Paola Paci

Paola Paci is an Associate Professor at the Department of Computer, Control, and Management Engineering "Antonio Ruberti" of Sapienza University of Rome and an Affiliate Professor at the Department of Laboratory Medicine, Cardio-Metabolic Unit of Karolinska Institutet, Sweden. She has held visiting positions at Harvard Medical School and research roles at CNR's Institute for Systems Analysis and Computer Science. Her work bridges computational biology and network medicine.

• 2010: Second Level Master in Bioinformatics (Sapienza University of Rome)
• 2003: PhD in Physics (University of Pavia)
• 1999: MSc in Physics (Sapienza University of Rome)

Paci develops algorithms for biomarker discovery and drug repurposing in network medicine. Her tools include SWIM for glioblastoma biomarkers, SPINNAKER for ceRNA interactions, SAveRUNNER for drug repurposing, and MIENTURNET for miRNA-target analysis. Recent work focuses on single-cell multi-omics, adverse drug effects, and pathogen spillover mechanisms.

Her research spans 2025-2024 publications covering Alzheimer’s disease drug prioritization, COPD pathway analysis, obesity therapeutics avoiding hepatic steatosis, and neuroblastoma immunotherapy resistance. These works integrate network medicine with pharmacology, genomics, and systems biology.

• 2018: BITS Best Poster Award
• 2017: IEEE TCCLS Best Poster (700 USD)
• 2016: IEEE TCCLS Best Poster (500 USD)
• 2014: SYSBIO Award (10,000 EUR)
• 2010: Master Award (1,500 EUR)

She teaches bioinformatics at Sapienza University and Campus Biomedico University, organized key IEEE workshops, directs training courses, and serves on editorial boards (Scientific Reports, Biotechnology Reports). Her affiliations include the Network Medicine Institute and GNB bioengineering society.