Confirmed Speakers

Napoleone Ferrara, Genentech, USA

Dr. Ferrara obtained his M.D. degree from the University of Catania Medical School in Italy in 1981. He joined Genentech Inc. in 1988 after doing his postdoctoral research at the University of California at San Francisco. At present, he is the Genentech Fellow in the Genentech Research Organization. Dr. Ferrara’s main research interests are the biology of angiogenesis and the identification of its key regulators. His work on the isolation, molecular cloning and biological characterization of VEGF-A resulted in the development of bevacizumab, the first anti-angiogenic agent to be approved by the FDA for cancer therapy, and ranibizumab, which has been FDA-approved for the treatment of age-related macular degeneration and other intraocular neovascular disorders. Dr. Ferrara authored over 290 scientific publications, which have been cited 60,000 times. He is also the recipient of several awards, including the American-Italian Cancer Foundation Prize, the AACR Cain Memorial Award, the Lefoulon-Delalande-Institut de France Prize, the Passano Award, the General Motors Cancer Research Award, the ASCO Science of Oncology Award, the Macula Society Arnall Patz Award, the Pezcoller Foundation-AACR International Award and the Lasker-deBakey Clinical Medical Research Award. Since 2006 Dr. Ferrara is an elected member of the National Academy of Sciences, USA.

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