A/Prof Orazio Vittorio (PhD awarded in Feb 2011) is a cancer biologist with an international reputation in studying the mechanism of action of anti-cancer therapeutics and immunotherapies in neuronal cancers.  He is Scientia Associate Prof at the School of Biomedical Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney and Team Leader at the Children’s Cancer Institute. He is the Head of the Metal Targeted Therapy & Immunology lab. He authored >110 papers in international journals (40% as first/senior/corresponding author; including Nature Comm., Cancer Cell, Oncogene, Cancer Res) > 4150 citations, 6 book chapters and he is an inventor in 6 patents (2 PCTs, one of which on the combination of immunotherapy for solid tumours). Four of his papers are listed as ISI Highly Cited. He has extensive experience in cell biology, molecular biology, immunology, nanomedicine and PET imaging. In the past 5 years Dr Vittorio secured competitive research funding of >$5 million as sole CI and >$10 million as co-CI. His recent investigations are focused on understanding the role of copper metabolism/homeostasis in progression of aggressive neuronal cancers (Glioblastoma, DIPG and Neuroblastoma). A/prof Vittorio was awarded the “Outstanding Career Development Fellow” of the year 2020 from the Cancer Institute New South Wales and the Young Tall Poppy Science Award 2021, and Cure Cancer Australia Research of the year 2022 in recognition of his achievements and dedication to cancer research.

A/Prof Vittorio’s discovery that the level of copper in neuronal tumour cells is higher than in non-malignant cells is a world first achievement, and his development of anti-cancer therapeutics for both neuroblastoma and gliomas is internationally recognised. His work on pharmacokinetics of copper chelation drugs led to the development of a PET imaging technique using 64CuCl2 which inspired the GE Healthcare PET imaging program for solid tumours. More recently A/Prof Vittorio was the first to discover the role of copper in cancer immune evasion and expression of the checkpoint protein PD-L1 in tumour cells (Cancer Research 2020) and in the activity of tumour associated myeloid cells (Nature Comm 2024).  The discovery made on those papers led to a collaboration with Prof Linda Vahdat who completed a phase II trial using copper chelation therapy in Triple Negative Breast Cancer at Memorial Sloan Kettering (NCT00195091). Encouraged by A/Prof Vittorio’s work, Prof Vahdat investigated the effect of copper chelation in the immune infiltration in the patients enrolled in her trial (Ying L Liu et al, npj Breast Cancer 2021). As evidence of his emerging international reputation, Vittorio was invited speaker at >20 and keynote speaker at 4 international conferences in the past 5 years.

A/Prof Vittorio's track record reflects his drive and potential to expand and build his research to develop novel therapies and diagnostic tools targeting copper in tumors to improve survival in patients with cancer. As a member of the Cooperative Trials Group for Neuro-Oncology (COGNO) and the European SIOP Neuroblastoma Group, he is dedicated to fostering collaborations with oncologists, neurosurgeons and industry partners to progress his discoveries to the clinic. This is demonstrated by A/Prof Vittorio’s involvement in two clinical trials; one in Europe “Diagnostic and clinical value of 64CuCl2 in HGG/DIPG” (EudraCT Number: 2018-004667-30); one in Australia, the LEVI'S CATCH, LEVeragIng Chimeric Antigen Receptor-Expressing T Cells for CHildren with Diffuse Midline Gliomawithin the Kids Oncology And Leukaemia triAls Centre (KOALA). A/Prof Vittorio’s strategic position at UNSW and the Kids Cancer Alliance has allowed him to expand his research, build capacity in the field of targeting anticancer drugs and accelerate the translation of discoveries to the clinic.