New appointment at UCI

Paolo Sassone-Corsi, a renowned Italian molecular geneticist, has joined UC Irvine as a distinguished professor, becoming the 20th person to hold the campus’ highest honor.

Earlier in August, Sassone-Corsi became the chair of UCI’s department of pharmacology, a part of the school of medicine. Before venturing to California, he had served as director of research for 16 years at the National Center for Scientific Research in Strasbourg, France.

“I think it was mostly a new challenge and the pleasure of doing something that will stimulate me further,” Sassone-Corsi said. “I had basically reached the top of my career in Europe, and I felt I needed some additional stimulus.”

Sassone-Corsi is the fourth distinguished professor that UCI has appointed in the last year and a half. The university reserves the title for individuals who have gained national and international recognition in their fields. The last three appointments were Yvonne Rainer in the Claire Trevor School of the Arts; John C. Avise in the department of ecology and evolutionary biology; and Zachary Fisk in the department of physics and astronomy.

Sassone-Corsi, 50, has had work published in Science, Cell, Nature and other journals. In 1994, he won the EMBO Gold Medal, which honors European molecular biologists under the age of 40. Born in Naples, he earned his Ph.D at the University of Naples and did postdoctoral work at the University of Strasbourg and the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla.

Most of Sassone-Corsi’s work centers around drug development and how molecular genetics can point the ways to new treatments. At UCI, he said, his two main research projects would involve germ cells and the effects of biological clocks on human behavior.

“Dr. Sassone-Corsi is one of the outstanding molecular biologists of our generation,” Thomas Cesario, dean of the school of medicine, said in a release. “He will increase the stature of pharmacological research at UCI and aid the university in its efforts to increase research directed toward new drug discovery.”

The distinguished professor himself said the appointment left him feeling humbled.

“I’ll have to do my best to somehow make sure that the title is well-earned,” he said with a laugh. “The only thing I can say is that I’m proud to be one of them.”