Stefania Bettinelli

Centre for Regenerative Medicine, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy

Stefania started working with rare diseases in 2007, when she became Communication and Fundraising Manager at DEBRA Italy, the national association of patients affected by Epidermolysis Bullosa. There she managed the branding and communication strategy, including the website, media relations and public engagement, and approached the stem cell world.

Currently she manages external relations and communication at Holostem Terapie Avanzate, a spin-off of the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, at the Centre for Regenerative Medicine “Stefano Ferrari” and at the Interdepartmental Centre for Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine, also in the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia. She has extensive experience in external relations with patients, institutions and media. She has experience managing communication strategies in different contexts: rare disease; local politics and administration; civil protection emergencies and activities and in music, as she is also the Press Officer of Francesco Guccini, a popular Italian singer, for the film La mia Thule.

Stefania’s PhD was in “Environmental quality and regional economic development”, during which she taught courses in cultural geography, as well as producing papers and book chapters. She has a Masters in Environmental Politics and her degree was in Literature from the University of Milan, with a thesis in cultural geography.