Lora Ruth Wogu is the founder and CEO of Sickle Cell and Thalassaemia Ireland, a national patient/parent support and advocacy organisation raising awareness and advancement of patients’ quality of life living with Sickle Cell disease and/or Thalassaemia disease in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.

She is also founder and Chief Executive Officer of the European Sickle Federation; an umbrella network of patient organisations united in one voice to advocate for Sickle Cell Disease advancement in Europe.

In 2022, Lora co-founded Migrant Health Alliance Ireland, an umbrella organisation bringing together various community groups, healthcare agencies, various charity organisations, healthcare professionals and researchers to improve health access, equity and health promotion within the migrant communities, improving patient and public involvement in research, clinical guidelines and policy development.

Lora Works at St Vincent’s University hospital professionally, though spends most of her free time advocating for Sickle Cell Disease and Migrant Health.

She holds a BSC in Healthcare Management, a MSc in Quality and Patient Safety in Health Care management and various professional certificates.

Research activities

Lora has co-authored and contributed to various research studies and educational book chapters both in Ireland and Europe on issues relating to migrant health access, mental health, sexual health and Sickle Cell disease.

Other Patient and Public Representative roles

As a patient advocate, public and community leader, Lora advocates and represents on various committees, subcommittees (not listed) and initiatives which includes;

1. Public Patient representative -Ignite Network Public Advisory Board
2. Public Voice- Department of Health National Screening Advisory Committee (NSAC) since 2022
3. Patient representative - Health Services Executive Patient Forum since 2022
4. EURORDIS Newborn Screening steering Committee for rare diseases
5. Patient representative -European Medicine’s Agency Scientific board since 2016, Public representative - HSE National Screening Service Ireland since 2019
6. Board member - Scoil Sinead Patronage for Autism inclusion in mainstream education
7. Board Member Griffeen Community College since 2018