Professor Dario Alessi from the Medical Research Council Protein Phosphorylation Unit based at the University of Dundee, has been awarded the Federation of Biochemical Societies' Anniversary Prize for outstanding achievement in the field of Biochemistry, the seventh in a series of awards for this top Dundee scientist.
Dario, Principal Investigator at the MRC Unit, leads a research team in biochemical studies of insulin-regulated signalling transduction pathways.
The Anniversary prize of the Gesellschaft fur Biochemie unde Molekularbiologie (Biochemistry and Molecular Biology) is awarded to scientists under the age of 40 for their outstanding achievement in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. The prizes are provided by the pharmaceutical companies Boehringer Mannheim GmbH and Eppendorft Geratebau-Netheler & Hinz GmbH.
In 2002 Dario was awarded, the Royal Society of Edinburgh's Makdougall Brisbane prize for his discovery and characterisation of PDK1, the"missing link" in insulin signal transduction, The Prizer Academic Award for his groundbreaking work in the fight against diabetes and the Young Investigator G.B. Morgagni Prize 2002 for outstanding achievements in the field of metabolism. He was also elected as a fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.
He won the Eppendorf Young European scientist of the year in 2000, and is also one of eight members of the School of Life Sciences at the University of Dundee to win the Colworth medal in 1999 for young scientists under the age of 36.
Dario received his award at the FEBS meeting on Signal Transduction in Brussels yesterday, Sunday July 6.
By Jane Smernicki, Press Officer 01382 344768 j.m.smernicki@dundee.ac.uk