Prof. Joseph C. Glorioso University of Pittsburgh, USA

Dr. Joseph Glorioso is a Professor in the Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and holds a secondary appointment in the Department of Human Genetics, University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health. Dr. Glorioso received his PhD in Microbiology from Louisiana... read moreState University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Following a post-doctoral fellowship in the Department of Microbiology at Louisiana State University Medical Center, New Orleans, Louisiana, Dr. Glorioso joined the faculty at the University of Michigan Medical School rising to the rank of full professor and Assistant Dean for Research. It was in 1989 that Dr. Glorioso came to the University of Pittsburgh in the position of the William S. McEllroy Professor of Biochemistry and Chair, Microbiology and Molecular Genetics University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine where he was chair until 2009. Dr. Glorioso has established over a 40-year history of research related to the basic biology and genetics of herpes simplex virus (HSV). His contributions to the field include defining antiviral immune responses to infection, the genetics of viral pathogenesis and latency, and mechanisms of viral infection. Furthermore, he has been a pioneer in the design and application of HSV gene vectors for the treatment of nervous system diseases such as peripheral neuropathies, chronic pain, and brain tumors. He continues to be a worldwide leader in the HSV gene vector field through the creation of innovative gene vectors and the development of manufacturing methods for Phase I and Phase II human clinical trials for gene therapy. His enkephalin vector showed considerable promise in a Phase I human trial to treat cancer pain.