Dario Alessi has been named as the winner of the 2023 Jeantet-Collen Prize for Translational Medicine. The award is given by the Louis-Jeantet Foundation.

Dario has discovered components which regulate pathways linked to human disease, in particular neurodegenerative diseases and cancer. His research efforts have led to fundamental breakthroughs in unravelling the role of LRRK2 kinase in Parkinson’s disease. This has contributed to the clinical development of LRRK2 inhibitors which are currently being tested in late phase clinical trials as therapeutic strategies to slow the progression of Parkinson’s disease in patients.

The award will be presented at a ceremony in Geneva, Switzerland, on Wednesday 26 April.

Professor Alessi said, “I was surprised but greatly honoured to be awarded one of this year’s Louis-Jeantet prizes together with Brenda Schulman and Ivan Đikić whose research I admire enormously. I would like to thank the University of Dundee, UK Medical Research Council, Michael J Fox Foundation for their long-term support which has made the research possible.

“I dedicate this award to my collaborators and the past and present talented researchers who have worked in my lab. Our research has been greatly inspired by the many people impacted with Parkinson’s who I have had the privilege to meet, which has kept us going over periods when progress was slow.

“Although our work has helped illuminate some of the biology surrounding LRRK2 and Parkinson’s, there is still lots to do to develop treatments that slow disease progression. I intend to use the prize funds to help progress new therapies.”

Dr Megan Dowie, Head of the Molecular and Cellular Medicine Board at the Medical Research Council, part of UKRI, said “Professor Alessi has made many invaluable contributions towards our understanding of the cellular pathways related to Parkinson’s disease over his esteemed career, and this prestigious award is most deserved.

“The work he leads at the MRC PPU is a great example of strong discovery research, aided by an excellent collaborative environment with fellow academics and industry and leading to the development of potential new therapies for this devastating disease.”