Ruxandra Draghia-Akli, MD, PhD
Director of the Health Directorate,
Research DG of the European Commission
Previously, Ruxandra Draghia-Akli served as Vice President of Research at VGX Pharmaceuticals (now Inovio) and VGX Animal Health.
Dr. Draghia’s research activities have focused on molecular biology, gene therapy and vaccination. She is recognised as a global leader in the field of nucleic acid delivery for therapeutic and vaccination applications. She is an inventor on more than a hundred patents and patent applications.
Throughout her career, Dr. Draghia has published numerous scientific papers and reviews in the areas of electroporation, plasmid components, growth and development, immune stimulation, vaccination, health, and well-being. She served as ad-hoc reviewer for granting agencies, annual meetings for gene therapy and endocrinology societies, and scientific journals in Europe and the USA.
Dr. Draghia received an M.D. from Carol Davilla Medical School and a Ph.D. in human genetics from the Romanian Academy of Medical Sciences. Dr. Draghia also completed a doctoral fellowship at the University of Rene Descartes in Paris and a post-doctoral training at Baylor College of Medicine (BCM), Houston, Texas, USA, and served as faculty at BCM.