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Professor Giovan Giacomo Giordano was a distinguished anatomical pathologist who devoted over sixty years of his life to the fields of cancer research and university teaching. He was a Professor of Anatomical Pathology at the University of Naples and Chairman of the Department of Pathology of "Pascale" National Cancer Institute of Naples. |
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The Giovan Giacomo Giordano NIAF Award for Ethics and Creativity in Medical Research 2011 -- The second annual award was given to Dr. George Katter, a cardiologist who has dedicated a large part of his career to serving the sick and the poor in the Laurel Highlands region of Western Pennsylvania and in the country of Haiti. 2010 -- The first annual award was given to Dr. Ignazio Marino, an Italian surgeon who specializes in liver transplantation. He is a member of the Italian Senate, first elected in 2006. In 1999, Dr. Marino founded the first liver transplant center in Sicily in a partnership between the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and the Italian government. THE FOUNDATION |
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Each year, at the annual National Italian American Foundation Gala Weekend in Washington DC, the Sbarro Health Research Organization and the National Italian American Foundation jointly sponsor an award in honor of Prof. Giovan Giacomo Giordano. The award commemorates a man who was always curious about big questions of life and death and who strove to recognize scientists capable of formulating important questions in their search for serious and important solutions to difficult biological and ethical issues.
Dr. Giovan Giacomo Giordano NIAF Award for Ethics and Creativity in Medical Research Dr. Giordano believed in supporting and encouraging the highest ethical standards in the medical system in his native Naples, Italy. The prize also honors Dr. Giordano’s belief that the primary commitment of medicine is to the welfare of the patient and recognizes individuals who have demonstrated exemplary leadership, ethical commitment and dedication to the cause of advancing and promoting excellence in the field of medical ethics (in Italy or America). |
Contribute by check: For more information on the NIAF event please visit: |
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IN MEMORY OF PROFESSOR GIOVAN GIACOMO GIORDANO Professor Giordano is remembered not only as a physician but also as a man who spent his life constantly promoting ethics in the medical system, putting passion, solidarity and empathy for the patient before politics and power. In 1984, he encountered workers of the Santa Maria La Bruna railways, and shared his scientific knowledge to demonstrate that exposure to asbestos fibers, even at low levels, was the cause of respiratory diseases (asbestosis, lung cancer) and diseases of the serosal membrane (mesotheliomas). His contribution was important in recognizing that there is no risk threshold below which the concentration of asbestos fibers in the air is not dangerous, as even the inhalation of a single fiber can cause mesothelioma. The use of asbestos has been banned in Italy since 1992. Professor Giordano is indeed remembered for being ahead of his time, with the submission of his publication (known as “il libro bianco”) entitled “Health and Environment in Campania”, in which he dedicated himself to the study of current issues of particular pertinence to society such as environmental pollution. Prof. Giordano’s study focused on the pollution of cities in the Campania region of Italy and the damage that is caused by the chemical industry, not only to the workers in that particular sector but to all citizens, when the proper regulations are not implemented. In 1987 Professor Giordano, at that time scientific director of the National Institute for the Study and Treatment of Cancer “G. Pascale Foundation“ of Naples (and a few years before “Tangentopoli” and “Mani pulite”), when politicians and industrialists were being implicated in corruption scandals in Italy), reported irregularities in the hiring of shorthand typists at the Institute. At the end of the investigation, the vice president and two members of the Board of Directors were arrested for corruption. Subsequently, Professor Giordano, who never ceased to uphold his ethical beliefs, was removed from office, becoming the victim of a true "conspiracy" led by his own colleagues who themselves had become corrupt. That dramatic event, however, never distracted Professor Giovan Giacomo Giordano from his commitment to science and teaching, but rather made him a role model for many young people, professionals, colleagues, and scientific organizations in favor of upholding high ethical standards. A member of the “Collegium B. Ramazzini", an expert on the Commission of Mutagenesis, Carcinogenesis and Teratogenesis of the Ministry of Health, and an expert on the National Commission of Toxicology of the Ministry of Health , Professor Giovan Giacomo Giordano always expressed his solidarity towards those who were weaker