It is called Sbarro Health Research Organization, the organization founded by the oncologist and scientist Antonio Giordano who, with the discovery of the guardians of the genome, contributed to writing a piece of history in anti-cancer therapies. At Dire he recalled the mission of this organization and the important event of June 15, in Vico Equense Naples, with a real Gala dedicated to research. Not a simple ceremony, but a commitment to young people to "finance the brightest minds and research projects".
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SHRO “was founded by me in 1992,” he recalled, “with the help of a famous American businessman who philanthropically believed in my dream: to create an organization and independently finance the brightest minds and the research projects that were most needed, on cancer, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. In 1994 it became public and today the organization works with universities, both American and Italian.”
“A bridge” as Giordano calls it, who “from 92 to today has financed more than 400 researchers for a minimum of 3 months to years who have trained in our laboratories and who today – he underlined – hold roles in universities or pharmaceutical companies around the world”.
According to the oncologist, the model of this organization that has invested in research and human resources is successful, while it happens in associations or foundations that "a lot of funding is lost in the structures".
There is a desire for change in Italy that needs its brightest young people, Giordano is convinced. For this reason, the Italian institutions will be present at the Gala, starting with the Minister of Health, Orazio Schillaci.
Antonio Giordano tells the story of his discovery of the genome guardians
A Life of Study Against Cancer Between the United States and Italy
A life dedicated to research until the discovery of those guardians of the genome that, together with others, paved the way for personalized cancer therapies. Professor Antonio Giordano, oncologist and director of the Sbarro Institute for Cancer Research and Molecular Medicine at Temple University in Philadelphia and also a professor in Siena, spoke about it with emotion and pride to Dire.
"The discoveries made by me and my group have had a major impact on the development of new diagnostic tests and therapies for tumors such as breast, prostate, and colon. These guardians of the genome are barriers," the oncologist explained, "they protect the normal functioning of our body and having discovered them has led to intelligent drugs capable of correcting the damage when genes finish their protective function, it was a great satisfaction," he added.
The oncologist's research history, a life spent between Italy, his native Campania region, and the United States, includes discoveries that have changed the history of cancer treatments: the cyclins that govern the cell proliferation cycle, tumor suppressor genes such as RB2/p130, which he discovered, which has a primary function in the cell cycle and controls the correct replication of DNA, essentially preventing the onset of cancer. "What is said in journalism about tumor cells is that they go crazy," the scientist pointed out, or "they proliferate in an uncontrolled way, but today we have intelligent drugs."
Professor Giordano's commitment, between the United States and Italy, has not lost its deep connection with his homeland. He signed a decisive report on the damage to health caused by toxic waste in the Land of Fires.
Article published on 1 June 2023 - 16:00
