Newswise — BOSTON -- Pier Paolo Pandolfi, MD, PhD, Director of the Cancer Center at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC), has been knighted by his native country of Italy. Pandolfi, an internationally recognized cancer geneticist who has lived in the United States since 1994 and is now an American citizen, was honored on June 2 at the Italian consulate. The award, “Officer of the Order of the Star of Italy,” is bestowed each year on about 50 individuals by the President of the Italian Republic. Awardees may be Italians in Italy, Italians living abroad or non-Italians who have helped celebrate or advance Italian culture.
“This honor belongs to my entire team,” said Pandolfi, “but it is especially humbling for me to be recognized by my own country for our efforts to cure cancer and alleviate suffering. The honor makes me more motivated than ever in the quest to eradicate cancer.”
Pandolfi was nominated for knighthood by the former Italian Consul in Boston, Giuseppe Pastorelli, who now represents his country in Toronto, Canada. “Dr. Pandolfi is an outstanding scientist who is contributing not only to the advancement of the cure against cancer but also to the enhancement of the relations between Italy and the United States,” Pastorelli said. “His story represents how Italy and Italians can excel abroad in a very competitive environment and how they can make a difference in people's lives.”
Italy’s current Boston Consul General Nicola DeSantis presented Pandolfi with a medal in the red, green and white colors of the Italian flag at a reception celebrating Italy’s Republic Day.
“Professor Pandolfi represents Italian excellence in the field of international oncological research,” De Santis said, presenting the award. “His discoveries contributed to the eradication of promyelocytic acute leukemia, a form of leukemia that just a few years ago was considered lethal and today is a curable illness. Professor Pandolfi is an outstanding scientist who, while always keeping a strong relationship with Italy, has engaged in pioneering research and contributed not only to the advancement of science, but also to the welfare of men and women.”
Pandolfi was named director of the Cancer Center at BIDMC in 2013. He is perhaps best known for his work identifying the molecular basis of acute promyelocytic leukemia and for the creation of a “mouse hospital” to help advance targeted cancer treatments. His laboratory has also enhanced scientific understanding of tumor suppressors and proto-oncogenes and has taken a prominent lead in the study of noncoding RNA, a promising new direction in the pursuit of targeted cancer therapies.
Pandolfi has received many awards and honors, including, the prestigious Pezcoller Foundation–AACR International Award for Cancer Research from the American Association for Cancer Research in 2011. He has also received the Leukemia Society of America (LSA) Scholar Award, the Irma T. Hirschl Trust Award, the Alexandra J. Kefalides Memorial Prize for Leukemia Research, the Hamdan Award for Medical Research Excellence, the Lombroso Prize for Cancer Research of the Weizmann Institute of Science, the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s Stohlman Scholar Award, the William and Linda Steere Foundation Award, the Prostate Cancer Foundation Creativity Award, the prize for Scientific Excellence in Medicine from the American-Italian Cancer Foundation, and a National Institutes of Health Merit Award. Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center is a patient care, teaching and research affiliate of Harvard Medical School and consistently ranks as a national leader among independent hospitals in National Institutes of Health funding.
BIDMC is in the community with Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital-Milton, Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital-Needham, Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital-Plymouth, Anna Jaques Hospital, Cambridge Health Alliance, Lawrence General Hospital, Signature Healthcare, Beth Israel Deaconess HealthCare, Community Care Alliance and Atrius Health. BIDMC is also clinically affiliated with the Joslin Diabetes Center and Hebrew Rehabilitation Center and is a research partner of Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center and The Jackson Laboratory. BIDMC is the official hospital of the Boston Red Sox. For more information, visit www.bidmc.org.
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