Paul Calabresi was an American physician and researcher who made significant contributions to the development of cancer chemotherapy. He was born on September 7, 1939, in New York City and graduated from the University of Illinois College of Medicine.
In the early 1970s, Calabresi conducted clinical trials of several chemotherapeutic agents, including cisplatin and bleomycin, which led to their approval by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of various types of cancer. He also played a key role in the development of combination chemotherapy, which involves using two or more drugs to treat cancer simultaneously.
Calabresi served as the chairman of the Department of Pharmacology at Yale School of Medicine from 1976 to 1989 and as the director of the Yale Comprehensive Cancer Center from 1980 to 1989. In addition to his research and clinical work, he was also a dedicated teacher and mentor to many students and young scientists.
Tragically, Calabresi was murdered by a graduate student in his laboratory on September 26, 1989, in a shocking act of violence that shocked the medical community. He was posthumously honored with numerous awards and tributes for his contributions to cancer research and treatment, including the American Association for Cancer Research Lifetime Achievement Award in Cancer Research in 1990.
