{{Short description|British pharmacologist}} {{Infobox scientist | name = Maria Gabriela Belvisi | workplaces = Imperial College London <br> Ailux | alma_mater = King's College London <br> Imperial College London | thesis_title = Excitatory non-adrenergic non-cholinergic nerves and their modulation in the guinea-pig airways | thesis_url = https://search.worldcat.org/title/940324352 | thesis_year = 1990 }}
'''Maria Belvisi''' is a British pharmacologist who is a professor at Imperial College London and the chief scientific officer of Ailux, an AI-biotech company wholly owned by XtalPi. Prior to joining Ailux in 2026, she worked as a senior vice president at AstraZeneca. She works on treatments for chronic cough, asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. She was elected Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences in 2019.
== Early life and education == Belvisi attended a state school in Liverpool. At the time, very few girls studied science to an advanced level.{{citation needed|date=March 2026}} She went to King's College London to study pharmacology. She moved to the National Heart and Lung Institute for her doctoral research, where she worked with Peter Barnes.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Women in pharma: Maria Belvisi - PharmaTimes |url=https://pharmatimes.com/magazine/2018/october_2018/women_in_pharma_maria_belvisi/ |access-date=2026-03-18 |language=en-US}}</ref>
== Research and career == Belvisi was appointed a Wellcome Trust Career Development Fellow at Imperial. After the four-year post, she moved to Sanofi, where she learned the basics of drug discovery. She worked on two products that looked to eliminate asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Belvisi left Sanofi and returned to Imperial College London, where she worked alongside Magdi Yacoub.<ref name=":0" /> She started to build her own academic group, and was one of Imperial's youngest women professors.<ref name=":0" />
Belvisi explored new treatment strategies for chronic cough and was eventually offered a position as vice president of AstraZeneca in the Innovative Medicines and Early Development unit.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1">{{Cite web |date=2019-01-16 |title=Women in Science: AstraZeneca |url=https://pharmaphorum.com/r-d/views-analysis-r-d/women-in-science-astrazeneca |access-date=2026-03-18 |website=pharmaphorum |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-03-25 |title=Women's History Month: Celebrating Pioneers and Future Trailblazers |url=https://www.astrazeneca.com/content/az-us/media/articles/2022/womens-history-month-celebrating-pioneers-and-future-trailblazers-03092022.html |access-date=2026-03-18 |website=www.astrazeneca.com |language=az}}</ref> At AstraZeneca, she leads respiratory research up to phase 3 clinical trials.<ref name=":1" /> She continued to partner with Imperial, particularly to investigate respiratory disease.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2017-12-22 |title=Imperial partners with AstraZeneca to investigate drivers of respiratory disease {{!}} Imperial News |url=https://www.imperial.ac.uk/news/183846/imperial-partners-with-astrazeneca-investigate-drivers/ |access-date=2026-03-18 |website=Imperial College London |language=en-GB}}</ref> In 2019, she was elected Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Professor Maria Belvisi |url=https://acmedsci.ac.uk/fellows/fellows-directory/ordinary-fellows/fellow/Maria%20Gabriela-Belvisi-0033z00002qIImOAAW |access-date=2026-03-18 |website=acmedsci.ac.uk}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-05-08 |title=Academy of Medical Sciences elects six new Fellows from Imperial College London {{!}} Imperial News |url=https://www.imperial.ac.uk/news/191158/academy-medical-sciences-elects-fellows-from/ |access-date=2026-03-18 |website=Imperial College London |language=en-GB}}</ref>
On 10 April 2026, Belvisi joined the biotech company Ailux as their chief scientific officer.<ref>{{cite web |title=Ailux Appoints Maria Belvisi, Ph.D., as Chief Scientific Officer |url=https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ailux-appoints-maria-belvisi-phd-as-chief-scientific-officer-302738847.html |website=PR Newswire |access-date=10 April 2026 |language=en}}</ref>
== Selected publications == * {{Cite Q|Q80412003}} * {{Cite Q|Q37217521}} * {{Cite Q|Q34243014}}
== References == {{reflist}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Belvisi, Maria}} Category:Living people Category:British women pharmacologists Category:Academics of Imperial College London Category:Alumni of King's College London Category:21st-century British women scientists Category:Year of birth missing (living people) Category:Fellows of the Academy of Medical Sciences (United Kingdom)