Executive board

Chairwoman

Dr. med. Sarah Kotsias-Konopelska, DTM&H
(Berlin, Germany)

Chairman

PD Dr. med. Robin Kobbe, DTMH (Hamburg), PGDip Pediatric Infectious Diseases (Oxford)
(Hamburg, Germany)

Pediatrician with experience in Malawi, Tanzania, South Africa, Mexico, and Ecuador. Interests: international medical education, networking and digitalization. Involved in HIV education projects at schools in Berlin for the Michael Stich Foundation. Co-organizer of the TropPaed course. Organizer of the 2020 GTP annual meeting. GTP member since 2011, board member since 2014, 2nd chair 2018-2021, chair since 2021.

A clinician scientist designing, conducting, and evaluating clinical studies on children and adolescents in Germany and abroad. Currently coordinating an academic clinical partnership project by GIZ on neonatal sepsis in collaboration with the Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences (MUHAS) at Muhimbili National Hospital (MNH) in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
A qualified specialist in pediatrics and adolescent medicine with additional expertise in tropical medicine. Completed a postgraduate diploma with distinction in pediatric infectiology and immunology at the University of Oxford (UK).
Studied human medicine in Hamburg and earned a doctorate in the field of malaria. Actively involved in the organizational team of the TropPaedCourse and serving on the board of the German Society for Pediatric Infectious Diseases (DGPI). Also engaged in the Commission for Global Child Health of the German Society for Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine (DGKJ).

Secretary

Dr. med. Gudrun Jäger
(St. Gallen, Switzerland)

Pediatrician specializing in pediatric intensive care and neonatology. Experience in short-term assignments in Bangladesh, the Philippines, Kenya and several times in Sierra Leone. Actively involved as an instructor in various training courses. Main focus: ETAT+ courses in Germany and Sierra Leone, with a keen interest in palliative care. GTP member since 2016 and board member since 2021.

Treasurer

Dr. med. Kathrin Baumgartner
(Duisburg, Germany)

Pediatrician currently undergoing further training as a pediatric nephrologist. Experience in Sudan, Sierra Leone and Nepal. Interests: Humanitarian aid, sonography training in limited resource countries. GTP member since 2020, board member since 2021.

Board member

Dr. med. Jenny Dörnemann, MScIH
(Bonn, Germany)

Paediatrician specializing in paediatric hematology, oncology and palliative care. Experience in Sierra Leone, the Central African Republic, Congo, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Gabon, other African countries, as well as India, Haiti, and Afghanistan as a physician and coordinator, among others with MSF (Doctors Without Borders). Interests: teaching and training, ETAT course, networking with NGOs, oncology and palliative care in resource-limited settings. Member of the ETAT+ Working Group, GTP member since 2008, board member since 2024.

Board member

Leonie Gunasekara, DTM&H (Liv)
(Düsseldorf, Germany)

Pediatrician, pediatric neurologist. Experience in Tanzania and Sri Lanka, speaker in international child health and travel medicine. Interests: international medical education and training, interdisciplinary collaboration, development and implementation of guidelines. Further interests: flight and migration, neurological diseases and disabilities, possibilities of neuropediatric rehabilitation in LMIC. GTP member since 2018, board member since 2024.

Board member

Robert Kosteczka
(Frankfurt am Main, Germany)

Pediatric resident at the University Hospital Frankfurt. Completed DTM&H Course in Hamburg. Experience with Doctors Without Borders in South Sudan, international missions during medical studies in Nepal and Kenya. Interests include HIV-exposed/infected children and adolescents, tuberculosis, and working in international teams to improve child health globally. GTP member since 2023, member of the Young GTP, board member since 2024.

Board member

Dr. med. Cornelius Rau, MPhil, MSc, DTM&H
(Hamburg, Germany)

Paediatric resident, epidemiologist, social anthropologist. Consultancy work for the World Health Organization (WHO) in global immunization programs. Experience in Peru and Brazil. Interests: Neonatology and pediatric intensive care, immunization programs, infectious disease epidemiology, humanitarian cooperation, indigenous health. Co-organizer of the TropPaed course. GTP member since 2015, board member since 2018.

