Elena Parmelli graduated in Biology at the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, she attended a specialisation school in Biostatistics at the University of Milan, and she got a PhD in Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Public Health Curriculum, at the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia.

She worked as research fellow at the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia and at the Department of Epidemiology of the Lazio Region focusing her activity on methods development for systematic reviews and clinical practice guidelines. She spent 6 years working at the European Commission Joint Research Centre as Scientific Officer coordinating the activities related to the European Commission Initiatives on Breast and Colorectal Cancer, including the development of clinical practice guidelines and quality assurance schemes.

She joined Humanitas in 2023, where she is currently Research Project Manager at the Clinical Epidemiology and Research Centre, involved in planning, coordination, monitoring and dissemination of research activities, and development of methods for clinical practice guidelines and quality assurance and improvement.