Giovanna Russo is a full professor of pediatrics at the University of Catania. She is a pediatric hematologist and director of the Pediatric Hemato-Oncology Unit, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Catania, Italy. She became a medical doctor in 1985 and completed her residency in pediatrics in 1989 and her Ph.D. in pediatrics in 1994. For a time, she studied, conducted research and worked in a clinical practice in the Immunology Unit of Georgetown University, Washington, DC, USA. In 2010--12, she was vice-president of the Italian Association of Pediatric Hematology-Oncology (AIEOP). In 2012--18, she was coordinator of the Red Cell Disorders Working Group of AIEOP. Her clinical and scientific experience has been in the pediatric hematology–oncology field, where she leads many projects studying rare anemias and iron deficiency anemia. She is member of AIEOP, SITE and EHA. She has published many papers in international journals, particularly about pediatric hematology and oncology.