Dr Vittoria Colizza

Vittoria Colizza is Head of Research at INSERM (French National Institute for Health and Medical Research) & Sorbonne Université, Faculty of Medicine, within the Pierre Louis Institute of Epidemiology and Public Health.

Her research focuses on the development of data-driven models to provide a robust understanding of infectious diseases epidemics, assess the main drivers of epidemic spread, and evaluate the impact of control measures. Integrating social contacts and mobility, her work provides actionable insights for the management of epidemic and pandemic crises (pandemic influenza, Chikungunya, Ebola, MERS-CoV, COVID-19).

Since January 2020 she has been active in the response against the COVID-19 pandemic, advising French authorities and health agencies, and international bodies. For her work on the pandemic, she received her knighthood of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic by the Italian President (2020), and the Prix Irène Joliot Curie by the French Academy of Sciences and the French Ministry of Research (2021).

She received her PhD in physics in 2004 at SISSA (Italy), worked at the Indiana University School of Informatics (US) as postdoc and Visiting Assistant Professor (2004-2007), and moved to Europe at ISI Foundation (Italy, 2007-2010) after being awarded an ERC Starting Grant in Life Sciences. She joined INSERM in 2011.