Advertisement
Grab your lab coat. Let's get started
Welcome!
Welcome!
Create an account below to get 6 C&EN articles per month, receive newsletters and more - all free.
It seems this is your first time logging in online. Please enter the following information to continue.
As an ACS member you automatically get access to this site. All we need is few more details to create your reading experience.
Not you? Sign in with a different account.
Not you? Sign in with a different account.
ERROR 1
ERROR 1
ERROR 2
ERROR 2
ERROR 2
ERROR 2
ERROR 2
Password and Confirm password must match.
If you have an ACS member number, please enter it here so we can link this account to your membership. (optional)
ERROR 2
ACS values your privacy. By submitting your information, you are gaining access to C&EN and subscribing to our weekly newsletter. We use the information you provide to make your reading experience better, and we will never sell your data to third party members.
ACS News
Career Ladder
Career Ladder: Salvatore La Rosa
Children’s Tumor Foundation vice president for R&D leaves behind music for a medicinal chemistry career
by Andrea Widener
July 4, 2016
| A version of this story appeared in
Volume 94, Issue 27
1982
A musical upbringing in Sicily
Growing up in Messina, Italy, La Rosa was interested in science, but his great love was the piano, which he started playing at age six. “I studied in a conservatory for 12 years. This was something I always carried with me.”
1997
Choosing chemistry over classical music
After completing a degree in piano, La Rosa took a hard look at his prospects. He decided “piano is a passion, and I love doing it, but I think my future is somewhere else.” La Rosa was majoring in chemistry at the University of Messina, but he didn’t realize it might be his life’s work until he learned that chemists make medicines to help cure diseases. “That completely changed my perspective.”
1999
Seeking global experience
La Rosa went to graduate school at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, Scotland, wanting to see more of the world. There, he worked on an international medicinal chemistry research project that became his new passion. “The thing that really blew my mind was being part of a larger team. I said, ‘I love this. This is the place for me.’ After that, music was gone.”
2004
Finding a fit in drug discovery
After short stints at two companies, La Rosa settled at Siena Biotech in Tuscany, where he rose through the ranks to lead a team of chemists working on Huntington’s disease drug discovery. “I had the chance to use my creativity to solve problems, to be proactive. They gave us a lot of space. It was really a dream place.”
Credit: Courtesy of Salvatore La Rosa
2013
Surviving a company’s demise
La Rosa had been at Siena for nine years when the company, which was owned by a bank, fell victim to the recent global financial crisis. “I was still there, but I knew what was happening. It was one of those situations where you say, ‘What am I doing here? I’m waiting for this situation to collapse.’ ”
Today
Finding cures for children’s tumors
A former colleague offered La Rosa a job in New York City at the nonprofit Children’s Tumor Foundation, which supports research into neurofibromatosis, a benign tumor that can be debilitating. Now La Rosa is vice president for R&D. Working with patients and doctors is completely different from working in industry, he says. And he loves it. “There is a really strong drive to do something that is useful for patients today.”
Know a chemist with an interesting career path? Tell C&EN about it at cenm.ag/careerladder.
Check C&ENJobs for the latest job listings, as well as featured videos on what chemists do.
Advertisement
Chemical & Engineering News
ISSN 0009-2347
Copyright © 2025 American Chemical Society
You might also like...
The power is now in your (nitrile gloved) hands
Sign up for a free account to get more articles. Or choose the ACS option that’s right for you.
Already have an ACS ID? Log in
Join the conversation
Contact the reporter
Submit a Letter to the Editor for publication
Engage with us on X