Davide Gianni | Senior Director, Discovery Sciences
astrazeneca

Dr. Davide Gianni is Senior Director of Functional Genomics at AstraZeneca’s BioPharmaceuticals R&D, where he leads a team of scientists advancing new therapeutic opportunities across key disease areas.   He joined AstraZeneca in 2015 from Boehringer Ingelheim, where he led oncology target discovery efforts. Earlier, he completed postdoctoral research at The Scripps Research Institute, investigating the role of reactive oxygen species in diseases including cancer, neurodegeneration, and cardiovascular conditions.   Dr. Gianni has authored over 30 publications and co-edited SLAS Discovery’s first Special Issue on Functional Genomics. He plays a key role in AstraZeneca’s external collaborations, including with the Joint MRC-MTI-AZ Functional Genomics Screening Laboratory (awarded the 2025 OBN Award as best industry collaboration), the Joint AZ/CRH Functional Genomics Centre and the MRC funded UK Functional Genomics Initiative.   His work has earned multiple honors, including the Alzheimer’s Association Young Scholar Award, the Boehringer Ingelheim Golden Award, the Discovery Sciences Science Award and the SLAS Discovery Excellence Award.