Giorgio Trinchieri

Giorgio Trinchieri is an Italian-American immunologist and Senior Investigator at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), where he serves as Chief of the Laboratory of Integrative Cancer Immunology within the Center for Cancer Research. He was named an NIH Distinguished Investigator in 2016 and elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 2024.

Trinchieri is recognized for discovering interleukin-12 (IL-12) in 1989, a breakthrough that revealed regulatory links between innate and adaptive immunity. His current research examines how inflammation, the microbiome, and immune responses influence cancer development and treatment outcomes.

Through systematic purification efforts, the team identified a previously unknown protein composed of two subunits. This heterodimeric molecule, which they initially called "natural killer cell stimulatory factor," became the first heterodimeric cytokine to be characterized. This discovery earned Trinchieri the 1996 William B. Coley Award for Distinguished Research in Basic and Tumor Immunology from the Cancer Research Institute.

Antibodies developed against IL-12 during Trinchieri's research later formed the basis for treatments of psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis, and inflammatory bowel disease. The results provided proof of concept that altering gut microbiome composition can improve immunotherapy responses, though additional research is needed to identify the specific microorganisms and biological mechanisms involved. His work spans immunobiology and cancer biology, with particular focus on understanding how immune responses can be harnessed for therapeutic benefit.

Selected publications Kobayashi M, Fitz L, Ryan M, Hewick RM, Clark SC, Chan S, Loudon R, Sherman F, Perussia B, Trinchieri G. (1989). "Identification and purification of natural killer cell stimulatory factor (NKSF), a cytokine with multiple biologic effects on human lymphocytes." Journal of Experimental Medicine. 170(3):827-845. Iida N, Dzutsev A, Stewart CA, Smith L, Bouladoux N, Weingarten RA, Molina DA, Salcedo R, Back T, Cramer S, Dai RM, Kiu H, Cardone M, Naik S, Patri AK, Wang E, Marincola FM, Frank KM, Belkaid Y, Trinchieri G, Goldszmid RS. (2013). "Commensal bacteria control cancer response to therapy by modulating the tumor microenvironment." Science. 342(6161):967-970. Davar D, Dzutsev AK, McCulloch JA, Rodrigues RR, Chauvin JM, Morrison RM, Deblasio RN, Menna C, Ding Q, Pagliano O, Zidi B, Zhang S, Badger JH, Vetizou M, Cole AM, Fernandes MR, Prescott S, Costa RGF, Balaji AK, Morgun A, Vujkovic-Cvijin I, Wang H, Borhani AA, Schwartz MB, Dubner HM, Ernst SJ, Rose A, Najjar YG, Belkaid Y, Kirkwood JM, Trinchieri G, Zarour HM. (2021). "Fecal microbiota transplant overcomes resistance to anti-PD-1 therapy in melanoma patients." Science. 371(6529):595-602.