Warmest congratulations to Dr. Napoleone Ferrara on becoming a Member of ISSNAF Board!
Dr. Ferrara earned his M.D. from the University of Catania Medical School in Italy in 1981. After completing postdoctoral research at the University of California, San Francisco, he joined Genentech Inc. in 1988, where he spent nearly 25 years pioneering research on vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). His work in isolating, cloning, and characterizing VEGF led to the development of bevacizumab (Avastin), the first FDA-approved anti-angiogenic therapy for cancer. He also spearheaded the development of ranibizumab (Lucentis), approved by the FDA for treating several intraocular neovascular disorders. Ranibizumab and other anti-VEGF therapies have since become the standard of care for ocular vascular diseases.
In 2013, Dr. Ferrara joined the University of California, San Diego, as a Distinguished Professor of Pathology and Adjunct Professor of Ophthalmology & Pharmacology. Since 2020, he has held the Hildyard Endowed Chair in Eye Diseases. His current research continues to explore angiogenesis, focusing on overcoming resistance mechanisms and identifying new therapeutic targets.
Dr. Ferrara has authored or co-authored over 300 publications, which have been cited more than 200,000 times (Google Scholar). His groundbreaking work has earned him numerous prestigious awards, including the General Motors Cancer Research Award, the Lasker-DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award, the Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences, the Champalimaud Vision Award, the Canada Gairdner International Award, and the Keio Medical Science Prize. He is a member of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Medicine, USA.
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