Giuseppe Pizzorno, Ph.D., Pharm.D.
Associate Director for Translational Science
gpizzorno@nvcancer.org
Giuseppe Pizzorno, Ph.D., Pharm.D., received his degrees in medicinal chemistry (1983) and in pharmaceutical science (1984) from the University of Genoa in Italy. He joined the Department of Pharmacology at the National Cancer Institute in Genoa in 1984 before moving to Yale University in its Department of Pharmacology in 1986. At Yale Dr. Pizzorno conducted his post-doctoral training in clinical pharmacology with Dr. Joseph R. Bertino and in molecular pharmacology with Dr. Robert E. Handschumacher working on the development of new anti-folate antimetabolites and on the evaluation of new fluoropyrimidine-based regimens (biochemical modulations). Dr. Pizzorno joined the faculty in the Department of Internal Medicine (section of Medical Oncology) in 1990 as well as the Departments of Pediatrics and Pharmacology, and became the director of Clinical Pharmacology at the Yale Comprehensive Cancer Center in 1991, a position he held until 2002. He is currently an associate professor in internal medicine, pediatrics and pharmacology, and co-principal investigator and director of research for the Yale Pediatric Pharmacology Research Unit.
His research is currently focused on the role of Uridine Phosphorylase (UPase) in mediating the host toxicity to fluoropyrimidines, and the function of the same protein in tumor progression since UPase has been found by Dr. Pizzorno's group to be elevated in tumors compared to adjacent normal tissues. Studies are also in progress to elucidate the transcriptional regulation of UPase, its cellular localization, and the proteins interacting with this catabolic pyrimidine enzyme. A second area of interest is the use of NMR imaging and spectroscopy (1H and 19F) to evaluate tissue distribution and metabolism of drugs in tumor versus normal tissue to study and improve the selectivity of anticancer agents. Similar techniques are being developed to monitor the accumulation and proliferation of Salmonella in tumors. Salmonella is currently in clinical trials to establish its ability as a gene therapy vector due to the tropism of this organism for the neoplastic tissue.
Publications
Pizzorno, G., Diasio, R.B. and Cheng, Y.C. Pyrimidine and Purine Antimetabolites. In: Cancer Medicine, 7th Edition. B.C. Decker publisher, 2006.
Wan, L., Cao, D., Zeng, J., Yan, R. and Pizzorno, G. Modulation of uridine phosphorylase gene expression by tumor necrosis factor-alpha enhances the antiproliferative activity of the capecitabine intermediate 5'-deoxy-5-fluorouridine in breast cancer cells. Molecular Pharm. 69:1389-1395, 2006.
