Dario Alessi, Deputy Director of the Medical Research Council Protein Phosphorylation Unit and Professor of Cell Signalling in the College of Life Sciences at the University of Dundee, has been elected a Fellow of The Royal Society of London, the highest accolade that a UK scientist can receive.
Dario's election to science's 'Hall of Fame' recognises his major contributions to our understanding of how mutations in enzymes called protein kinases cause diabetes, cancer and hypertension. He discovered a protein kinase called PDK1, the 'missing link' in the chain of events by which insulin induces the conversion of glucose in the blood to its storage form glycogen in muscle and liver. His research also identified PDK1 as a promising anti-cancer agent. Dario solved the structure of the protein kinase LKB1 and explained how mutations in this enzyme cause cancer. In a further project he worked out how mutations in the WNK family of protein kinases give rise to an inherited hypertension syndrome. These wide-ranging discoveries have suggested new ways to prevent and treat cancer and to develop improved drugs for the treatment of high blood pressure. One of his major current projects is to elucidate the physiological role of LRRK2 and why mutations in this protein kinase cause Parkinson's disease.
About the Royal Society:
Each year, just over 40 people across the UK, Commonwealth and the Republic of Ireland, working in all branches of science ranging from mathematics to astronomy, physics, chemistry, genetics, botany and medicine, are elected to The Royal Society Fellowship. It is the world's oldest scientific academy founded in 1660 by King Charles II.
Commenting on the Award Dario said: 'I have to say I was completely gobsmacked to hear about my election. Now the shock is over, I'm especially looking forward to signing my name in the Royal Society Charter Book, which contains signatures of legendary scientists from the past 350 years including Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin and Francis Crick. This will be an unbelievable moment for me and is also a tribute to the researchers in my lab, past and present, with whom I've had the privilege to work. The excellent facilities at Dundee University and fabulous support from all of my colleagues has also made an enormous contribution to my work and I'd especially like to thank Philip Cohen – first and foremost for putting up with me for all these years and also for providing much of the inspiration, resources and laboratory facilities to undertake my research. A crucial ingredient has also been the Medical Research Council, who for the last 17 years has generously supported a large proportion of my research. This has enabled me to tackle long-term challenging projects that I would otherwise have been unable to undertake. I have also benefited greatly from the support of many charities including Diabetes UK, the Association for Cancer Research, the Wellcome Trust, the Moffat Charitable Trust and Camperdown Lodge in Dundee and I would like to thank them profusely for the research funds they have provided.'
About Dario Alessi:
Dario Alessi is 40 years of age and obtained a B.Sc and Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the University of Birmingham. He came to Dundee in 1991 after receiving a postdoctoral training fellowship from the Medical Research Council to work with Sir Philip Cohen in the MRC Protein Phosphorylation Unit. He set up his own research team in the Unit in 1998, becoming its Deputy Director in April 2007. Dario's achievements have been recognised previously by many research prizes, culminating in 2005 with the award of the EMBO Gold Medal, the premier award in Europe for a life scientist under the age of 40. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 2002, was made an Honorary Professor of the University of Dundee in 2003 and a member of the European Molecular Biology Organisation in 2005. According to the Institute for Scientific Information in Philadelphia, Dario was the world's 13th most cited scientist working in the field of biochemistry and biology over the ten-year period from 1995-2005.
Dario's election to science's 'Hall of Fame' recognises his major contributions to our understanding of how mutations in enzymes called protein kinases cause diabetes, cancer and hypertension. He discovered a protein kinase called PDK1, the 'missing link' in the chain of events by which insulin induces the conversion of glucose in the blood to its storage form glycogen in muscle and liver. His research also identified PDK1 as a promising anti-cancer agent. Dario solved the structure of the protein kinase LKB1 and explained how mutations in this enzyme cause cancer. In a further project he worked out how mutations in the WNK family of protein kinases give rise to an inherited hypertension syndrome. These wide-ranging discoveries have suggested new ways to prevent and treat cancer and to develop improved drugs for the treatment of high blood pressure. One of his major current projects is to elucidate the physiological role of LRRK2 and why mutations in this protein kinase cause Parkinson's disease.
About the Royal Society:
Each year, just over 40 people across the UK, Commonwealth and the Republic of Ireland, working in all branches of science ranging from mathematics to astronomy, physics, chemistry, genetics, botany and medicine, are elected to The Royal Society Fellowship. It is the world's oldest scientific academy founded in 1660 by King Charles II.
Commenting on the Award Dario said: 'I have to say I was completely gobsmacked to hear about my election. Now the shock is over, I'm especially looking forward to signing my name in the Royal Society Charter Book, which contains signatures of legendary scientists from the past 350 years including Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin and Francis Crick. This will be an unbelievable moment for me and is also a tribute to the researchers in my lab, past and present, with whom I've had the privilege to work. The excellent facilities at Dundee University and fabulous support from all of my colleagues has also made an enormous contribution to my work and I'd especially like to thank Philip Cohen – first and foremost for putting up with me for all these years and also for providing much of the inspiration, resources and laboratory facilities to undertake my research. A crucial ingredient has also been the Medical Research Council, who for the last 17 years has generously supported a large proportion of my research. This has enabled me to tackle long-term challenging projects that I would otherwise have been unable to undertake. I have also benefited greatly from the support of many charities including Diabetes UK, the Association for Cancer Research, the Wellcome Trust, the Moffat Charitable Trust and Camperdown Lodge in Dundee and I would like to thank them profusely for the research funds they have provided.'
About Dario Alessi:
Dario Alessi is 40 years of age and obtained a B.Sc and Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the University of Birmingham. He came to Dundee in 1991 after receiving a postdoctoral training fellowship from the Medical Research Council to work with Sir Philip Cohen in the MRC Protein Phosphorylation Unit. He set up his own research team in the Unit in 1998, becoming its Deputy Director in April 2007. Dario's achievements have been recognised previously by many research prizes, culminating in 2005 with the award of the EMBO Gold Medal, the premier award in Europe for a life scientist under the age of 40. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 2002, was made an Honorary Professor of the University of Dundee in 2003 and a member of the European Molecular Biology Organisation in 2005. According to the Institute for Scientific Information in Philadelphia, Dario was the world's 13th most cited scientist working in the field of biochemistry and biology over the ten-year period from 1995-2005.