Sebastiano has worked on the establishment of the European Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA) within the European Commission since its inception in late 2021. Within HERA, he is currently the Policy Coordinator for Prevention, Preparedness and Response Planning in the area of medical countermeasures. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he worked for DG SANTE focusing on the negotiations of the European Health Union proposals for the revised mandate of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control and the regulation on serious cross-border threats to health.

Sebastiano participates regularly as an expert in the ECDC’s assessments of national prevention, preparedness, and response planning, as well as in WHO’s Joint External Evaluations. His research interests and expertise focus on global health and pandemic governance, and, in particular, the EU Health Security Framework.

A social policy professional by background, Sebastiano has served as a consultant for several international and governmental organisations, including the OECD, NATO, and GIZ. He holds an MPA from the London School of Economics and an MA from the New York University.