Scientific Advisory Board
Members of MediaPharma’s Scientific Advisory Board include:
Franco Cavalli
Franco Cavalli is Professor (Titularprofessor) of medical oncology at the Medical Faculty in Bern (Switzerland). He created the Oncology Institute of Southern Switzerland, Bellinzona Switzerland, where he remained as Scientific Director until 2017. This institute encompasses medical oncology, radio-oncology, nuclear medicine, palliative care, hematology and an important research division. Dr. Cavalli has an international reputation for the treatment of and research into malignant lymphoma and new drugs. Every second year he organizes in Lugano the International Conference on Malignant Lymphoma, which is the most important congress on this topic worldwide. He has been very active also in the field of the clinical evaluation of new cancer drugs. The quality of his work has been recognized by the award of 24 national and international prizes. He has published more than 600 articles in peer-reviewed journals and has contributed to many books on cancer. He was Founding Editor and Editor-in-Chief of Annals of Oncology, Europe’s premier medical oncology journal, from 1990 to 2000, and he is on the Editorial Board of several other journals. In 1996, he founded the International Extranodal Lymphoma Study Group (IELSG, www.ielsg.org), which encompasses now more than 200 institutions in 4 continents.
Dr. Cavalli has been President of the Swiss Cancer League and is Chairman of the Scientific Committee of the European School of Oncology (ESO) and of the World Oncology Forum (WOF). He was President of the International Union Against Cancer (UICC) between 2006 and 2008. He has been member of WHO committee of selection of essential medicines for cancers since 2015. He was member of the Swiss Parliament between 1995 and 2007.
Giampaolo Tortora
Giampaolo Tortora is currently Full Professor of Medical Oncology at the Catholic University and Head of Cancer Clinic at the Polyclinic A. Gemelli, Rome, Italy He was Full Professor of Medical Oncology at the University Hospital, Verona, Italy and Responsible of the Comprehensive Cancer Center and Network, Director of the Specialty School and Residency program in Medical Oncology and Director of the Laboratory of Oncology and Molecular Therapy. Dr. Tortora’s Research Interests and Clinical activity include translational and clinical studies with targeted and biological agents, discovery and translation into the clinics of biomarkers of sensitivity and resistance to treatment and mechanisms of resistance for cancer therapy. He has been involved as Principal Investigator or coordinator in over 100 Phase I-III clinical studies. He received several National and International awards and acknowledgements for the research achievements including fellowship from the Italian Association from Cancer Research (AIRC), Fogarty Foundation Fellowship (NIH), ICRETT Fellowship from International Union Against Cancer (UICC). He has served as a member in the European Society of Medical Oncology (ESMO, Translational Research-Personalized Medicine Working Group); member of the GI Educational Committee; member of scientific committee in several ESMO conferences; member of the Executive Committee and the Scientific Steering Committee of the International Consortium for the Genome of Cancer (ICGC) member of the Scientific Committee of the Italian Association for Cancer Research (AIRC); member of the Standing Committee of the Pezcoller Foundation; member of the Scientific Committee of the French CNRS. He is author of over 300 publications in international peer reviewed journals (including New England J Medicine, Nature, JNCI, PNAS, J Clinical Oncology and Clinical Cancer Res.
Silvia Trasciatti
Silvia Trasciatti has a degree in Biological Sciences from the University di Pisa, a 3-year specialization degree in Biotechnology from the University of Milan and a Master in Nutritional Science from the University of Florence in Italy. She spent several years working at the CNR (National Council of Research). She joined the Italian pharmaceutical company, Istituto Gentili, actively participating in the development of Alendronate, a drug for osteoporosis, eventually licenced to Merck & Co. At Abiogen Pharma, a spin-off company formed after the acquisition of Istituto Gentili by Merck & Co. Dr. Trasciatti was actively involved in the development of neridronate, an orphan drug for osteogenesis imperfect, and started a fruitful collaboration with universities and research institutes in the field of oncology, coordinating the development of monoclonal antibodies and somatic cell therapies, from discovery to Phase II clinical trials. As Director of the Research & Development Division at Abiogen Pharma, Dr. Trasciatti was also involved in licensing, business development and strategic planning. In 2011 Dr. Trasciatti was appointed Chief Scientific Officer (CSO) of the Italian biotech company Galileo Research, which is strongly focused on the development of an allogeneic cell therapy in oncology. Dr. Trasciatti has a broad technical experience in the fields of pharmacology, toxicology and molecular biology, as well as, knowledge of GLP, GCP and international regulations for drug approval (ICH, FDA, EMEA, OECD) and patenting. Her scientific expertise ranges from bone and cartilage diseases, immunology, monoclonal antibodies, cancer immunotherapy. Other professional achievements are represented by 14 patents, more than 15 projects advanced to clinical Phases and obtainment of 5 substantial research grants from the Italian government.
