Dr Festa is a board certified and practicing internal medicine specialist/diabetologist who has spent most parts of his professional life improving the lives of patients with diabetes, covering all aspects from research to academic teaching to clinical care. He graduated from the University of Vienna, Austria, where he was also appointed professor of medicine after completing a research fellowship at the UT Health Science Center in San Antonio, Texas. In 2002 he joined the pharmaceutical industry, where he served in various positions in drug development and research as well as in upper management.

Dr Festa has authored numerous scientific publications in high-ranked journals, including The Lancet, Circulation and Diabetes Care, where he also served as a member of the Editorial Board. He also received several national and international research awards.

In his current position, Dr Festa leads a busy out-patient diabetes clinic in Austria. Based on 25+ years of experience in diabetes, he also acts as a consultant for various pharmaceutical and device companies in the field of diabetes and associated conditions, including obesity and cardiovascular disease.

His specific interests include drug development, real world data generation and application, diabetes technology, including CSII devices (insulin pumps) and glucose sensors, as well as telemedicine solutions.