Paolo Serafini, Ph.D.

Dr. Paolo Serafini, Ph.D. is a Tenured Associate Professor in Microbiology and Immunology and in Otolaryngology at the University of Miami and the Translational leader of the Head and Neck Site Disease Group at the NCI-designated Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center. Miami Florida. Dr. Serafini was formally educated with a Laurea (BS and master) in Genetic and Molecular biology at the University of Padova (Italy) and in Immune oncology with a Post-Laurea internship at the “Instituto Oncologico Veneto (IOV). In 2002 he was a visiting scientist at the Institute for Molecular Virology, Munich, (Germany). In 2003, he received a Ph.D. in Oncology and Surgical Oncology from the University of Padova, Italy, and continued his postdoctoral studies in immune-oncology and translational immunology at Johns Hopkins University (Baltimore, MD). Since 2007 he has been the PI of the targeted immunology group at the University of Miami.

Dr. Serafini’s major achievements have included i) the definition and characterization of immune regulatory cells, now called myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs), whose negative influence on antitumor immunity represents an obstacle to successful cancer immunotherapy, ii) the identification of the dual role of GM-CSF that, depending on the dose, can either promote or inhibit the immune response, iii) the discovery that tadalafil can act as a positive immunomodulator in HNSCC, and iv) the development of RNA therapeutics that allow the targeted biological modulation of myeloid cells and insulin-producing beta cells in vivo. As a former Eureka scholar, Dr. Serafini knows the importance of collaboration with industries to bring basic discovery to public fruition. Thus, in addition to his basic science and academic work, he has been collaborating with industries; obtained different patents for the in vivo modulation of the immune system and the targeted delivery of therapeutics in cancer and diabetes. He is the scientific founder of two start-up companies, with three products undergoing preclinical development and one commercialized product for the in vivo transfection of MDSC. Dr. Serafini served as a consultant for industries, Universities, and Foundations on nanotherapeutics, immunotherapy, and drug development.