Francesco Blasi

Francesco Blasi is a Professor of Molecular Biology at the Faculty of Medicine, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University in Milan since 1998. He has held leadership roles including Chairman of the Department of Cell Biology and Functional Genetics and Dean of the Office of Graduate Studies in Cellular and Molecular Biology.

• Education
  • MD (summa cum laude), University of Naples, Italy (1961)
  • PhD (Libera Docenza) in General Pathology, University of Naples, Italy (1968)

Blasi’s research focuses on cell migration, proliferation, and signaling; the role of the Prep1 transcription factor in mammalian development; and the transcriptional regulation of the urokinase (uPA) gene. His work intersects molecular biology, genetics, and developmental biology.

He received prestigious honors, including the Fogarty Scholar in Residence Award from NIH, the Dr. Honoris Causa from the University of Copenhagen, and membership in EMBO, the Royal Danish Academy of Sciences, and Academia Europaea. Earlier in his career, Blasi served as Director of the CNR Institute of Genetics and Biophysics in Naples and Head of the Department of Molecular Biology and Functional Genomics at HSR Private University.