Kathy Giusti, a multiple myeloma patient, is the Founder of the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation (MMRF) and the Multiple Myeloma Research Consortium (MMRC) and currently serves on the MMRF Board of Directors. She also has more than two decades of experience in the pharmaceutical industry, previously holding senior positions at G.D. Searle and Merck.
Since founding the MMRF in 1998, Giusti has led the Foundation in establishing innovative, collaborative research models in the areas of tissue banking, genomics, and clinical trials. These models are dramatically accelerating the pace at which lifesaving treatments are brought to patients and are building an end-to-end solution in precision medicine. Today, Giusti is widely recognized as a champion of open-access data sharing and a strong advocate for patient engagement, not only in their cancer care, but as part of the research and drug development process.
Giusti’s leadership has earned her several prestigious awards and recognitions. Most recently, she was ranked #19 on Fortune Magazine’s Worlds’ 50 Greatest Leaders. In 2011, she was named to the TIME 100 List of the world’s most influential people. She has been named an Open Science Champion of Change by the White House and has also received the American Association for Cancer Research Centennial Medal for Distinguished Public Service, the Harvard Business School Alumni Achievement Award, and the Healthcare Businesswomen’s Association’s Woman of the Year Award. She currently sits on the White House Precision Medicine Initiative Working Group.
Giusti has been featured on the Today Show, NBC Nightly News, CBS Evening News, Fox News, CNN, and Bloomberg. Her efforts have also been profiled by The Wall Street Journal, The New Yorker, Harvard Business Review, The New York Times, Forbes, WIRED, and Fast Company.
Giusti currently serves on the Harvard Business School Health Advisory Board. She has previously served on the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology National Cancer Advisory Board and the National Cancer Policy Board.
Giusti received her MBA in general management from Harvard Business School. She holds an honorary Doctorate from the University of Vermont.
