Raffaella Ravinetto initially trained as pharmacist, and later obtained a Postgraduate Diploma in Tropical Medical Biology and a PhD in Biomedical Sciences.

After gaining experience as clinical researcher in the private sector, she worked as pharmacist with various humanitarian programs; in particular, she followed various dossiers on access to/quality of essential medicines with Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF).

From 2007 to 2016, she was the Head of the Clinical Trials Unit at the Antwerp Institute of Tropical Medicine (ITM), and the Scientific Coordinator of QUAMED, a North-South Network that promotes universal access to quality-ensured medicines.

She is currently a Senior Researcher at the ITM Public Health Department, overseeing a portfolio of research, networking and advocacy on medicines in low- and middle-income countries. She lectures on subjects related to medicines, clinical research and research ethics in developing countries/vulnerable populations.

Raffaella is the chairperson of the ITM Institutional Review Board and of the Ethics Review Board of MSF, an ethical advisor to some EU-funded research projects, and a scientific advisor to QUAMED.