Francesca Pasinelli

Francesca Pasinelli is CEO of the Fondazione Telethon since 2009. FondazioneTelethon is a non-profit organization that funds research projects aimed at finding a cure for genetic diseases.

After her University degree in Pharmacology, in 1986, she moved into clinical research and subsequently held different managerial positions in multinational pharmaceutical companies (SmithKline Beecham S.p.A.; ScheringPlough S.p.A). In 1997 she moved to the non-profit sector with Fondazione Telethon. There, as part of her first appointment as Chief Scientific Officer, she introduced a grant selection process according to international best practices for peer review evaluation of research. In the same years she also set up a portfolio management system allowing to develop breakthrough therapies for severe genetic diseases, also relying on effective technology transfer programmes.

In 2007 Francesca Pasinelli was awarded the Commendatore al Merito della Repubblica Italiana, honour best owed by the President of the Italian Republic Giorgio Napolitano. In 2008 she was awarded the Sonia Skarlatos Public Service Award by the American Society for Gene and Cell Therapy.