Dr. Irina Meln is a Head of Innovation at the European Vaccine Initiative (EVI). She brings over 15 years of experience in biomedical research and more than 10 years in project coordination and alliance management.

Irina holds a Ph.D. in Biosciences (Dr. rer. nat.) from Ruprecht-Karls University, Heidelberg. Her scientific work focused on advanced cell models and big data analysis. In addition to her academic qualifications, she is a certified project manager by the German Association for Project Management (PM-ZERT) and holds a Level A License in European Business Competence (EBC*L). Throughout her career, Irina has coordinated multiple international clinical projects across various sectors, including research institutions, public healthcare organisations, and the pharmaceutical industry. Prior to obtaining her Ph.D., she gained valuable experience working in a grant office, where she secured funding from national and international programs such as FP7 and BMBF.

Irina is dedicated to expanding current collaborations and forging new partnerships at EVI, with the goal of strengthening alliance management capabilities and driving innovation in the vaccine field.

Irina leads Inno4Vac, PrIMAVeRa, CAPTIVATE and DRAIGON projects at EVI.