and in need, and in 1976 he won the National "Guido Dorso" Award. This prestigious award has had, and still has, among its objectives that of making the public aware of the work of scholars and researchers from southern Italy who “have contributed with their commitment and work to support the needs and progress of the South of Italy.” Since 2006 Professor Giordano enthusiastically dedicated his efforts to the Human Health Foundation Onlus (name coined by him), actively participating in the decisions of the Scientific Committee, to which he belonged, and of the General Council. The doctor and the man remains in the hearts of those who knew him and loved him, and in the memory of those who will continue to remember him. Biografia Italiano: Giovan Giacomo Giordano Un mese fa veniva a mancare all’affetto dei suoi cari il professor Giovan Giacomo Giordano, esimio medico patologo che ha dedicato oltre sessant'anni della propria vita nel campo della ricerca oncologica e dell’ insegnamento universitario dell’Anatomia e dell’Istologia Patologica presso l’Universita’ degli Studi di Napoli. Autore e coautore di oltre trecento pubblicazioni, ha dedicato gran parte delle sue ricerche scientifiche all’interazione tra cancerogeni chimici e macromolecole biologiche; alla relazione tra l’esposizione solare e i carcinomi cutanei nell’uomo e in modelli animali; agli effetti di agenti chimici nello sviluppo embrionale di modelli biologici quale possibile indicatore di cancerogenesi, mutagenesi e teratogenesi; a temi moderni come le relazioni tra inquinamento ambientale e cancro; l’interazione ospite-tumore con particolare riguardo all’invasivita’, angiogenesi e metastasi; all’approccio clinico-sperimentale; all’immunistochimica nella ricerca e nella diagnostica oncologica ed, infine, alla biologia e alla genetica molecolare. Il ricordo piu’ sentito e’ per il medico ma anche per l’uomo che ha speso la propria vita, promuovendo costantemente l’etica nel sistema medico, anteponendo la passione, la solidarieta’ e l’empatia verso il paziente a logiche politiche e di potere. Nel 1984, entrato in contatto con i lavoratori delle officine ferrovie di Santa Maria La Bruna, mise a disposizione le sue conoscenze scientifiche per dimostrare che l’esposizione alle fibre di amianto, anche a livelli minimi, era causa di malattie dell'apparato respiratorio (asbestosi, carcinoma polmonare) e delle membrane sierose (mesoteliomi). Il suo apporto è stato importante per riconoscere che non esiste una soglia di rischio al di sotto della quale la concentrazione di fibre di amianto nell'aria non sia pericolosa, poiché anche l'inalazione di una sola fibra può causare il mesotelioma. L'impiego dell'amianto è fuori legge in Italia dal 1992. Nel 1987 il Professor Giovan Giacomo Giordano, direttore scientifico dell’Istituto Nazionale per lo Studio e la Cura dei Tumori “Fondazione G. Pascale” di Napoli, anticipando i tempi della nota “tangentopoli” e della stagione “mani pulite” denuncio’ irregolarita’ nell’assunzione di stenodattilografe presso l’Istituto. Al termine dell’indagine furono arrestati il vice presidente e due componenti del CDA dell’Ente. Successivamente, perseverando nel proprio rigore etico, veniva rimosso dall’incarico, rimanendo vittima di una vera e propria “congiura”. Tale drammatico evento, tuttavia, non distolse mai il prof. Giovan Giacomo Giordano dal proprio impegno scientifico e didattico, rendendolo, invece, esempio per molti giovani, professionisti e colleghi e per le organizzazioni scientifiche portatrici di elevati valori etici. Membro del “Collegium B. Ramazzini”, esperto della Commissione di Mutagenesi, Cancerogenesi e Teratogenesi, del Ministero della Sanita` ed esperto della Commissione Nazionale di Tossicologia, del Ministero della Sanita’, il professor Giovan Giacomo Giordano ha sempre espresso la sua solidarieta’ nei confronti dei piu’ deboli e, nel 1976, ottenne il Premio Nazionale "Guido Dorso". Il prestigioso riconoscimento ha avuto e, ha ancora oggi, tra le sue finalita’ quella di segnalare alla pubblica opinione il lavoro di studiosi e ricercatori dell’area meridionale dell’Italia che “hanno contribuito con il loro impegno e la loro attivita’ a sostenere le esigenze di sviluppo e di progresso del Mezzogiorno di Italia”. Il medico e l’uomo rimane nel cuore di quanti lo hanno conosciuto e amato e nella memoria di quanti lo ricordano e lo ricorderanno. Il prossimo 22 ottobre a Washington (Stati Uniti) la Sbarro Health Research Organization e la National Italian American Foundation sponsorizzeranno, congiuntamente, un premio in onore del Prof. Giovan Giacomo Giordano con lo scopo di onorare un ricercatore o un programma scientifico meritevole. L’idea e’ quella di ricordare un uomo che, estremamente curioso dei segreti della vita e del mistero della morte, ha sempre voluto dare spazio agli scienziati capaci di anteporre domande vere a risposte reali. |
Professor Giovan Giacomo Giordano was a distinguished anatomical pathologist who devoted over sixty years of his life to the fields of cancer research and university teaching. |
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