BIO
Maria Cristina Villarroel
Global TA Section Head, Genitourinary Cancer
As the Global Section Head for the therapeutic area Genitourinary Tumors, Cristina is medical monitor for oncology and Early Phase trials.
Work experience
Cristina has held positions at several pharmaceutical and biotech companies including Novartis Institute of Biomedical Research in Boston, and GP-Pharm and AstraZeneca in Barcelona. She also worked as a scientific consultant for clinical development. Her expertise includes preclinical development and design of biomarker strategies (selection of pre-selection and pharmacodynamic biomarkers), as well as the design and conduct of clinical studies, development of other study-related documents and procedures, clinical data review and pharmacovigilance activities. She has served as scientific liaison with key opinion leaders and as contact person with regulatory agencies (EMA, FDA, Swissmedic) for product registration.
Education
After graduating from Central University of Caracas, Venezuela, Cristina did a one-year internship training in ERT at Hospital Universitari Germans Trias i Pujol in Badalona, Spain. During her residency training in Clinical Pharmacology at the Hospital Clinic of Barcelona, she gained experience in internal medicine, emergency medicine and oncology. She trained as a post-doctoral research fellow at the Department of Oncology at Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Centre, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore.