Gianni Pezzoli Interviewed by David Bradley
Posted December 8, 2000 · Issue 92

Born	February 11, 1951, Codogno, Italy
Position	Director of both the Neuroscience Department and the Parkinson Disease and Movement Disorders Center, Istituti Clinici di Perfezionamento, Milan, Italy
Biography	1975, degree in medicine, cum laude; 1979, residency in neurology, cum laude; 1990, residency in neurosurgery, cum laude; all from University of Milan 1986-1988, research assistant of the Movement Disorder Group, directed by Stanley Fahn at Columbia University, New York 1989-1991, research assistant at Neurological Institute, Columbia University, New York, and Neurological Institute, Irvine University, California He is scientific coordinator for the World Parkinson Disease Association and president of the Italian Parkinson Disease Association. He is married with two children.
Research interests	Pezzoli recently published a study on the effects of hydrocarbon exposure and Parkinson's disease (Neurology, 2000, 55, 667), which was the subject of a Catalyst column on ChemWeb.

What was the key event that pushed you into research?

I have always wanted to address the philosophical question of why we have to be born and die. This issue is closely connected to the aging process, which can be investigated by medical science. In particular, I was fascinated by the brain and wanted to understand the impact that aging has on the mind; I thought that studies in neurodegenerative diseases would help in our understanding of the aging process.

I studied medicine and was given very little information about these topics. I specialized in neurology and developed a particular interest in Parkinson's disease, which is a good and simple model of neurodegeneration, and decided to carry out my own research on this disease to try and find some answers.

Who was your most influential teacher?

Professor Stanley Fahn, director of the Center for Movement Disorders at Columbia University, New York. I worked in his department for two years and appreciated his enthusiasm for his work, his honesty in reporting results, and his ability to organize data and synthesize observations. He taught me not only a lot about neurodegenerative diseases, especially Parkinson's disease, but also about research methodology. He made me realize that computer technology and statistics are essential in clinical research.

Which research paper has had the most effect on your work?

The DATATOP study published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 1989. It made me realize that an enormous amount of information can be gleaned from data on large numbers of patients, provided that they are adequately collected and entered into a well-structured database.

Who awarded you your first grant and what was it for?

The American Parkinson's Disease Association gave me funds for research on adrenal medulla transplantation in PD patients.

What was your best experiment?

Our study of hydrocarbon exposure, which was featured in The Alchemist, on ChemWeb.

What qualities do you need to be a successful researcher?

First of all, a medical researcher must not be profit-oriented. Unlike biologists, physicians have to make a fundamental decision, namely whether to dedicate all their time to profitable clinical practice or to dedicate part of their time to the collection of information for research purposes, an activity that may not even be rewarded by the publication of a paper in an international medical journal.

Another important quality is perseverance. All research requires resources and their allocation implies acceptance of the research worker's original ideas. This indispensable step often becomes a daunting enterprise involving lengthy procedures and discussions, which are often complicated by political overtones. Only determined and resilient personalities get to actually perform the experiments!

If you could work with any scientist, who would it be?

Leonardo da Vinci was a scientist who worked in Milan 500 years ago. Not many people know that he actually described cases of neurological symptoms resembling Parkinson's disease. I would like to see the disease, as it was 500 years ago, and participate in its discovery.

What is your greatest unanswered scientific question?

The identification of the triggering factors for Parkinson's disease, which, I suspect, are also involved in the aging process.

What scientific plans do you have for the next five years?

Now that it has been established that exposure to exogenous hydrocarbon solvents contribute toward the development of Parkinson's disease, I wish to assess the role of endogenous hydrocarbons generated by lipid peroxidation in the same disease.

David Bradley, a freelance science writer, lives on the edge of the fens north of Cambridge, United Kingdom. Elemental Discoveries is his Webzine of science news.

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