Global Health Connector continues its mission of building bridges across international health and innovation ecosystems by strengthening its presence in the Asia-Pacific region. As part of this strategic expansion, Global Health Connector APAC is formally launched, headquartered in Singapore, to serve a region home to nearly five billion people and playing a decisive role in global health, innovation, and economic growth.
This milestone reinforces Global Health Connector’s global mandate: to connect people, systems, and innovation across continents, enabling health and care solutions to move faster, scale smarter, and generate meaningful impact worldwide. APAC is one of the world’s most dynamic and diverse regions, spanning Asia, Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific Island nations, and is increasingly shaping the future of healthcare, digital health, and life sciences.
Singapore has been selected as the headquarters as it is more than a location—it is a global testbed, a gateway to Asia, and a trusted neutral hub for international collaboration. Its leadership in Digital Economy Agreements supports secure cross-border digital health collaboration, while its network of 28 Free Trade Agreements covering 85% of global GDP offers unparalleled market access and regulatory connectivity.
To lead this next phase, Global Health Connector will be appointing Gisela García-Álvarez, as a director, responsible for implementing and advancing the regional strategy. A Doctor in Biochemistry with more than 15 years of experience across Europe and Asia, Gisela brings scientific expertise, international management experience, and a long-standing relationship with the organisation.
She previously coordinated the Global Health Connector Galician Ecosystem and later served as Ambassador in Singapore, strengthening ties between European and Asia-Pacific health innovation communities. During her research years at Duke-NUS Medical School, she contributed to the launch of DUNES, supporting early-career researchers and interdisciplinary collaboration within the biomedical ecosystem. Through her Singapore-based platform LEX GLOBALMINDS, she continues to scale cross-border initiatives connecting health innovation ecosystems across APAC, Europe, and the UK.
As Gisela García-Álvarez noted:
“Innovation has no borders, but too often it is constrained by silos. Global Health Connector exists to break those barriers by connecting people, ecosystems, and opportunities across continents. Leading Global Health Connector activities from Singapore allows us to turn international collaboration into a practical, trusted, and scalable pathway for health innovation worldwide.”
As Brian O’Connor, Chair at Global Health Connector, has highlighted:
“We already have many connections in this region who value our ability to connect the dots globally, and our existing networks in Europe, North America and Africa are also keen on strengthening their relationships.”
The Official Launch will take place on 28 January in Singapore, marking the start of a sustained effort to consolidate and strengthen the regional community, supported by HealthTEC.SG.
