Dr. Federica Di Palma

Chief Scientific Officer & Vice President, Sectors, Genome BC

Dr. Federica Di Palma holds a PhD in Immunogenetics from the University of Reading and brings over 15 years of experience in genomics and data science, with strong international connections in the US through institutions such as NIH, Harvard, and MIT. Most recently she was Director of Science at the Earlham Institute in the United Kingdom where she led the Institute BBSRC core strategic programme in food security, as well as a wide variety of research programmes aimed at delivering the cross-disciplinary application of novel computational and molecular biology technologies to the understanding of living systems.

She is passionate about exploring and preserving Biodiversity around the world. She leads numerous multidisciplinary international research programs for Development Assistance Committee countries aimed at generating strategic partnerships, building human and infrastructure capacity, and translating scientific knowledge into policy and private sector engagement to deliver long-term impact. She remains Professorial Fellow in Biodiversity in the School of Biological Sciences at the University of East Anglia.

Dr. Di Palma’s previous experience also includes her roles as the Assistant Director, Vertebrate Genome Biology at the Broad Institute of Harvard, a Senior Research Scientist and Service Centre Manager at the Hubbard Centre for Genome Studies at the University of New Hampshire, Durham, and a Fogarty Fellow, National Institutes of Health.

“I believe that multidisciplinary research, partnerships, and multisectoral perspectives are key to solving today’s health and environmental challenges and effectively informing policy development and implementation. The acquisition and analysis of large amounts of genomic data have become a common practice and it is key to drive innovation. The efficient analysis of such data through bioinformatics and artificial intelligence has unprecedented potential to transform how we respond to these major challenges faced by humanity.”