Vittoria Colizza

Head of Research

INSERM and Sorbonne Université, Faculté de Mèdecine, Paris, France

Tokyo Institute of Technology, World Research Hub Initiative, Tokyo, Japan

email: vittoria.colizza (at) inserm.fr
high-res photo: full, crop

short bio

Vittoria Colizza is Head of Research at INSERM (French National Institute for Health and Medical Research) & Sorbonne Université, Faculty of Medicine, working in the Pierre Louis Institute of Epidemiology and Public Health, within the 'Communicable Diseases Surveillance and Modelling' team where she leads the EPIcx lab (Epidemics in complex environments). Through modeling, her research spans a wide array of issues on epidemic and pandemic risks and propagation, accounting for the role of social contacts and mobility, and the interaction between population behavior and contagion dynamics. Integrating data from sensors and digital surveillance, her work provides actionable insights for the management of epidemic and pandemic crises, evaluating the epidemic impact, anticipating the epidemic evolution and the effectiveness of control measures. Since January 2020 she has been active in the response against COVID-19 pandemic, advising French governmental bodies and health agencies, and international authorities. For her work on the pandemic, in 2020 she received her knighthood of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic by the Italian President, the highest-ranking honor of the Italian Republic; in 2021 she was awarded the prix Irène Joliot Curie – Prix spécial de l’engagement by the French Academy of Sciences and the French Ministry of Research.

Trained as a physicist (PhD in Statistical and Biological Physics in 2004 at the International School for Advanced Studies in Trieste, Italy), she worked at Indiana University (US) in the School of Informatics as post-doc (2004-2006) and visiting Assistant Professor (2007), and joined ISI Foundation (Turin, Italy, 2007-2010) after being awarded an ERC Starting Grant in Life Sciences in 2007. In 2011 Colizza joined INSERM in Paris, and was promoted Head of research in 2017. Since 2020, she is Visiting Professor at the Tokyo Institute of Technology in Japan.

honors and awards

Colizza received a number of honors and awards, including:

Prix Irène Joliot Curie – Prix spécial de l’engagement by the French Academy of Sciences and the French Ministry of Research, 2021.
Knighthood of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic by the Italian President, the highest-ranking honor of the Italian Republic, 2020.
Erdős–Rényi Award from the Network Science Society [The prize is awarded to a selected young scientist (under 40 years old on the day of the nomination deadline) for her/his achievements in research activities in the area of network science, broadly construed. While the achievements can be both theoretical and experimental, the prize is aimed at emphasizing outstanding contributions relevant to the interdisciplinary progress of network science].
Telethon-Farmindustria Award in 2017 [In occasion of the 10th anniversary of the ERC (European Research Council), Telethon Farmindustria awarded a Research Prize to the youngest female researcher recipient of an ERC in Italy in the field of Life Sciences].
Google ‘Solve for X’ Scientist in 2015 [Google ‘Solve for X’ is a global community that aims to surface brilliant scientific innovations and technological breakthroughs, that have the potential to solve big global problems facing humanity].
Young Scientist Award for Socio- Econophysics 2013.

Invited participant at the Science Foo Camp by Google, O’Reilly and Nature, @Google, Mountain View, 2013.
Prix Louis-Daniel Beauperthuy 2012 (Human biology & Medical sciences) of the French Academy of Sciences [“Biannual prize to be awarded to a scientist (French or foreigner) to reward epidemiological studies that have contributed to improve the fate of humanity, as the ones conducted by Louis-Daniel Beauperthuy”].
Young Advisor to the Vice President of the European Commission Mrs. Neelie Kroes for the new Digital Agenda for Europe, 2010-2020 (2011 – 2014).

European Research Council Starting Independent Researcher Grant (2008 – 2013).
Young Scientist selected by the French Academy of Sciences for policy-science jumelage (2011).
Young Talent Award, Italian Ministry of Youth (2010).

Invited tutorial presenter, National Academies Keck Futures Initiative (NAKFI) on complexity (2008).

INFM Degree Award for the Best 2001 Theoretical Thesis (2002).

She served as Young Advisor to the Vice President of the European Commission Mrs. Neelie Kroes for the new Digital Agenda for Europe (2011-2014) and as Member of the Innovators’ Strategic Advisory Board on People-Centered Innovation for the Italian Government for G7 in 2017.

For her work on the pandemic and her scientific dissemination engagement, she was selected for a portrait showcased by the French Embassy in Italy in occasion of the National Celebrations of the 14th of July 2020; she was portrayed by Le Monde, Liberation, Corriere della Sera, La Stampa; she was part of a selected group representing the Italian Excellence in France to meet with the President of the Italian Republic, Sergio Mattarella, in occasion of his State visit in Paris, July 5, 2021; she received her knighthood of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic by the Italian President in 2020; she was awarded the prix Irène Joliot Curie – Prix spécial de l’engagement by the French Academy of Sciences and the French Ministry of Research in 2021.