DISTINGUISHED ALUMNUS 2011
E. Antonio Chiocca, M.D., Ph.D. (1988)
Born in Padua, Italy, Ennio Antonio Chiocca, M.D., Ph.D., earned his Bachelor of Science degree at The University of Texas at El Paso and his Doctor of Medicine and Doctor of Philosophy (MD/PhD) degrees from The University of Texas Medical School and Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at Houston in 1988. He served his residency at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, MA. Dr. Chiocca, since 2004, is the Dardinger Family Professor of Neurosurgical Oncology and chairman, department of neurosurgery, Ohio State University Medical Center, Columbus, OH as well as co-director, Viral Oncology Program, Comprehensive Cancer Center, The Ohio State University Medical Center and Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute.Dr. Chiocca is a practicing neurosurgeon who performs over 200 craniotomies per year primarily in patients with glial tumors. He also has maintained a National Institutes of Health (NIH)- and National Cancer Institute (NCI)-funded research laboratory for over 15 years studying glial tumor biology and translational therapeutics.His research work has revolved around the use of oncolytic viruses for glioma therapy and he has uncovered a viral mutant whose replicative cycle targets the p16 tumor suppressor pathway (Aghi et al., Oncogene, 2008) and has also focused more recently on the host immune and micro-environmental responses that limit the efficacy of oncolytic virotherapy (Ikeda et al,Nature Med., 1999; Ikeda et al., J. Virol., 2000; Fulci et al., PNAS, 2006; Fulci et al., Cancer Res., 2007; Kurozumi et al., JNCI, 2007). And, has also been principal investigator on several clinical trials that have studied this therapeutic modality in malignant glioma patients (Chiocca et al., Mol. Ther., 2004 ; Chiocca et al., Mol. Ther. 2008).
More recently, Dr. Chiocca’s research work has revolved around the biology of noncoding/ microRNAs in glioma progression (Godlewski et al., Cancer Res., 2008; Godlewski et al., Mol. Cell, 2010). He is currently an elected member of the American Society of Clinical Investigation (ASCI) and a fellow of American Association for Advancement of Science (AAAS). He has been a member of the Developmental Therapeutics Study Section of NCI and of the Program Project Cluster Review Group NCI-D. He is a current member of the Recombinant DNA Advisory group/ Office of Biotechnological Activity NIH. He is the recipient of the Grass Award in Neuroscience from the Society of Neurological Surgeons and of the Farber Award in Neuro-oncology from the Society for Neuro-oncology. He is the author/co-author of more than 200 peer-reviewed publications.
Congratulations to Dr. Chiocca on this award as The University of Texas Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at Houston Distinguished Alumnus, 2011-2012.
Click here for a list of previous GSBS Distinguished Alumni Award Winners.
