Francis V. Chisari

Francis "Frank" Vincent Chisari (born 5 April 1942 in New York City)[1] is a physician, experimental pathologist, virologist, and immunologist, known for his research on virus-host interactions of hepatitis B and hepatitis C.[2]

Education and career

Chisari graduated in 1963 with a bachelor's degree in biology from Fordham University and in 1968 with an M.D. from Cornell University's Weill Medical College. He was in 1970 and 1971 a fellow in anatomic pathology at the Mayo Clinic and in 1972 a staff associate in immunopathology at the NIH's Laboratory of Pathology. In 1973 he completed his residency in internal medicine at Dartmouth Medical School. At Scripps Research he became a research fellow, then an assistant professor from 1975 to 1981, an associate professor from 1981 to 1988, and a full professor from 1988 to 2015, retiring as professor emeritus in 2105. At Scripps Research he headed the Division of Experimental Pathology from 1988 to 2008 and the Laboratory of Experimental Virology from 2008 to 2015. From 1983 to 1984 he was a Fogarty Scholar in molecular biology at the Institut Pasteur.[3] He is now a scientific advisor for Vir Biotechnology.[4][5]

Chisari is perhaps most famous for his research on viral proteins that can cause hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

Chisari’s group has made vast contributions to the clinical field by performing transgenic mouse studies to investigate immune-mediated hepatitis and hepatocarcinogenesis ... In the 1980s, they produced a transgenic mouse model that overexpressed the large protein of the hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg). It induced severe, prolonged hepatocellular injury that was characterized by inflammation and regenerative hyperplasia, resulting in the development of HCC ... This was the first transgenic mouse model in which the development of HCC was observed from the function of a single viral protein.[6]

Chisari's research is important in the immunobiology and pathology of hepatitis-B and hepatitis-C virus (HBV and HCV) infections. His laboratory has developed cell-based models and animal models of HBV and HCV infection and has done T-cell analysis of infected humans, subhuman primates, and transgenic mice. He and his co-workers developed the first transgenic mouse model for pathogenic viruses involved in liver cancer. Their research showed how chronic hepatitis triggers liver cancer (whereby an overproduction of a protein in the virus envelope plays a special role). His group also showed that cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) secrete cytokiness that prevent the virus from multiplying in the liver cell without killing the cell. His research also resulted in various approaches for immunotherapy in (chronic) hepatitis, for example, through the body's own activated dendritic cells.[7]

Chisari has served on the editorial boards of many scientific journals, including the American Journal of Pathology, Hematology, the Journal of Clinical Investigation, the Journal of Immunology, the Journal of Virology, PLoS Pathogens, Virology, and Current Opinion in Virology.[3] He is the inventor or co-inventor for many patents on various peptides for treating or preventing viral infections caused by hepatitis-B or hepatitis-C.[8]

Awards and honors

Selected publications

References
  1. biographical information from American Men and Women of Science, Thomson Gale 2004.
  2. "Francis V. Chisari". National Academy of Sciences (nasonline.org).
  3. "Frank Chisari, MD". Department of Immunology and Microbiology, Scripps Research.
  4. "Francis V. Chisari, M.D." Vir Biotechnology (vir.bio).
  5. "Vir Biotechnology".
  6. Ohkoshi, S.; Hirono, K; Watanabe, K.; Hasegawa, K.; Yano, M. (2015). "Contributions of transgenic mouse studies on the research of hepatitis B virus and hepatitis C virus-induced hepatocarcinogenesis". World Journal of Hepatology. 7 (28): 2834–2840. doi:10.4254/wjh.v7.i28.2834. ISSN 1948-5182. PMC 4670955. PMID 26668695.
  7. "Rous-Whipple Award - 1999, Francis V. Chisari" (PDF). American Society for Investigative Pathology. (There is a typographical error "Rouse-Whipple".)
  8. "Patents by Inventor Francis V. Chisari". Justia Patents (patents.justia.com).
  9. "Historic Fellows Listing". American Association for the Advancement of Science.
  10. Chisari, Francis V. (2000). "Viruses, Immunity, and Cancer: Lessons from Hepatitis B". The American Journal of Pathology. 156 (4): 1117–1132. doi:10.1016/S0002-9440(10)64980-2. ISSN 0002-9440. PMC 1876872. PMID 10751335.
  11. "Distinguished Achievement Award Recipients". American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (aasld.org).
  12. "Chisari, Francis V., Member Directory". National Academy of Medicine.
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