BIO
Dario Alessi is Director of the Protein Phosphorylation and Ubiquitylation Unit, a Medical Research Council unit in the School of Life Sciences at the University of Dundee. His research has contributed to a better understanding of the cellular signaling pathways involved in cancer, diabetes and blood pressure. His studies of the LRRK2 pathway and the Rab enzyme have enabled the development of drugs – now in late-phase clinical trials – to prevent or slow the progression of Parkinson’s. After identifying other components of the LRRK2 pathway, he is exploring whether it is possible to develop enhancers of the PPM1H protein phosphatase to treat this neurodegenerative disease. Prof. Alessi is President of the International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and a Fellow of the Royal Society. His recent distinctions include the Louis Jeantet-Collen Prize for Translational Medicine and the Robert A. Pritzker Prize for Leadership in Parkinson’s Research. He is also an Officer of the Order of the British Empire.
