Researcher profile

Fidelia Cascini

Associate Professor of Hygiene and Public Health at San Raffaele University of Rome, Italy, Fidelia Cascini, MD, PhD, is an internationally recognized expert in public health, digital health, health data governance, and health information systems. She currently serves as Head of the Scientific Secretariat at the Presidency of the Italian National Institute of Health (Istituto Superiore di Sanità). In cooperation with the Italian Ministry of Health, where she has is involved as Digital Health Advisor since 2021, Professor Cascini has contributed to several European initiatives supporting the implementation of the European Health Data Space (EHDS), including Xt-EHR, MyHealth@MyHands, TEHDAS, TEHDAS2, QUANTUM, and SHAIPED, covering interoperability, citizen access to health data, secondary use governance, data quality standards, and AI-enabled health data access. In addition, she is a member of the National Coordination Board responsible for implementing the European Health Data Space (EHDS) Regulation in Italy. She also contributes to national health policy as a member of the Ministry of Health's Working Group on Clinical Research and of the National Coordination Centre of Ethics Committees for clinical trials on medicinal products and medical devices at the Italian Medicines Agency (AIFA). At the European level, Professor Cascini is among the leading European experts supporting the implementation of the European Health Data Space. In particular, she represents Italy on the European Health Data Space (EHDS) Committee of the European Commission and previously chaired the Steering Board of the Community of Practice of Health Data Access Bodies for the secondary use of health data. She played a key role in the negotiation of the EHDS Regulation between 2022 and 2024, when she served as Italy’s national delegate to the EU Council Working Party on Public Health, appointed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation to support negotiations leading to the adoption of the Regulation, which entered into force in 2025. Professor Cascini is also Co-Chair of the Clinical and Human Engagement Work Stream of the Global Digital Health Partnership (GDHP), where she contributes to advancing digital health literacy and the effective adoption of digital health technologies worldwide. She was also a member of the Data Coordination Unit Task Force, as established in March 2020 by the Prime Minister’s office for the Covid-19 emergency. She acted as digital health expert of the Ministry of Health in the working group on investments for Telemedicine managed by the National Agency of Regional Health Services (Agenas). A prolific scholar, she is the author of more than 90 peer-reviewed scientific publications and four monographs, with research spanning digital health, health data governance, public health policy, and health information systems. Her most recent book, published by Springer in 2025, is Secondary Use of Electronic Health Data: Public Health Perspectives, Use Cases and Challenges. A medical doctor specialized in Legal Medicine and Hygiene and Preventive Medicine, Professor Cascini holds a PhD in Forensic Medicine and an MSc in Hospital Risk Management. Her work bridges academia, public institutions, and international policy-making, with a particular focus on enabling the safe, ethical, and effective use of health data to support research, innovation, and public health decision-making.