Office of the Provost and Senior Vice President

Faculty Spotlight

Dr. Santo V. Nicosia

Name

Santo V. Nicosia

College

College of Medicine

Department

Pathology & Cell Biology

Undergraduate Degree

M.C.

From

Leonardo da Vinci High School, Catania, Italy

Graduate Degree

M.S.

From

University of Illinois Medical Center, Chicago IL

Doctoral Degree

M.D.

From

Catholic University of the Sacred Heart School of Medicine & Surgery, Rome Italy

Previous Posts

2007 - Distinguished University Professor, USF
2006 - Chairman, Department of Pathology and Cell Biology, USF
2001 - Member, Clinical Investigation Program, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center
2000 - Professor, Interdisciplinary Oncology Program, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center
1995 - Chairman, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine
1993 - Professor, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, USF
1993 - 2001 - Senior Member, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Inst.
1988 - 2001 - Chief, Pathology Services, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute
1984 - 2006 - Professor, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, USF
1979 - 1984 - Associate Professor, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Department of Pathology, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA
1976, 1978, 1979 - Principal Investigator, Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, MA

Published Works

178 manuscripts and book chapters

Area of Specialization / Research

Pathobiology of ovarian epithelial cancer; gynecologic pathology; aspirations biopsy and intraoperative cytology; cell cycle analysis, oncogene/growth factor/receptor expression (DNA and cell analysis).

Current Course Offerings

Pathobiology of Human Cancer GMS 6334
Pathology and Laboratory Medicine - Block 8 (Endocrine/Women's Health/Men's Health)
Sentinel Lymph Node Mapping for Breast Cancer - Moffitt Cancer Center

How and when did you first become interested in your field of study?

Fascinated by the intricacies of human reproduction, I have focused my educational, clinical and research efforts on women's health issues through the medical and graduate teaching of obstetric and gynecologic pathology, the diagnostic practice of gynecologic and breast anatomic pathology and longstanding research on reproductive pathobiology. My interest in women's health arose toward the end of medical studies at the Catholic University School of Medicine in Rome while working on a thesis on uterine mesenchymal neoplasms under the mentorship of pituitary immunohistochemistry expert Professor Leonardo Mosca. Such an interest was then rekindled during my residency by renal pathology pioneer Dr. Conrad Levi Pirani and inspiring infertility researchers including Drs. Scommegna and Leventhal. An original contribution on spontaneous granulosa cell luteinization lent me a fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania where I then worked for 11 years as faculty member of the prestigious Division of Reproductive Biology under the aegis of Dr. Luigi Mastroianni Jr., a pioneer clinical researcher, gifted academic leader and wonderful human being. During these highly formative academic years, I explored the intricacies of mammalian reproduction including sperm-egg events leading to fertilization, the mechanisms of ovarian follicular development and the structural dynamics of the ovarian surface epithelium.

What made you decide to pursue a career in higher education?

An academic medical career is about service to the profession and the public through education, service and scientific discovery.

Why did you choose to be a part of the academic community at USF?

My career a Penn took an exciting turn in 1984 with exciting offers of academic positions at Johns Hopkins Hospital (TeLinde Professorship of Gynecologic Pathology) and the University of South Florida. Fully cognizant of the disparity of such offers and for various personal and family reasons, I opted for the latter institution intrigued by the opportunity to participate in the development of a Pathology Diagnostic and Academic Program at the newly conceived Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute. After initial diagnostic and research activities at the James A. Haley VA Hospital and working with other founding physicians and assisted by affinity toward the cellular sciences, I focused on developing diagnostic services related to interventional cytopathology at the Cancer Center. Such services experienced remarkable growth and national prominence mostly due to the establishment of a comprehensive aspiration cytology program and, in close collaboration with Dr. Charles Cox, an innovative way to intraoperatively manage the pathological evaluation of lumpectomy margins and sentinel lymph nodes.

In 1995, I was offered the Chair of the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine by Dean Silbiger. I accepted with enthusiasm the opportunity of organizing a department that bridges the basic and clinical sciences buoyed by its strengths in teaching but also aware of a need to develop research and clinical activities. Building on a foundation of ovarian biology, I focused on developing an Ovarian Epithelial Cancer Pathobiology Program investigating those alterations leading to ovarian cancer, the fourth leading cause of death in American women.

What do you enjoy about teaching the students of USF?

Teaching is a most enjoyable and fulfilling activity for several reasons.  It affords me the opportunity to stay current on medical sciences and provides an outcome to my research findings as appropriate to the level of imparted education.  It exposes me to the challenge of satisfactorily addressing intriguing questions by inquisitive students.  Finally, the opportunity of mentoring and molding young professionals is personally most fulfilling.

What do you like about the university community?

Under dynamic leadership, the University of South Florida College of Medicine is currently embarking in ambitious academic and entrepreneurial projects aimed at achieving further educational, research and clinical prominence. Mindful of unavoidable changes and new challenges, I welcome the opportunity to participate in these projects as they will surely afford the department with an opportunity to expand its educational, research and especially diagnostic portfolio as well as provide much needed academic pathology services to assist clinical colleagues in their mission.