Informal Discussion Group with Dr Davide Gianni (AstraZeneca)
Join Dr Davide Gianni, Senior Director of Functional Genomics at AstraZeneca, for the first Informal Discussion Group event of Clare Hall’s Industry and Enterprise Programme. This series of events is designed to facilitate an interactive conversation between industry professionals and members of the college and university’s academic ecosystem, providing a forum for interested students and academics to learn about careers and pathways in industry and enterprise in a relaxed and informal setting.
What the session will cover:
- Describes a personal journey and transition from academia to industry
- What characteristics are companies looking for
- Career paths in the pharma industry
- Practical insights for students, postdocs and early career academics who may be considering a move into industry
Format:
- Informal discussion, no presentations
- Highly interactive, with an opportunity to discuss queries in a closed environment
Learn more about the Industry & Enterprise Programme here.
Please sign up for the event here.
Speaker:
Dr Davide Gianni is Senior Director of Functional Genomics at AstraZeneca’s BioPharmaceuticals R&D, where he leads a department focused on discovering new therapeutic opportunities across key disease areas leveraging advances in AI, genome editing and omics data.
He joined AstraZeneca in 2015 from Boehringer Ingelheim, where he led oncology target discovery efforts. Earlier, he completed postdoctoral research at The Scripps Research Institute/Genome Foundation Novartis (GNF), investigating the role of reactive oxygen species in diseases including cancer, neurodegeneration, and cardiovascular conditions.
Dr Gianni has authored over 50 publications and co-edited SLAS Discovery’s first Special Issue on Functional Genomics. He plays a key role in AstraZeneca’s external collaborations, including with the Joint MRC-MTI-AZ Functional Genomics Screening Laboratory, the Joint AZ/CRH Functional Genomics Centre and the MRC funded UK Functional Genomics Initiative.
His work has earned multiple honors, including OBN Award – Best Industry Collaboration (2025), the Discovery Sciences Award – Innovation & Collaboration (2023), the CEO Award – Accelerate Innovative Science (2020), the Boehringer-Ingelheim Silver Award (2013) and the Young Scholar Award Alzheimer’s Association (2009).