Paulina Franceschi | Director
Centro Regional de Innovación en Vacunas y Biofármacos (CRIVB AIP)

Academic, researcher, diplomat, and expert in evidence-based public policy, with 
extensive experience in sustainable development and international relations. She 
holds a PhD in Microbiology from the University of Notre Dame and has 
complemented her strong scientific background with both national and 
international experience, integrating science and public policy. 
From 1986 to 1995, she worked in Tropical Medicine in Panama, receiving funding 
from the Pan American Health Organization, the European Union, and the 
International Atomic Energy Agency. She led the National Human Development 
Report for the United Nations Development Programme in Panama (2000–2011), 
publishing key studies on poverty, youth, and institutional development. Between 
2020 and 2022, she coordinated the Bicentennial Pact, applying her expertise in 
consensus-building. 
In academia, she served as Academic and Graduate Vice-Rector at Universidad 
Santa María La Antigua, where she promoted the adoption of the College Board 
assessment, as well as partnerships with the Development Bank of Latin America 
and technical training centers. 
In diplomacy, she held senior roles including Deputy Ambassador at Panama’s 
Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York (2014–2015), and 
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Panama to Austria, with 
concurrent accreditation to Hungary, Slovenia, Slovakia, and Kosovo (2015–2018). 
She also served as Permanent Representative of Panama to United Nations 
organizations based in Vienna (2015–2018), where she chaired the Industrial 
Development Board of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization and 
facilitated technical cooperation for the development of the “Panama as a 
Pharmaceutical Hub” proposal for Latin America. She also chaired the Preparatory 
Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization. 
Since 2023, she has served as Acting Director of the Regional Center for Innovation 
in Vaccines and Biopharmaceuticals (CRIVB AIP) in Panama, overseeing its 
development and the establishment of its scientific and research capabilities.