Elio has made an exceptional impact on the fields of cancer prevention and the fight against chronic illness.
He is Head of the Division of Epidemiology, Public Health and Primary Care at Imperial College, London. During his career, he has conducted important research on the effect of alcohol, tobacco and occupational substances in causing cancers of the respiratory and upper intestinal tracts.
He set up and the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer (EPIC). He established the first dedicated large-scale biobanks for DNA and blood. This vision has provided an international resource for the investigation of metabolic and genetic factors in cancer and other diseases.
He has led vital research showing a major effect of abdominal obesity in colorectal cancer and early death.
During his time at the International Agency for Research on Cancer at the W.H.O., he carried out ground-breaking research on the role of diet, nutrition and metabolic health in cancer causation and prevention.
Elio has been elected as an Honorary Fellow of the Faculty of Public Health of the Royal College of Physicians and a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences in recognition of his achievements in cancer epidemiology and public health. In 2018, he was made an Officer of the Order of the Star of Italy in recognition of his work to promote British-Italian relations in science, university teaching and research.