Alberto Bardelli (born 29 November 1967) is an Italian geneticist and cancer researcher, expert in the field of precision medicine. He is a full professor of histology at the Department of Oncology,

University of Turin The University of Turin (Italian language, Italian: ''Università degli Studi di Torino'', UNITO) is a public university, public research university in the city of Turin, in the Piedmont (Italy), Piedmont region of Italy. It is one of the List ...

and Scientific Director of IFOM, the AIRC Institute of Molecular Oncology.

Career

Alberto Bardelli was born in

Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

on 29 November 1967. He studied Biological Sciences at the University of Turin and received his master's degree in 1991. After graduation, he moved to the

Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research Ludwig Cancer Research is an international community of scientists focused on cancer research, with the goal of preventing and controlling cancer. It encompasses the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, an international non-profit organization ...

in London and obtained a PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from the

University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

(UCL). From 1999 to 2004, Bardelli has been a postdoctoral researcher at the

Johns Hopkins University The Johns Hopkins University (often abbreviated as Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1876 based on the European research institution model, J ...

School of Medicine and the

Howard Hughes Medical Institute The Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) is an American non-profit medical research organization headquartered in Chevy Chase, Maryland with additional facilities in Ashburn, Virginia. It was founded in 1953 by Howard Hughes, an American busin ...

, Baltimore (MD/USA), in the group led by Bert Vogelstein. Here Bardelli began studying the genomics of cancer. During his postdoctoral training at Johns Hopkins, Bardelli published multiple papers in high-profile journals such as ''Nature'' and ''Science''. In 2004, he returned to Italy as director of a research unit dedicated to the study of tumour genomes at the Candiolo Cancer Institute and Dept. of Oncology,

. Since 2016, he has been a full professor of histology at the University of Turin. From 2018 to 2020, he served as president of the European Association for Cancer Research (EACR). He is a member of the scientific committee of the Italian Association for Cancer Research (AIRC). In 2005, he co-founded the gene editing company Horizon Discovery. Since April 2022, he has been the scientific director of IFOM, the AIRC Institute of Molecular Oncology, Milan.

Research

Bardelli performed the first comprehensive mutational profile of

kinase In biochemistry, a kinase () is an enzyme that catalyzes the transfer of phosphate groups from high-energy, phosphate-donating molecules to specific substrates. This process is known as phosphorylation, where the high-energy ATP molecule don ...

s in

colorectal cancer Colorectal cancer (CRC), also known as bowel cancer, colon cancer, or rectal cancer, is the development of cancer from the Colon (anatomy), colon or rectum (parts of the large intestine). Signs and symptoms may include Lower gastrointestinal ...

s (CRC). He translated these findings into clinical practice by discovering the molecular landscape of response and resistance to EGFR, HER2 and NTRK1 blockades in CRC. One of the main focuses of his research is the study of the emergence and evolution of drug-resistant clones that can be restrained to improve the efficacy of anticancer agents to develop therapies that adapt to a tumour's evolution. His group used several approaches in their work, including genetic analysis of clinical samples, a large collection of CRC cellular models, patient-derived xenografts (xenopatients), and liquid biopsies. In the last years his studies uncovered the molecular bases of primary and acquired resistance to anti-EGFR therapies in colorectal tumours. These findings have been rapidly translated into clinically applicable predictive biomarkers, which represent the first example of personalized medicine for colorectal tumours and are used to select patients for therapy. Bardelli also investigated the use of

immunotherapy Immunotherapy or biological therapy is the treatment of disease by activating or suppressing the immune system. Immunotherapies designed to elicit or amplify an immune response are classified as ''activation immunotherapies,'' while immunotherap ...

as a tool for

precision medicine Precision, precise or precisely may refer to: Arts and media * ''Precision'' (march), the official marching music of the Royal Military College of Canada * "Precision" (song), by Big Sean * ''Precisely'' (sketch), a dramatic sketch by the Eng ...

in CRC. His studies are built on an unconventional approach that an increased dynamic and mutational load in CRC cells can rouse an otherwise slack immune response, a vital requisite for effective immunosurveillance. Bardelli's team tweaked the clonal evolution of the tumour, via a pharmacological intervention, to provoke the persistent renewal of neoantigens.

Citations

Bardelli has authored more than 200 scientific articles, of which 100 were written as an independent investigator. His research papers have been cited over 40,000 times. Bardelli has been listed as a Highly Cited Researcher in the field of Clinical Medicine in Clarivate Web of Science (2014, 2018–2020).

Awards

* 2020 Guido Venosta Award, FIRC AIRC, Presidenza della Repubblica Italiana * 2019 Elected Member of the

Johns Hopkins Johns Hopkins (May 19, 1795 – December 24, 1873) was an American merchant, investor, and philanthropist. Born on a plantation, he left his home to start a career at the age of 17, and settled in Baltimore, Maryland, where he remained for mos ...

Society of Scholars * 2017 ESMO Translational Research Award * 2017 Fellow of European Molecular Biology Organization ( EMBO) * 2015 Fellow of the European Academy of Cancer Sciences * 2015 Fellow of the Turin Academy of Sciences

Honours

Bardelli was appointed "Officer" of the

Order of Merit of the Italian Republic The Order of Merit of the Italian Republic () is the most senior Italian order of merit. It was established in 1951 by the second President of Italy, President of the Italian Republic, Luigi Einaudi. The highest-ranking honour of the Republi ...

in 2021.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bardelli, Alberto Italian oncologists 1967 births Living people Scientists from Turin Italian expatriates in the United Kingdom Alumni of University College London University of Turin alumni Officers of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic