Biography:Mariagrazia Pizza
Mariagrazia Pizza | |
|---|---|
| Born | Eboli, Italy |
| Alma mater | University of Naples Federico II |
| Awards | EMBO Member (2000)[1] |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Vaccines Pathogenesis[2] |
| Institutions | |
Mariagrazia Pizza MAE is an Italian vaccine researcher who is a professor at Imperial College London.[2][4] She worked as Senior Scientific Director for Bacterial Vaccines at GSK plc.[5][6] She was involved with the development of the first pertussis vaccine. In 2023, she was awarded the IVI-SK bioscience Park MahnHoon Award.[7]
Early life and education
Pizza was born in Eboli, Italy and lived there until 1980.[8] She studied chemistry and pharmaceutical science at the University of Naples Federico II.[9] Her dissertation used nuclear magnetic resonance to explore the structure of opioid peptides.[9] When a family member became ill, she decided to learn more about pharmaceutical design. She moved to the European Molecular Biology Laboratory in Heidelberg, where she learnt molecular biology and engineering.[9]
Research and career
Pizza has focused on the design and development of new vaccines. In 1986, she joined Sclavo, a vaccine research centre in Siena. She spent six years there, contributing to the development of the first pertussis vaccine that involved a genetically-detoxified pertussis toxin,[9] which was able to protect infants, and was safer and more immuno-active than other pertussis vaccines on the market.[9] Sclavo was sold to Chiron, which was eventually acquired by Novartis. Motivated by their success and advances in whole genome sequencing, Pizza started working on a Meningococcal vaccine.[9][10] She joined GSK plc in 2016.[8]
In 2023, Pizza joined the faculty at Imperial College London . She is an Honorary Visiting Professor at the University of Leicester.[3]
Awards and honours
- 2000 Elected a member of the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO)[1]
- 2018 Elected a Member of the Academia Europaea (MAE)[3]
- 2023 IVI-SK bioscience Park MahnHoon Award[11]
Selected publications
Personal life
Pizza has two children.[9]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Anon (2000). "Mariagrazia Pizza". European Molecular Biology Organization. https://people.embo.org/profile/mariagrazia-pizza.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 {{Google Scholar id}} template missing ID and not present in Wikidata.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Anon (2018). "Academy of Europe: Pizza Mariagrazia". Academia Europaea. https://www.ae-info.org/ae/Member/Pizza_Mariagrazia.
- ↑ Mariagrazia Pizza publications from Europe PubMed Central
- ↑ Pizza, M. (2000). "Identification of Vaccine Candidates Against Serogroup B Meningococcus by Whole-Genome Sequencing". Science 287 (5459): 1816–1820. doi:10.1126/science.287.5459.1816. PMID 10710308. Bibcode: 2000Sci...287.1816..
- ↑ Pizza, Mariagrazia; Fontana, Maria Rita; Scarlato, Vincenzo; Rappuoli, Rino (1996). "Genetic Detoxification of Bacterial Toxins". Vaccine Protocols 4: 91–110. doi:10.1385/0-89603-334-1:91. ISBN 0-89603-334-1. PMID 21359697.
- ↑ {{LinkedIn page}} template missing URL and not present in Wikidata.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Pizza, Mariagrazia (August 2011). "A life passion for vaccines" (in en). Human Vaccines 7 (8): 808–810. doi:10.4161/hv.7.8.17637. ISSN 1554-8600. PMID 22002174.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5 9.6 Pizza, Mariagrazia (2017-01-12). "Spotlight on… Mariagrazia Pizza" (in en). FEMS Microbiology Letters 364 (5). doi:10.1093/femsle/fnw299. ISSN 1574-6968. PMID 28087618.
- ↑ Galvani, Rotary (2021-02-01). "Dr.ssa Mariagrazia Pizza, vaccini in tempo di pandemia" (in it-IT). https://www.rotarybolognagalvani.org/dr-ssa-mariagrazia-pizza-vaccini-in-tempo-di-pandemia/.
- ↑ Em, Aerie (2023-03-09). "Profs. Andrew Pollard / Sarah Gilbert and Drs. Rino Rappuoli / Mariagrazia Pizza named winners of second IVI – SK bioscience Park MahnHoon Award" (in en-US). https://www.ivi.int/profs-andrew-pollard-sarah-gilbert-and-drs-rino-rappuoli-mariagrazia-pizza-named-winners-of-second-ivi-sk-bioscience-park-mahnhoon-award/.
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