Dr. Maria A. Avanzini is the Director of Biology of Paediatric Oncohaematology at the IRCCS Policlinico San Matteo Foundation. She received her Master’s degree in Histochemistry and Cytochemistry at the University of Pavia in 1985 and completed her Ph.D. studies in Developmental Medical Sciences at the Laboratory of Immunology of the Pediatric Clinic, University of Pavia, in 1991. She also received the Postgraduate Diploma in Food Science at the University of Pavia in 2001. From September 1985 to September 1986, she attended the Clinical Immunology Laboratory of the University of Gothenburg (Sweden) as a researcher. She has often participated in numerous national and international conferences as a speaker and in training and refresher courses. She has published more than 90 publications in indexed journals.