Joseph Rocco Bertino (born August 16, 1930) was a researcher in the cancer pharmacology program at Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey and professor of medicine and pharmacology at the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in New Jersey. His research is focused on the treatment of lymphoma.

Early life and education

Bertino was born in Port Chester, New York as the youngest son of Joseph and Mamie Bertino. His parents immigrated from Italy shortly before World War I. After graduating from medical school at

SUNY Downstate College of Medicine The SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University (formally, The State University of New York Health Science Center at Brooklyn) is a public medical school in New York City and one of the three components of SUNY Downstate Medical Center: Universi ...

in 1954, Bertino did a

USPHS The United States Public Health Service (USPHS or PHS) is a collection of agencies of the Department of Health and Human Services concerned with public health, containing nine out of the department's twelve operating divisions. The Assistant S ...

fellowship in hematology and oncology at the University of Washington School of Medicine. In 1958, he moved to Seattle to work with Clement A. Finch and Frank M. Huennekens. He has four children with his wife, Mary, who died in 2011. He was the grandfather of American singer Niia.

Career

From 1973 to 1975, Bertino was the director of the Yale Cancer Center, until he was made an

American Cancer Society The American Cancer Society (ACS) is a nationwide voluntary health organization dedicated to eliminating cancer. Established in 1913, the society is organized into six geographical regions of both medical and lay volunteers operating in more than ...

Research Professor. He remained at Yale until 1987. Following this, he was the chair of the Molecular Pharmacology and Therapeutics Program at

Memorial Sloan-Kettering Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK or MSKCC) is a cancer treatment and research institution in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, founded in 1884 as the New York Cancer Hospital. MSKCC is one of 52 National Cancer Institute– ...

until 2002, when he moved to the Cancer Institute of New Jersey. Some of Bertino's notable scientific accomplishments are research into

methotrexate Methotrexate (MTX), formerly known as amethopterin, is a chemotherapy agent and immune-system suppressant. It is used to treat cancer, autoimmune diseases, and ectopic pregnancies. Types of cancers it is used for include breast cancer, leuke ...

and resistance to cancer treatments, including that use of methotrexate leads to an increase in

dihydrofolate reductase Dihydrofolate reductase, or DHFR, is an enzyme that reduces dihydrofolic acid to tetrahydrofolic acid, using NADPH as an electron donor, which can be converted to the kinds of tetrahydrofolate cofactors used in 1-carbon transfer chemistry. In ...

. He is a founding editor of the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

Awards

* 1975 President of the American Society for Clinical Oncology * 1976-1979 Member, AACR Board of Directors * 1978 AACR–Richard and Hinda Rosenthal Award * 1992 David A. Karnofsky Memorial Award (American Society of Clinical Oncology) * 1995-1996 President of the

American Association for Cancer Research The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) is the world's oldest and largest professional association related to cancer research. Based in Philadelphia, the AACR focuses on all aspects of cancer research, including basic, clinical, and t ...

* 2004 Freundlich Leadership Award ( Lymphoma Research Foundation) * 2006 Key to the Cure Award (Lymphoma Research Foundation) * 2007 Bob Pinedo Cancer Care Prize for Contributions to Improvements in Cancer Care * 2007 ASCO Statesman Award * 2008 John Ultman Award for Contributions to Lymphoma Research * 2008 AACR–Joseph H. Burchenal Memorial Award * 2011 Jeffrey A. Gottlieb Memorial Award ( MD Anderson Cancer Center) * 2013 Elected fellow of the AACR Academy * 2018

AACR Award for Lifetime Achievement in Cancer Research The American Association for Cancer Research gives several annual awards for significant contributions to the field of cancer research. AACR Award for Lifetime Achievement in Cancer Research This award recognizes prodigious scientists that have ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bertino, Joseph R. 1930 births Living people Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center faculty Yale University faculty Fellows of the AACR Academy Rutgers University faculty SUNY Downstate Medical Center alumni People from Port Chester, New York