Board of Directors
Alessandra Della Porta
President
Alessandra Della Porta
Born in Milan in 1963 and a graduate in law from the University of Milan, she has been a lawyer since 1992 and admitted to the Italian Supreme Court bar since 2007. Specializing in civil law, particularly in family law, she has held and continues to hold positions in corporate and nonprofit settings. Currently, she serves as a member of the Advisory Council of the Airc Foundation and as a board member of Saes Getters Spa. Since 2022, she has been the Vice President of IFOM, the Institute of Molecular Oncology of the AIRC Foundation, and from November 11, 2024, she has assumed the role of President of Cogentech.
Alberto Bardelli
Board Member
Alberto Bardelli
Born in Turin in 1967, Alberto Bardelli graduated in Biological Sciences in 1991 at the University of the same city and then took a PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at University College London in the UK. From 1999 to 2004, he specialised in cancer genomics with luminary Bert Vogelstein at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute in Baltimore. In 2004, he returned to Italy as director of a research unit dedicated to the study of cancer genomes at the Candiolo Tumour Institute and the Department of Oncology at the University of Turin, where he has been full professor of Histology since 2016. The work of his research group is focused on the development of precision medicine for cancer patients. His discoveries have defined a new diagnostic methodology, called liquid biopsy, which by means of a blood sample, using circulating tumour DNA, makes it possible to monitor the response to therapies and the effectiveness of surgery in colorectal cancer patients. These discoveries are at the basis of international clinical trials such as PEGASUS and CHRONOS. His findings have been published in over 200 scientific articles - including 100 as coordinator - in international journals such as Nature, Science, Cancer Cell, NatureMedicine, JAMA and Lancet Oncology. His H index, a measure of the citations received by his articles, is 98 and, as of 2014, he has been listed by Web of Science as one of the world's most cited researchers. He has been a member of national and international scientific associations such as the European Academy of Cancer Sciences since 2015 and the European Molecular Biology Organisation (EMBO) since 2017, was President of the European Association for Cancer Research (EACR) from 2018 to 2020, and is a member of the AIRC Foundation Scientific Committee for Cancer Research.
Enrico De Santis
Board Member
Enrico De Santis
Born in Verona in 1971, he is an experienced Executive director with a demonstrated working history in primary multinational Group in Utilities and Financial Services sectors, acting as Board Member and Audit Chairman in several Italian, European and non-European companies.
With a managerial engineering graduation at Politecnico of Milan and a consulting background, he is skilled in Strategy & Planning, Finance and control, Organization, HR management, Restructuring and set-up of operations.
He drives organizations to design and execute the vision to consistently exceed the long term targets, always promoting innovation and building talented team and keeping people highly motivated along the journey, creating consensus across different functions and cultures.
Marco Alessandro Pierotti
CEO & Scientific Director
Marco Alessandro Pierotti
Marco Alessandro Pierotti has been Scientific Director and Chief Executive Officer of Cogentech SB Srl, a Benefit Corporation wholly owned by IFOM ETS – The AIRC Institute of Molecular Oncology, since 2024. He graduated in Biological Sciences from the University of Milan and trained at the National Cancer Institute (NIH, Bethesda) and the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York, focusing his research on cancer genetics from the outset. From 1970 he spent much of his career at the Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori in Milan. There he headed the Department of Experimental Oncology and the Molecular Diagnostics Laboratory and, from 2006 to 2014, served as Scientific Director, helping to establish the Lombardy Oncology Network (Rete Oncologica Lombarda, ROL). He conceived and directed the AIRC Hereditary Tumours Programme (1995–2005), Italy’s first national programme in the field, which brought molecular genetics into clinical oncology practice: predictive tests, genetic risk criteria and active surveillance strategies for at-risk families. This work continues today at Cogentech, which develops advanced genetic tests. He contributed to the discovery of new oncogenes involved in thyroid tumours and has authored more than 490 scientific publications, with an H-index of 112. He has co-authored the chapter on oncogenes in every edition of Cancer Medicine (Holland-Frei). He has served as President of the Italian Cancer Society (Società Italiana di Cancerologia, SIC), the European Association for Cancer Research (EACR) and the Organisation of European Cancer Institutes (OECI), of which he is now President Emeritus. He has been a member of the Scientific Council of the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) and of the Policy Committee of the European Cancer Organisation (ECCO), and he was a Commissioner of the Central Charity Commission of Fondazione Cariplo from 2006 to 2019.
Alessandro Tosi
Deputy CEO
Alessandro Tosi
Born in Milan in 1971, Alessandro Tosi holds a degree in Engineering from Politecnico di Milano and has over 25 years of managerial experience in Italy and internationally in the biomedical technology, medical device and in vitro diagnostics (IVD) sectors. He has held positions as Chief Executive Officer, Country Manager and Sales and Marketing Manager, with responsibility for financial and organisational management, leading multidisciplinary teams, and developing growth and international expansion strategies. Throughout his career, he has worked in cardiac surgery, interventional radiology, microbiology, infectious diseases and haematology, contributing to the introduction and commercialisation of innovative diagnostic and medical technologies. He has gained extensive experience in business development, managing key accounts and international distribution networks, and building relationships with healthcare institutions, laboratories and industry professionals.
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