Vincenzo Di Donato

Founder and Scientific Leader | Genomics, Drug Discovery, Disease Modeling | Building Global Health Equity Initiatives

Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain

About

I’m a molecular biologist driven by one core idea: science should work for everyone. Over the past decade, I’ve moved between academia, biotech, and the non-profit world - exploring how cutting-edge technologies can translate into real-world impact. From studying developmental neuroscience to leading disease modeling and drug discovery programs using zebrafish, I’ve focused on making research faster, smarter, and more accessible. As Scientific Director at ZeClinics, I led multidisciplinary teams, built international partnerships, and coordinated EU-funded projects at the intersection of innovation and application. Along the way, I developed a strong interest in connecting science with strategy - designing projects, managing diverse teams, and building collaborations that actually deliver. But my work doesn’t stop in the lab. Through genome editing training programs in Africa, I saw firsthand how access - not talent - is often the limiting factor in science. That realization led me to found Gene4All, where I now focus on expanding equitable access to genomic technologies in low- and middle-income countries. I believe the future of science is collaborative, global, and inclusive - and I’m building toward that future every day.

Experience

  • Co-founder (Volunteer Board Role) at Gene4All
    Jun 2025 - Present · 1 yr 2 mos

    Volunteer board role in a nonprofit organization dedicated to democratizing access to genomic technologies and fostering locally driven innovation in life sciences across low- and middle-income countries. Involved at governance and strategic-orientation level, supporting the organization’s mission through high-level guidance, institutional representation and coordination of volunteers.

  • Genome editing programme facilitator at TReND in Africa
    Oct 2021 - Present · 4 yrs 10 mos

    Teaching genome editing techniques for the development of breakthrough science in the African continent.

  • ZeClinics (7 yrs 9 mos)
    • Scientific Director
      Nov 2020 - Jun 2025 · 4 yrs 8 mos

    • Head of Genetics Services and MSCA postdoctoral fellow
      Jan 2019 - Nov 2020 · 1 yr 11 mos

    • R&D Project manager Genome editing
      Oct 2017 - Jan 2019 · 1 yr 4 mos

  • Institut Curie - Research Centre (5 yrs 10 mos)
    • Postdoctoral Researcher
      Oct 2016 - Jun 2017 · 9 mos

      In this period, I finalized the work developed during the PhD. In addition to laboratory work, I carried out different tasks: grant writing, scientific paper writing, student supervision.

    • PhD student
      Sep 2012 - Sep 2016 · 4 yrs 1 mo

      During my PhD studies, I developed two main projects by taking advantage of the zebrafish larval visual system: the first investigating the basis of axonal lamination in the retinotectal system and the second aiming at the development of a technology for tissue-specific gene inactivation.

    • Postgraduate student, Leonardo da Vinci Fellowship
      Sep 2011 - Aug 2012 · 1 yr

      During the 24 weeks of training I carried out a project focused on the analysis of the expression Calcium binding proteins during zebrafish embryonic and larval development. This work led to a first-author publication “Characterization of the Calcium Binding Protein Family in Zebrafish”. This was the first publication of the recently established Neural Circuits Development laboratory headed by Filippo Del Bene.

  • Postgraduate student with fellowship at University of Granada
    May 2011 - Sep 2011 · 5 mos

    During this period, I worked on a project investigating a possible neuroprotective role of 3 natural compounds (maslinic acid, hydroxytyrosol, resveratrol) in Alzheimer’s disease progression. The project was developed in collaboration between the Departments of Medicine and Biochemistry.