Honorary Co-Chairs
We Are Proud to Announce the DIA 2019 Honorary Co-Chairs!
Professor Guido Rasi, MD, Executive Director, European Medicines Agency (EMA), European Union
Joanne Waldstreicher, MD, Chief Medical Officer, Johnson & Johnson
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Biographies
Professor Guido Rasi, MD
Professor Guido Rasi began his second term as Executive Director of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) on November 16, 2015. From November 2014 to mid-November 2015, Professor Rasi served as EMA’s Principal Adviser in Charge of Strategy. From November 2011 to November 2014 he was the Executive Director of EMA and a member of its Management Board in the three years prior to this.
From 2008 to 2011 he was Director-General of the Italian Medicines Agency and a member of the Management Board from 2004 and 2008. He was also made a full professor of microbiology at the University of Rome 'Tor Vergata' in 2008.
From 2005 to 2008 he was Director of Research at the Institute of Neurobiology and Molecular Medicine of the National Research Council (CNR) in Rome and from 1990 to 2005 he worked at the Institute for Experimental Medicine of the National Research Council, Italy.
Professor Rasi holds a degree in medicine and surgery, with specializations in internal medicine, allergology, and clinical immunology, from the University of Rome. He is also an author of more than 100 scientific publications.
Joanne Waldstreicher, MD
In Joanne’s current role with Johnson & Johnson, she has oversight across pharmaceuticals, devices, and consumer products for safety, epidemiology, clinical and regulatory operations transformation, collaborations on ethical science, and technology and R&D policies, including those related to clinical trial transparency and compassionate access. She chairs the R&D Development Pipeline Review Committee for The Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson, and supports the Medical Devices and Consumer Development Committees. Joanne is also a faculty affiliate of the Division of Medical Ethics, Department of Population Health, New York University School of Medicine.
Among her prior roles, Joanne was responsible for late-stage development in neuroscience, cardiovascular disease and metabolism at Janssen. Before joining Johnson & Johnson in 2002, she headed endocrinology and metabolism clinical research at Merck Research Laboratories, overseeing development programs in atherosclerosis, obesity, diabetes, urology and dermatology. She was honored with the Key Innovator Award, among other distinctions.
Joanne received both the Jonas Salk and Belle Zeller scholarships from the City University of New York, and graduated summa cum laude from Brooklyn College. She graduated cum laude from Harvard Medical School, completed her internship and residency at Beth Israel Hospital and her endocrinology fellowship at Massachusetts General Hospital. She has received numerous awards and scholarships, and is an active scientific author. In 2016, the National Association of Female Executives named her Healthcare Champion of the Year. Joanne combines broad experience in science and medicine with a passion for advancing transparency and ethics, with a goal of improving the lives of patients and consumers worldwide.