Carbone, Michele
Michele Carbone is a board-certified anatomic pathology physician extensively engaged in mesothelioma research.
- As center’s director, leads a multidisciplinary, international team of scientists in the study of mesothelioma.
- Concentrating on unlocking how asbestos fibers and viruses work at the molecular level to become co-carcinogens in the transformation of human mesothelial cells into cancer cells.
- Found that asbestos exposure triggers the secretion of HMGB1 and TNF-α that make mesothelial cells somewhat resistant to asbestos toxicity; asbestos-genetically damaged mesothelial cells may therefore survive and become cancer cells.
- Clinical trial testing HMGB1 and TNF-α blockers.
- Credited with identifying new biomarkers of early stage mesothelioma.
- Discovered that families carrying germline mutations in the BAP1 gene have susceptibility to mesothelioma; now attempting to develop genetic testing for BAP1 mutations to identify individuals at high risk for mesothelioma.
- Board director, American Cancer Society (2011).
- Awarded Fogarty Fellowship from National Institutes of Health and 2008 INNOVATOR Award for International Collaboration in Cancer Research from Landon Foundation-American Association for Cancer Research; named a knight of the Republic of Italy.
Education:
- M.D. degree from Medical School of Rome, Italy.
- Ph.D. degree from Medical School of Rome, Italy
