Dr. Italo Mocchetti Receiving the President’s Award for Distinguished Scholar-Teacher

Ceremony was held on October 23, 2019 at 5:00 PM in Gaston Hall, during the Fall Faculty Convocation

This award commends faculty who were nominated by their students and faculty peers for outstanding service to our community and to the Academy as exemplary scholar-teachers, embodying Georgetown’s mission as a student-centered research University. Awardees represent the very best of Georgetown: the blending of academic expertise, innovative research, and impactful pedagogy that draws out the ambitions and abilities of our students and faculty.

Italo Mocchetti has been a valued member of our Medical Center since 1985. Dr. Mocchetti’s early research contributed several fundamental discoveries on the basic mechanisms of action of common drugs of abuse, identifying specific growth factors which are pivotal in central nervous system development which are also used in repair of the adult brain after damage by contusions and seizures. These early studies laid the foundation for his more recent work studying the impact of HIV on the central nervous system, how HIV causes brain dysfunction, and how to prevent this cognitive decline among HIV-carriers. Through his tireless research, he has helped innumerable people live longer and more rewarding lives. For 30 years, NIH has repeatedly recognized his work by awarding him continuous, competitive grant funding to pursue this cutting edge research. He has also published an impressive 115 original research papers, 18 reviews, and 22 book chapters and has been invited to lead many international symposia. At Georgetown, Dr. Mocchetti’s laboratory and courses have drawn undergraduate, master’s, doctoral students, and post-doctoral fellows from around the world to study with and be mentored by him. It is an honor to recognize his work as a pioneering scientist, selfless mentor, and esteemed teacher.