Francesco is a Research Scientist in the laboratory of Dr. Mark Kay at Stanford University, where his studies focus on AAV-mediated genome editing, RNA biology, and vector engineering.
He earned his Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences from the University of Ferrara, conducting his doctoral work at Genethon (Évry, France) under the supervision of Dr. Federico Mingozzi.
Francesco’s early research centered on the development of AAV-based gene therapy approaches for Pompe disease, contributing to studies that were subsequently advanced to clinical development by Spark Therapeutics.
At Stanford, he has led projects on the chemical modification of AAV capsids for targeted delivery—work that culminated in a patent issued in 2024—and on elucidating the mechanisms underlying nuclease-free AAV-mediated homologous recombination.
His current research investigates how noncanonical genomic structures, such as R-loops, influence AAV integration and genome editing outcomes in the liver, offering important insights into the safety of gene therapy vectors.
Dr. Puzzo’s long-term goal is to develop safer and more effective genome editing platforms for the treatment of metabolic and genetic disorders.

Dr. Girotto integrates cutting-edge space technology and remotely-sensed observations of the earth with models for the purpose of improving our scientific knowledge about variability and change in hydrologic cycles. In particular, she focuses on snow, and groundwater hydrology.
Dr. Girotto completed here bachelor and master studies in Civil and Environmental Engineering at the Universita’ degli studi di Padova, she earneda PhD in civil and environmental engineering at the University of California, Los Angeles.
She worked as a research scientist in the earth science division of the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland.
She moved to the Bay Area in 2019, when she became a faculty in the Environmental Science and Management Department at the University of California Berkeley.

Furio Rinaldi, Ph.D. is Curator in Charge of the Achenbach Foundation for Graphic Arts, the department of prints, drawings, and photographs of The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco (FAMSF), the largest collection of works on paper in Western United States.
An expert on 15th- and 16th-century Italian Renaissance drawings, particularly the schools of Leonardo da Vinci, Botticelli, Raphael and Michelangelo, he has published extensively on the subject on scholarly journals (like the Burlington Magazine and The Metropolitan Museum of Art Journal) as well as in exhibition catalogues.
Since joining FAMSF, Rinaldi has organized the exhibitions Color into Line: Pastel from the Renaissance to the Present (Legion of Honor, 2021–2022), and the critically acclaimed Botticelli Drawings (Legion of Honor, 2023-24) – the catalogue of which has been named among the best art books of the year by The New York Times -- and, Tamara de Lempicka (de Young Museum, 2024-25), praised with a “Critic’s pick” review on The New York Times.
At the Fine Arts Museums, Rinaldi was also responsible for acquiring some collection-defining works of art on paper by Bernardino Pintoricchio, Annibale Carracci, Mary Cassatt, Jean-Francois Millet, Henri Toulouse-Lautrec, and Carrie Mae Weems.
Prior to his appointment as Curator in Charge, Rinaldi covered the role of Curator of prints and drawings at the Fine Arts Museums (2020-2024).
His curatorial experience also includes positions in the department of drawings and prints at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York and the Pinacoteca di Brera, Milan.
He also was Associate Vice President and Head of Sale at Christie’s Old Master and 19th Century Drawings department in New York.
Rinaldi holds a Ph.D. in art history from the Università di Roma ‘Tor Vergata’ and an MA and BA in art history from the Università Statale di Milano, Milan.
In 2022, Rinaldi was appointed David and Julie Tobey Fellow of Italian Drawings at Villa I Tatti, The Harvard University Center for Italian Renaissance Studies.
He serves the vetting committee of Frieze Masters in London and the editorial board of the scholarly journal “Paragone”.