Cristina Messa, MD, PhD is a physician and an academic, full professor of Diagnostic Imaging and Nuclear Medicine at the University of Milan-Bicocca. She was the Minister of University and Research in the Italian Government with Mario Draghi (2021-2022) and was Rector of the University of Milan-Bicocca from 2013 to 2019, the first woman to lead a Milanese university.

Named among the Inspiring Fifty, the 50 leading women in technology in Italy in 2018, she is an expert in nuclear medicine and radiological sciences, with a focus on neurodegenerative and neoplastic diseases. Her objectives include promoting the enhancement of research and innovation as a strategic foundation of institutional activity, encouraging the internationalisation of the Italian research system and making technologies and solutions available and accessible to improve the healthcare system and the health of the citizens.