Dr. Florio received a BA in biochemistry from Cornell University and a PhD in pharmacology from the University of Virginia. His thesis and post-doctoral work centered on the molecular basis of signal transduction in pathways involving cyclic AMP. He received an advanced pre-doctoral fellowship from PhRMA and post-doctoral support from the NIH and the American Heart Association.

Following his post-doctoral work, Dr. Florio joined ICOS Corporation, a biotechnology company in Seattle. His work on cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterases included a 14-year involvement with the PDE5 inhibitor tadalafil, the active ingredient of the erectile dysfunction drug Cialis and the pulmonary hypertension drug Adcirca.

In his current position as Director of Science at Omeros Corporation, Dr. Florio continues his interest in the development of phosphodiesterase inhibitors for a variety of diseases. He currently leads projects that are developing PDE10 inhibitors for schizophrenia and PDE7 inhibitors for Parkinson’s disease.