2005
Dr. Franco De Conno is the successor of Professor Vittorio Ventafridda in the complex and demanding role of directing the Pain and Palliative Care Division at the National Cancer Center in Milan. He was instrumental in the clinical and administrative growth on the program and the addition of rehabilitation as a major component of the program. In this role Dr. De Conno was able to maintain the leadership of this prestigious group as the most recognized in Italy and one of the most productive and successful programs in the world. He has been instrumental in maintaining and increasing the research programs for the Division in the areas of opioid analgesia, neuropathic pain, psycho-oncology and communication. Under his leadership, the Pain and Palliative Care Division at the NCI has provided education for hundreds of physicians, nurses and other health care professionals from Italy and around the world.
In the European area Dr. De Conno was the major force behind the establishment of the European Association for Palliative Care (EAPC) and the organization of its scientific meetings. More recently he was the developer of the EAPC Research Meeting. This meeting has met with spectacular success ad it has also become the most prestigious forum for methodology and content dissemination of palliative care research.
Dr De Conno has been a tireless world traveler and teacher in developing countries.
