Staff

Francesca Minnai

Assegnista/Borsista
E-Mail

francescaminnai@cnr.it

PHONE

NA

LOCATION

Segrate

ROOM (floor/number)

7/24

After obtaining a PhD from the University of Milan in January 2026, I am currently a research fellow at the Institute for Biomedical Technologies (ITB-CNR, Segrate). Thanks to my advanced skills in evolutionary biology, R, Python and bioinformatics applied to omics data analysis, my research integrates pharmacogenomics, population genetics and translational medicine. Since 2021, I have contributed to the AIRC MFAG 2019 project (PI: Dr. Francesca Colombo), focusing on the pharmacogenomics of opioid response for the treatment of cancer pain in advanced cancer patients. I also work in the field of genetic epidemiology of infectious diseases, with studies on COVID-19 mortality and genetics of Long COVID. Since 2024, I have been a visiting researcher in Dr. Hanna M. Ollila’s group at the Institute for Molecular Medicine Finland (FIMM, University of Helsinki), where I conduct genetic analyses of complex traits related to dysautonomia and sleep disorders, using large international biobanks.

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) for the identification of germline variants associated with diseases, other binary phenotypes and quantitative traits.

Genome assembly of high resolution, haplotype resolved genomes and polymorphism characterization

Application of advanced statistical methods, machine learning, deep learning, explainable AI (XAI), and data mining for predicting pathological mechanisms, identifying disease biomarkers and supporting patient stratification.

Development, application and optimization of automated pipelines for the analysis of genomics, epigenomics and transcriptomics data for large-scale studies.

Management and harmonization of biomedical data through organization, curation, and integration of heterogeneous health and research datasets into standardized formats.

Implementation of studies that combine classical epidemiological methods with high-throughput technologies to reveal the intricate relationship between molecular profiles, environmental exposures, and disease risk.