Ruxandra Draghia-Akli is director of the Health Directorate at the Directorate-General for Research and Innovation of the European Commission. Draghia-Akli served as vice president of research at VGX Pharmaceuticals (now Inovio) and VGX Animal Health. Her research activities focused on molecular biology, gene therapy and vaccination. She is a global leader in the field of nucleic acid delivery for therapeutic and vaccination applications. She also is an inventor on more than 100 patents and patent applications. In 2012, Draghia-Akli became an honorary member of the Romanian Academy of Medical Sciences. She received an M.D. from Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy in Bucharest, Romania, and a Ph.D. in human genetics from the Romanian Academy of Medical Sciences. She completed a doctoral fellowship at Paris Descartes University and postdoctoral training at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, where she also served on the faculty.