Rossella Elisei

Rossella Elisei, MD, PhD is Professor of Endocrinology and Head of the Endocrine Unit at the University Hospital of Pisa, Italy. She is one of Europe's foremost authorities on medullary thyroid cancer (MTC), with career-defining contributions to the molecular genetics of RET proto-oncogene mutations, hereditary MTC screening programs, and the clinical pharmacology of kinase inhibitors in advanced MTC. Her laboratory and clinical program at Pisa is internationally recognized for both basic and translational advances in thyroid oncology. Professor Elisei was the principal investigator of EXAM, the phase III trial that established cabozantinib as an approved treatment for progressive, metastatic MTC, published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology in 2013. She has led foundational studies on the prevalence and clinical significance of somatic and germline RET mutations in sporadic and hereditary MTC, and her work on universal calcitonin screening has influenced European guidelines for early MTC detection. She also contributed to the development of the LIBRETTO and ARROW programs evaluating next-generation selective RET inhibitors. Beyond MTC, Professor Elisei has published extensively on the molecular pathology of papillary and follicular thyroid cancers, including BRAF, RAS, and fusion driver alterations. She serves on the European Thyroid Association executive board, has led international consensus guidelines on MTC management, and has authored over 300 peer-reviewed publications.