Board member

Andrea Reiter
(Münster, Germany)

Medical student in the clinical part of studies at the University of Münster. Experiences in Ghana. Focus areas: students and young doctors, networking, exchange of experiences/information, optional/elective subjects. Member of the Young-GTP Working Group since 2022, GTP member since 2023, board member since 2024.

Board member

Michelle Schulz
(Frankfurt am Main, Germany)

Pediatric resident, Emergency physician, PALS-certified, and aspiring ETAT instructor. Participated in overseas missions during medical studies at an outpatient clinic in Arusha, Tanzania. Interests: training professionals domestically and internationally to improve child health globally. Co-organizer of the TropPaed course. GTP member since 2022, board member since 2024.

Board member

Dr. med. Barbara Zimmer, DTM&H (Liv)
(Münster, Germany)

Pediatrician currently undergoing further training as a pediatric pulmonologist. Experience in Malawi, short-term assignments in Namibia, Guatemala. Main focus: ETAT+ (Emergency Triage, Assessment and Treatment) training in Germany, ETAT+ Instructor Course (Train the Trainer) and organization as well as lecturing in the elective course for international child health at the University of Münster. Interests: Simulation training, evaluation, tropical pediatrics. GTP member since 2015, board member since 2021.

Board member

Dr. med. Antke Züchner, DTMPH, MscIH
(Dar Es Salaam, Tansania)

Pediatrician, neonatologist and pediatric cardiologist. Experience in Palestine (2004 – 2007) and in Tanzania since 2009. Short-term teaching assignments in Ethiopia and Malawi. Main focus: Education and training of pediatricians and further development of neonatology units in countries with limited resources. GTP member since 2000, board member since 2018.

Co-opted member of the Executive Board 

Co-opted Member of the Executive Board

Univ.-Prof. Dr. med. Ralf Weigel
(Witten, Germany)

Trained as a pediatrician in Berlin, with short-term medical assignments in Kolkata, India, and Maiduguri, Nigeria. Since October 2017, holder of the Friede Springer Endowed Professorship for Global Child Health at Witten/Herdecke University. Previously, a lecturer at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine and a clinical consultant at the Lighthouse Clinic in Lilongwe, Malawi.
Co-opted board member of the GTP since 2018.

Co-opted Member of the Executive Board

Dr. med. Judith Lindert, DTMH (Liv)
(Rostock, Germany)

Pediatrician and Pediatric Surgeon currently working as a Consultant Pediatric Surgeon in Rostock. Extensive experience working in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sierra Leone, Pakistan, Tanzania, and Burkina Faso, in both humanitarian settings with Doctors Without Borders (MSF) and through long-term partnerships, such as the Klinikal Partnership program. Clinical Focus: Congenital malformations, particularly colorectal diseases and pediatric burns.
Interests: International medical education, networking, and digitalization. Actively involved in HIV education projects in schools in Berlin for the Michael Stich Foundation.
GTP board member since 2018; Organizer of the 2021 virtual GTP annual meeting; founder and member of the Steering Committee for AG ETAT plus; organizer of the National Wahlfach.
Main Role: Bridging the gap between pediatrics and pediatric surgery, advocating for the inclusion of surgical disease in the global child health agenda.

Co-opted Member of the Executive Board

Dr. med. Andreas Schultz, MSc, DTMPH
(Bonn, Germany)

Physician specialized in Pediatrics, Tropical Medicine, Travel Medicine, and International Public Health with nearly 25 years of experience in development cooperation and humanitarian aid, including a total of 12 years in international service with various organizations (DAHW, missio, DÜ, EED, GIZ, CIM, BMZ, MDM, MSF, MI).
Designated Foundation Professor for Global Child Health at the University Hospital Bonn, head of the research group there, practicing pediatrician, and Senior Advisor for Malteser International’s global health projects in Cologne. Guest lecturer in Heidelberg, Berlin, Hamburg, Innsbruck, Düsseldorf, and Lilongwe, Malawi.
Member of GTP since 2002, former board member, and co-opted board member of GTP since 2024.

GTP office and secretariat

Andrea Jütte
(Dinslaken, Germany)

Supports the GTP with all administrative tasks and the processing of general inquiries. Contact details can be found at Kontakt.