Orazio Vittorio

Associate Professor Orazio Vittorio is a Scientia Associate Professor at the School of Biomedical Sciences, University of New South Wales, and a Team Leader at the Children’s Cancer Institute within the Kids Cancer Alliance. He leads the Metal Targeted Therapy & Immunology Lab, focusing on copper metabolism in pediatric cancers.

• Scientia Associate Professor, UNSW
• Team Leader, Children’s Cancer Institute
• Lab Head, Metal Targeted Therapy & Immunology

Research Interests: Dr. Vittorio investigates copper dependence in neuroblastoma, diffuse midline glioma (DIPG), lower-grade glioma, and glioblastoma. His work spans cancer immunology, nanomedicine, single-cell transcriptomics, and PET imaging for therapy monitoring.

• Copper metabolism in oncology
• Immune evasion mechanisms
• Development of copper-chelating therapeutics
• PET-based metallomics
• Epigenetic and metabolic targeting

Scientific Awards: He has received prestigious accolades including the Cancer Institute NSW Outstanding Career Development Fellow (2020), Young Tall Poppy Science Award (2021), and Cure Cancer Australia Research of the Year (2022). Additional early-career awards include the SPOT Award (2015) and NanoMedicine Elevator Pitch Award (2017).

Grants & Funding: Dr. Vittorio secured over $15 million in competitive research funding, including NHMRC Career Development Fellowships (2019–2023), Cancer Institute Program Grants (2020–2025), and international collaborations like the Australia-Germany Joint Research Scheme (2018–2019).