Vittorio Gallo, PhD

Vittorio  Gallo, PhD

Children's Title: Senior Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer

Academic Title: Professor

Research Title: Principal Investigator, Center for Integrative Brain Research

Research Center: Center for Integrative Brain Research

Language (Other than English): Italian, Spanish

  • Vittorio Gallo, PhD is senior vice president and chief scientific officer for Seattle Children’s Research Institute and serves as a member of the Seattle Children’s Executive Leadership Team.

    Dr. Gallo obtained his PhD in Biochemistry and Neurobiology at the University of Rome, Italy, working with Prof. Giulio Levi and the Nobel Laureate Prof. Rita-Levi Montalcini. He did his postdoctoral work at the MRC Developmental Neurobiology Unit, London (EMBO Fellow) at the Laboratory of Preclinical Pharmacology, NIMH, NIH (Fogarty Fellow), and in the Department of Pharmacology at University College, London (EMBO Fellow).

    In 1989, he became visiting scientist and NATO Fellow in the Laboratory of Developmental Neurobiology, NICHD, NIH, and then in 1992 Chief of the Section on Molecular and Cellular Neurobiology at NICHD, where he became a tenured investigator in 1995.

    In 2002, he moved to Children’s National Medical Center to become the Director of the Center for Neuroscience Research, where he built a research center focused on neural development and neurodevelopmental disorders. Dr. Gallo served as both interim chief academic officer for Children’s National Hospital and interim director of Children’s National Research Institute. He was also associate dean for Child Health Research, and a professor of pediatrics, pharmacology and physiology at George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences.

    Dr. Gallo joined Seattle Children's as senior vice president and chief scientific officer in September 2023.

  • Award Name Award Description Awarded By Award Date
    Javits Neuroscience Investigator Award National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
    Italian Society for Neuroscience Young Investigator Award
    EMBO Fellow
    NATO Fellow
    Best Investigator Award George Washington University

Overview

Research Description

Dr. Gallo’s research focuses on neural stem/progenitor cells and their potential for perinatal brain regeneration and repair after injury. He has extensively investigated injury in the developing white matter and uncovered new cellular and molecular mechanisms to promote protection and regeneration.

The NIH has funded Dr. Gallo’s individual research program since 2004, after he moved to Children’s National from the NICHD Intramural Research Program. In 2018, he was awarded the NINDS Javits Award for his outstanding contributions to neuroscience, and in 2020 was selected as a member of the American Pediatric Society. He has served on several NIH review panels and chaired two NIH Study Sections (NCF and CMBG).

Dr. Gallo has authored more than 130 peer-reviewed articles, many in high-impact international journals (Nature, Nature Neuroscience, Nature Communications, Science Translational Medicine, Neuron, Cell Reports, The Journal of Cell Biology, PNAS, The Journal of Neuroscience), and 30 review articles and book chapters (Neuron, Nature Neuroscience, Nature Reviews Neuroscience). He is on the editorial boards of Nature Neuroscience and Glia, and was Reviewing Editor of The Journal of Neuroscience.

Research Focus Area

Neuroscience / Neurodevelopment, Brain Injury