Vincenzo Lorusso

Vincenzo Lorusso works as a Policy Officer at the European Commission, DG Research and Innovation (DG RTD), where he is in charge of research and innovation cooperation with the African Union, multilaterally, and bilaterally with Nigeria, Rwanda, and South Africa. He chairs, from the EU side, the “AU-EU Innovation Agenda Working Group of the High-Level Policy Dialogue (HLPD) on Science, Technology and Innovation”. He also acts as a sherpa of the Governing Board of the “Global Health European and Developing Countries Clinical Trial Partnership 3 (EDCTP3) Joint Undertaking”.

Prior to joining the European Commission, Vincenzo worked for eight years in the pharmaceutical industry as Head of Research and Innovation for infectious parasitic diseases, while also co-supervising MSc and PhD projects focused on Public Health and Rural Development in Africa, through an Honorary Research Fellowship at the University of Salford, UK.

Vincenzo’s educational background combines a blend of life sciences and social sciences, including a Master in International Development and African Studies (Sciences Po, Paris), which followed a PhD in Public Health and Rural Development in Africa, particularly in Nigeria (University of Edinburgh, UK), and a first degree as Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (University of Bari, Italy). He also holds a High-Level Executive Diploma in Diplomacy & Health (The Graduate Institute, Geneva).

In his spare time, Vincenzo makes hip-hop / reggae / afrobeat music and slam poetry (with lyrics in several languages) and writes on his blog “Between Africa and Japan”