Antonio Giordano

Biography

Growing up in Naples, Italy, his father was an oncologist and a pathologist at the National Cancer Institute of Naples and was also a professor at the University of Naples, Giovan Giacomo Giordano, thus Antonio Giordano decided to branch out and start a research career in genetics applied to pathology. He had his father as his mentor, and he was ready to invest his time into science. Early on, while following his father's research, he became very interested in the link between the environment and the effect of toxic waste with the increasing cancer rates in the Campania region in Italy. Giordano had finished his studies at school, and he had received his degrees by 1990. He earned his medical degree at the University of Naples in 1986, and he earned his doctorate at the University of Trieste in 1990. He began to work at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in 1988, whose director was Nobel Prize winner James Dewey Watson, "the father of genetics", best known for his co-discovery on the structure of DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid). While Giordano was working at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory on Long Island, New York; he worked in a program at the lab that dealt with the cell-division cycle. Giordano worked with a team and would later identify a protein that works as an important part in the cell cycle of cancer.

Sbarro Health Research Organization

Antonio Giordano wanted to construct an organization in which scientists could be autonomous in terms of both academics and funding. He knew that funding was scarce which would mean it could cause an interruption in research programs.

[…] And I knew that as a very young researcher, without a track record or tenure at a major university, it could be years before I had the chance."

Giordano wanted to bring Italian scientists to the United States. He has said that in Italy there is little funding, but brilliant minds. In the United States, there is more freedom to do research of your choice, and there are more opportunities to receive funding. Antonio Giordano met Mario Sbarro, the president of Sbarro, Inc., an international restaurant chain, while working at Cold Spring Harbor Labs. Giordano desired to be a part of research, but he knew it was very challenging for a young researcher to receive the funds and opportunities to do so. Sbarro donated one million dollars to start the Sbarro Institute in 1993, which was first established at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia. After he had joined as an alliance with the university in 2002, Giordano moved his team to Temple University, which is also in Philadelphia. The Sbarro Institute was renamed Sbarro Health Research Organization (S.H.R.O.). Sbarro Health Research Organization has a solid commitment in the mentoring of young researchers. S.H.R.O. places their dedication into finding cures for cancer and cardiovascular diseases. They strive to do this by identifying the underlying molecular mechanisms of the diseases. The new center includes the Sbarro Institute for Cancer Research and Molecular Medicine.

Sbarro Health Research Organization is funded through private grants and donations. Giordano's work has also earned himself several awards from the National Institutes of Health. He wanted to raise funding by being independent from pharmaceutical companies and to remain intellectually independent. These companies can have a strong influence on the type of research you are conducting.

This organization holds the restricted license to more than ten worldwide patents for diagnostic as well as therapeutic applications in the treatment of cancer. The first international partnerships were with different universities including the Universities of Siena, Rome, Verona, and others. In 2009, the Sbarro Health Research Organization was relocated into a 20,000 square foot facility at Temple University, the Biotechnology Research Center. This facility comprises administrative offices, wet and dry laboratories, a medical library, and workspaces for visiting international scientists.

Research and discoveries

Among some of his research throughout the years, Giordano identified a tumor suppressor gene, Rb2/p130. This gene can be used to restrain the size of tumors so that they do not grow larger. This gene has been found to be active in lung, endometrial, brain, breast, liver and ovarian cancers. Giordano also identified that if doses of gamma radiation are combined with this gene, then the ability of tumor cells to die can speed up. Giordano went on to discover a few others: Cyclin A, Cdk9, and Cdk10. Cdk9 is known to play critical roles in HIV transcriptions, inception of tumors, and cell differentiation. These three genes have also been linked to play critical roles in various genetic muscular disorders. They also play a part in muscle differentiation. Giordano also developed patented technologies for diagnosing cancer. He unfolded a therapeutic program for the treatment of cancer. Giordano has published over 400 papers on his work and findings. They are written on the fields of gene therapy, cell cycle, the genetics of cancer, and epidemiology. In 2011, Antonio Giordano and his team uncovered anti-tumor agents that may be effective in the treatment of mesothelioma. This is a rare cancer caused by prolonged asbestos exposure. It affects the lining of the lungs, heart, and chest areas. Giordano and his team discovered that they could induce cell death without harming healthy cells. Antonio Giordano teamed up with Melissa Napolitano, PhD, and Giuseppe Russo, PhD, to research if watching a computer animated avatar could assist women to shed unwanted pounds. The rationale of this study was to see if an avatar could educate women on healthier behaviors when it comes to weight loss. More than 100 overweight women were observed. Video games were designed showing women shopping for healthier groceries, selecting smaller portion sizes, and exercising on a treadmill. Each video lasted fifteen minutes. Results revealed that after four weeks, the average weight loss was approximately four pounds. This could be a potential instrument in the aid of weight loss among both men and women in the long term.

Trouble in Campania

Antonio Giordano analyzed the environmental relations among toxic dumping and cancer growth for over fifteen years in Campania, Italy. The Camorra, the Neapolitan Mafia, was illegally disposing of their toxic waste, and politicians were covering it up for years. The Camorra Mafia was receiving money for dumping their heavy metals and compounds which were known to cause cancer. The toxic waste was lit on fire and would burn in fields and waste ground. This area was known as the Triangle of Death. In some areas, research revealed that there was a twelve percent increase in cancer rates. Rates also increased in the number of birth defects by more than eighty percent. These defects harmed the central nervous systems. The president of Italy, Giorgio Napolitano, sent a letter to Giordano after these sightings were uncovered. He thanked Giordano for his commitment to finding out the hazards of the pollutions in Campania.

Current work

Antonio Giordano currently upholds his position as the president of Sbarro Health Research Organization and serves as the director of the Sbarro Institute for Cancer Research and Molecular Medicine at Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He continues to devise advanced theories and brainstorm new ones. Giordano has been studying the connections between obesity and cancer. He, additionally, works on programs in molecular therapeutics. Giordano serves on the editorial board of review for around twenty scientific journals.

Not everybody appreciates your work and what you do, but I am persistent, and I move forward because I want to help people.

Awards and recognition

Antonio Giordano has been recognized worldwide by his work. He has received multiple awards and recognitions for his research and discoveries. Some of these awards include: Irving J. Selikoff Award for Cancer Research, the Rotary International Award, Lions Club Napoli-Europa and others. Giordano has also been awarded with the title of Knight by the President of the Republic of Italy. He has been recognized for these awards based on his achievements in cancer research. Giordano was also honored at the 25th anniversary of the National Organization of Italian American Women.

Personal life

Lives in Radnor, with his wife, Mina, and three children Maria Teresa (same name of his mother), Giovan Giacomo (same name of his father) and Luca.