Xavier Palazzi

ESTP Congress
xavier.palazzi@astrazeneca.com
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Xavier Palazzi is a veterinary pathologist with dual citizenship in the US and France. His educational background includes a Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine from Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire de Lyon, a Master’s degree in Cellular and Molecular Communication and Signaling, and certifications from the American Board of Toxicology and the European College of Veterinary Pathologists.

Xavier's career spans several roles, beginning in 2001 as a Veterinary Toxicologic Pathologist at Aventis Cropscience/Bayer Cropscience in Sophia Antipolis, France. Xavier then moved to Pfizer Global Research & Development in Amboise, France, where he led investigative pathology and developed molecular pathology techniques. Xavier's expertise in pathology and toxicology continued to grow at NAMSA, a leading medical device CRO in Lyon, France, where he designed and reported pathology studies for medical devices.

In 2010, Xavier joined Sanofi in Alfortville, France, first as Head of Pathology and later as Head of Preclinical Safety. At Sanofi, Xavier managed teams of scientists and took scientific and regulatory responsibility for preclinical safety reports. Xavier's leadership and innovation in pathology and toxicology were further recognized in 2016 when he joined Pfizer in Groton, CT, USA, as VP - Head of Global Pathology. Xavier's role at Pfizer expanded to include immunotoxicology, investigative toxicology and clinical pathology, leading teams of scientists across multiple sites and ensuring compliance with scientific and regulatory requirements.
Since September 2024, Xavier Leads the Pathology department within Clinical Pharmacology and Safety Sciences at AstraZeneca in Boston, where he is responsible for Pathology and Microscopic Imaging on 4 sites in the US, Sweden and UK.

Xavier authored several impactful publications in the field of toxicologic pathology and developed a personal interest for neuroanatomy.

Outside of work, Xavier enjoys running, sea kayaking, building and operating model planes and spending family time with his wife and 3 children.