Maria Grazia Pennisi qualified from the faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Messina (Italy) in 1979. From 1983 to 1991, she was appointed researcher in Clinical Veterinary Medicine at the University of Messina. In 1991, she became Associate Professor and in 2000 Full Professor in Clinical Veterinary Medicine at the same faculty. She was Board member of the Italian Veterinary Association for Feline Disease and is an honorary member of AIVPA (Associazione Italiana Veterinari Piccoli Animali). She has a particular interest in feline infectious diseases, clinical immunology, and small animal arthropod-borne diseases. She is the author or co-author of some 140 papers published in peer-reviewed journals, book chapters.