Patrizia Paterlini-Bréchot obtained a permanent academic position in the University of L'Aquila (1981), then Bologna (1984) working in the departments of Hematology, Gastroenterology and Oncology.
In 1988 she moved to Paris (France) for a training in molecular biology in professor Christian Bréchot's laboratory.
From 2002 to 2006 she served as interim Director of INSERM Unit 370, previously directed by professor Christian Bréchot.
The work of Patrizia Paterlini-Bréchot led to the discovery of the ISET test[4] permitting the isolation and characterization of both circulating tumor and fetal cells.
This discovery led Patrizia Paterlini-Bréchot to found her own company named Rarecells Diagnostics[5] to develop the ISET technique.