About Cassandra Kelly-Cirino

Cassandra is rejoining FIND in September 2022 as Vice President, Disease Programs and will be coordinating the diverse disease areas to ensure alignment and improved co-utilization of technology developments, funding and strategic approach to ensure equitable access to diagnostics globally.

Cassandra has over two decades of experience as a senior executive in non-profit, research, private, and public health settings globally, and is a recognized diagnostics expert across multiple diseases areas spanning research and development, evaluation, validation, implementation, market access, and regulatory aspects.

She began her career at the Canadian National Microbiology Laboratory focused on emerging infections ranging from HIV, STIs and Prions.  She then spent a decade at the Wadsworth Center in Albany, New York as Deputy Director of the Biodefense Laboratory leading a BSL-3 laboratory focused on emergency response, diagnostics development, clinical laboratory evaluations and driving public-private partnerships to strength response capacities for 15 pathogens.  Following a 5-year period as Vice President, Infectious Diseases for DNA Genotek/OraSure Technologies with a focus on the development of new chemistries to improve Tuberculosis sample transport and the development of Rapid Diagnostic Tests for emerging diseases, Dr. Kelly-Cirino then led a newly formed team at the Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics (FIND) as Director of Emerging Threats focused on the development of innovative diagnostic technologies to support countries in Africa and South East Asia to detect and respond to emerging infections endemic in their regions.

Most recently, Cassandra served as Senior Director for Innovation and New Technology at the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation (EGPAF), overseeing EGPAF’s innovation portfolio including introduction of new treatments, models of care and diagnostics across EGPAF’s vast implementation platform spanning 19 countries.  Dr.  Kelly-Cirino holds a Ph.D.  in Immunology and Infectious Disease from the State University of New York, Albany with a focus on the development of vaccines and diagnostics for anthrax and other high threat pathogens.