Philip A. Pizzo, M.D.

An executive officer from a California University
Appointed by the Controller

Philip A. Pizzo, MD, became dean of the Stanford School of Medicine in April 2001. Before joining Stanford, he was the physician-in-chief of Children’s Hospital in Boston and chair of the Department of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School. Pizzo is recognized for his contributions as a clinical investigator, especially in the treatment of children with cancer and HIV.

Pizzo received his undergraduate degree from Fordham University and an MD from the University of Rochester School of Medicine. He completed an internship and residency at Children’s Hospital Medical Center in Boston, a teaching fellowship at Harvard Medical School, and a clinical and research fellowship in pediatric oncology at the National Cancer Institute. Pizzo served as head of the institute’s infectious disease section, chief of the NCI’s pediatric department, and acting scientific director for NCI’s Division of Clinical Sciences.

Pizzo devoted much of his distinguished medical career to the diagnosis, management, prevention and treatment of childhood cancers and the infectious complications that occur in children whose immune systems are compromised by cancer and AIDS. Pizzo and his research team pioneered the development of new treatments for children with HIV infection, lengthening and improving the quality of life for children with this disease. His research soon led to important clues about how to treat HIV-positive children and adults, and how to manage life-threatening infections. In 1988 Pizzo published the first article in the New England Journal of Medicine on antiviral therapy of HIV in children. He is also the author of more than 500 scientific articles and 14 books.

Pizzo has received several awards from the U.S. Public Health Service, including the Outstanding Service Medal in 1995. He has been cited in Best Doctors of America since 1995, and in 1990 was declared “Washingtonian of the Year” by Washingtonian Magazine for helping to found the Children’s Inn, a temporary home for children undergoing treatment at the National Institutes of Health and their families.