Napoleone ferrara biography of barack
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After a year focus on the water channel aquaporin (work for which he shared the Nobel Prize in Chemistry), Peter Agre has turned his attention to malaria. He currently serves as Director of the Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute. In this interview, Agre displays his witty sense of humor, including vignettes related to running for Senate, dancing to the Buena Vista Social Club, and his desire to be known as the Victor Borge of science.
Since May , the JCI has aired twenty-six interviews with twenty-eight notable scientists for the series Conversations with Giants in Medicine. In the highlight reel to accompany the October issue, we’ve chosen some of the most memorable vignettes from the Conversations — stories that give life to the life sciences.
For the last five years, the JCI has had the privilege of working with the Albert and Mary Lasker Foundation to write profiles on the prizewinners. Coverage of the laureates will be featured in the October issue. In addition to the news features on the prizes, we have had the pleasure of interviewing several of the previous years’ laureates for the series “Conversations with Giants in Medicine.”
Napoleone Ferrara, of the University of California, San Diego, is best
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Scientist Converts Hunch Into Billion-Dollar Hope
Fifteen years ago, Genentech Inc. hired Napoleone Ferrara, a young researcher from UC San Francisco, to work on relaxin, an experimental treatment to ease childbirth.
When he wasn’t busy with relaxin, Ferrara, an Italian-born gynecologist, pursued his pet project: a quest for the mysterious protein that causes blood vessels to grow.
As it turns out, relaxin was a failure in clinical trials. But Ferrara’s own project led to Avastin, an experimental cancer drug that Wall Street believes will become a $1-billion-a-year mega-hit for Genentech. Since the world’s second-largest biotech company announced last week that Avastin improved the survival rate of colon cancer patients, investors have added $11 billion to the company’s market value. On Thursday, Genentech’s stock closed at $, down $, on the New York Stock Exchange.
In biotechnology, as in Hollywood, a single blockbuster can change the fortunes of an entire company. Thanks to Ferrara’s efforts, Genentech may have that in Avastin, which could reach the market within a year if it wins Food and Drug Administration approval.
For Ferrara, 46, the successful colon cancer trials came after a long and frequently discouraging quest. Avastin hadn’t helped lung cancer or breast canc