Napoleone Ferrara

Napoleone Ferrara is a Distinguished Professor of Pathology and Adjunct Professor of Ophthalmology and Pharmacology at the University of California, San Diego, where he holds the Hildyard Endowed Chair in Eye Disease. His primary affiliations include the Department of Pathology and Shiley Eye Institute within the Health Sciences School.

Education includes:

• M.D. in Medicine and Surgery from University of Catania Medical School (1981)
• Postdoctoral Fellowship in Reproductive Endocrinology at UCSF (1983-1985)
• Internship at Oregon Health Sciences University (1985-1986)
• Postdoctoral Fellowship in Cancer Research at UCSF (1986-1988)

Ferrara's research centers on angiogenesis regulation, VEGF biology, and therapeutic targeting of vascular disorders. His work established VEGF as a master regulator of pathological angiogenesis, leading to FDA-approved anti-VEGF therapies for cancer and blinding eye diseases. Current investigations focus on VEGF-independent angiogenesis, intraocular neovascularization mechanisms, and computational approaches for retinal vascular analysis.

His recent publications (2021-2025) demonstrate strong focus on: VEGF signaling pathways, therapeutic resistance mechanisms, ocular angiogenesis modeling, and development of novel anti-angiogenic biologics. Computational quantification of vascular phenotypes and transcriptomic analysis of endothelial heterogeneity are emerging themes.

Major scientific awards include:

• Lasker-DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award (2010)
• Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences (2013)
• Canada Gairdner International Award (2014)
• Election to National Academy of Sciences (2006) and National Academy of Medicine (2015)
• Prince Mahidol Award (2023)

Active NIH grants support his work on:

• Novel Long-Acting VEGF Inhibitors for Intraocular Disorders (R01EY031345, 2020-2025)
• Identification of Ocular Neovascularization Inhibitors (R21EY028701, 2018-2020)

He leads a research team at UCSD focused on vascular biology and therapeutics, collaborating with the Shiley Eye Institute and Department of Pharmacology.