Ella Balasa

Ella Balasa is a nationally recognized patient advocate, speaker, consultant, and writer dedicated to advancing patient-centered healthcare and research. Born with cystic fibrosis, Ella has spent much of her life navigating chronic and difficult to treat lung infections, lung surgeries and related health complications — experiences that shaped her passion for improving the connection between patients, clinicians, researchers, and industry.

With a degree in biology and subsequent laboratory research, Ella recognized early on that lived experience can play a critical role in shaping better healthcare and innovation. After personally facing a life-threatening antibiotic-resistant lung infection and pursuing an experimental therapy, she became deeply involved in patient advocacy and research collaboration.

Today, Ella works with nonprofit organizations, pharmaceutical and biotech companies, and research institutions to ensure patient perspectives are meaningfully integrated into clinical trial design, health communication, and drug development. She has served on advisory boards and committees for organizations including the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, the Clinical Trials Transformation Initiative, and the Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute, and is an award-winning advocate whose writing and commentary have been featured in publications such as MedPage Today, HuffPost, BMJ, and Pulmonary Therapy Journal.

Through her advocacy, speaking, and consulting work, Ella continues to champion authentic patient partnership and empower others to become active participants in their healthcare journeys while helping shape a future where medical progress is informed not only by science, but by the voices and experiences of the people it serves.