Therapy (EADMT). Now, she is also a Coordinator of the Communication Working Group of the EADMT. She is the Communication Responsible for the EADMT in DanceCARE project.
Myrto Zarokosta
Myrto Zarokosta is dance movement therapist, dance artist and social anthropologist. Her work finds it´s base in a trans-disciplinary approach, using community dance, somatics, creative process and group dynamics. During the last 10 years, she has been working with many different populations in psychosocial support and non formal education, facilitating sessions and trainings. As a dance artist, she has created and participated in different performances between Greece and Spain. Currently, she is studying the body-oriented trauma therapy method of Somatic Experiencing and she is the founder of Corpografies association.
Theodora Bareka
Theodora Bareka, is a Social Scientist (BSc, University of Macedonia, Greece), a Dance Movement Therapist (MA, Autonomous University of Barcelona, Spain) and a PhD candidate in the Department of Psychology (University of Ioannina, Greece). The past few years she has collaborated as a Dance Movement Therapist and Group Facilitator with public and private institutions in various settings: day care centers, social centers, cultural centers, Universities, NGO’s. She is a private practitioner and a co-founder of NiMA NGO. She works with people with mental health issues, with children/teenagers/adults with ID/DD, with refugee/migrant children, with children/teenagers to support their psychosocial rehabilitation and enhance their personal development. Her research projects focus on the “Embodied Political Self” and how social/political actions/decisions impact the development of self and “Mixed Dance Movement Therapy Groups” as a method to foster refugee children inclusion in the mainstream educational system (the article is about to be published).
Adel Qutaini
I am Adel Qutaini, a Syrian-Dutch financial professional with a background in economics and accounting. After completing my education in Syria, I moved to the Netherlands, where I graduated in Finance and Control from Windesheim University. I spent five years as a Senior External Auditor at PwC, and I now work as a Financial Controller at Achmea. In addition to my role at Achmea, I provide small and medium-sized businesses with professional financial services to help keep their operations healthy and support their growth.
POLIBIENESTAR - Universitate de Valencia
Sandra Martínez Molina
Sandra Martínez Molina is PhD in Social Sciences on resilience of European labour markets and their capacity for inclusion in a scenario of global recession. She has a Degree in Social Work obtaining both the extraordinary valedictorian prize and the Recognition of Excellence by the Valencian Education Council. She has done her Social Welfare Master’s degree with the Universitat de València, obtaining the extraordinary valedictorian prize. Currently, she collaborates as a research technician since 2013 in Polibienestar in European projects funded under the ERASMUS+ programme.
Mirian Fernández-Salido
Mirian Fernández-Salido is PhD candidate in Design, Management and Evaluation of Public Policies of Social Welfare at the University of Valencia. She has a Master in Social Welfare and a superior degree in Social Work with mention in Interculturality, Cooperation and Social Exclusion, by the University of Valencia (Spain), for which she was awarded in 2019 with the Extraordinary End of Degree Award. Since 2019 she is working as a researcher at the Polibienestar Research Institute in different international projects funded by both the ERASMUS + program and the Horizon 2020 program and in the writing of research proposals, aimed at improving the quality of life, well-being and health of the most vulnerable groups through the implementation of innovative and inclusive socio-technical approaches supported by the use of new information and communication technologies.
Wise Motion Community
Dr. Hanna Poikonen
Dr. Hanna Poikonen is a senior researcher at the Social Brain Sciences lab of ETH Zurich. On 2019-2023, she conducted her postdoc training at Learning Sciences and Higher Education of ETH Zurich. By combining her background in biomedical engineering, neuroscience and dance, in 2018 Hanna pursued her doctoral degree at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki focusing on brain functions in professional dancers, musicians and novices when watching a video-recorded dance performance. She also studied the brain functions of audience when they experienced a live dance duet at the LIVELab of McMaster University in Canada. She has studied contemporary dance, postgraduate in art therapy at Metàfora, Barcelona, and conducted her artscience project at the Museum of Contemporary Art Barcelona (MACBA). Since 2018, she is teaching globally her WiseMotion method on neuroscience and creative movement for educators, creative and healthcare professionals, higher executives, and people with a brain-related illness. Through WiseMotion, Hanna also partners in different EU projects, including DanceCARE.
Computer Solutions SA
Dr. Stavros Pitoglou
Dr. Stavros Pitoglou received his BSc in Physics from the University of Patras, Greece, in 2000 and his PhD Degree from the National Technical University of Athens in 2023. He currently holds the Chief Technical Officer position at Computer Solutions SA and is responsible for the company’s Research and Development activities. Since 2004, he participated as Project Director or Senior Project Manager in several large-scale projects in the fields of Health IT and Medical Informatics, as well as Coordinator and Senior Researcher in Research/Innovation projects. His research interests are focused on issues of machine learning and artificial intelligence applications in the healthcare domain, distributed networks, and data security/privacy. He is a member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) - EMBS Society, a member of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes, and a certified HL7 Control Specialist by the HL7 International Organization.
Dr. Thelma Androutsou
Dr. Thelma Androutsou works as a Senior Researcher in the Research & Development department of Computer Solutions SA. She graduated from the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering of the National Technical University of Athens in 2017 and received her PhD degree from the same department in 2023. She was a member of the Biomedical Technology Laboratory of NTUA during 2017-2023. She has participated in numerous European research projects, gaining years of experience both at technical and management level. Her technical experience is mainly focused on software development and implementation of web and mobile applications for chronic patient management and rehabilitation. Her research interests include Health Informatics, Decision Support Systems and Biomedical Signal Analysis. Her PhD research contributed to the field of Affective Computing.
Dr. Marilena Tarousi
Dr. Marilena Tarousi is a Senior Researcher in the Research & Development (R&D) Department at Computer Solutions ABEE. She holds a PhD in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA), along with a Master’s degree in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Patras. From October 2015 to June 2024, she was a member of the Biomedical Engineering Laboratory at NTUA, actively participating in both educational and research endeavors. Dr. Tarousi has contributed to numerous European projects, including HORIZON 2020, ERASMUS+, and MSCA RISE, as well as Greek projects, gaining extensive experience in both technical and administrative roles. Her expertise spans Decision Support Systems, Biomedical Signal Analysis, and Mathematical Modelling. Her research interests focus on the modeling of Physiological Systems, the development of Ontologies, and the simulation of Biological and Biomedical Systems.
Aktios - Elderly care units
Dr. Costis Prouskas
Dr. Costis Prouskas is a Psychologist with a Master’s degree (MSc) in Psychological Assessment in Organisations (Goldsmiths, London) and a doctorate (PhD) in Gerontology (King's College London). Dr. Prouskas has been the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Aktios Elderly Care since its foundation in 2007 while from April 2023 he serves as Human Resources Manager in Alzheimer Athens. He also served as the CEO of Filoktitis Rehabilitation Centre from September 2021 to October 2022. Currently, he also serves as the Chief Clinical Officer of Blocks Group. He has also worked in several European research projects and has served as an expert for Older Women in the Program "PROGRESS for disadvantaged groups" of the Hellenic General Secretariat for Gender Equality. He has also been member of the Working Group for the reform of the institutional framework for the provision of social protection and social welfare for elderly people of the Greek Ministry of Labor, Social Security and Social Solidarity. Since 2024, he is also a member of the Working Group for the development of the new National Action Plan for the management of Dementia-Alzheimer's Disease of the Greek Ministry of Health.
