BRANCA Francesco

University of Geneva, Switzerland

Francesco Branca is an invited professor in the Institute of Global Health of Geneva University. His research interest is the impact of food systems on global health, using a One Health approach.
He has been Director of the Department of Nutrition for Health and Development at WHO from 2008 to 2020, and Director of the Department of Nutrition and Food Safety from 2020 to 2025. He developed science-based recommendations on healthy diet and policies for food environment change and global policies for the improvement of nutrition and food safety. He has provided policy advice and technical support to countries, established partnerships with the UN and civil society and engaged with food manufacturers.
Previously, he was a senior scientist at the Italian Food and Nutrition Research Institute (INRAN), where he was responsible for the design and implementation of several studies on the effects of food and nutrients on human health and the different stages of the life cycle, and for the design, management and evaluation of public health nutrition programs.
He has been President of the Federation of the European Nutrition Societies from 2003 to 2007.
He graduated in Medicine and Surgery and specialized in Diabetology and Metabolic Diseases at the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Roma and obtained a PhD in Nutrition at Aberdeen University.

Recent publications: