11:10-12:00, Rm 103

Moosa Plenary LectureMay 17 (Tue), 14:30-15:20, Rm 103Targeting angiogenesis and lymphatic metastasisDr. Kari AlitaloHaartman Institute and Finnish Institute for Molecular Medicine, University of Helsinki, FinlandDr. Kari Alitalo, a tenured research professor of the Finnish Academy of Sciences, isrecognized as a leading authority and key scientist by the international biomedicalcommunity for his several outstanding and seminal contributions to the understandingof the pathophysiology of cancer and metastasis. He has unravelled the molecularbasis of lymphangiogenesis, the formation of lymphatic vessels and their involvementin tumour metastasis. Dr. Alitalo was the first to identify by molecular cloning severalreceptors and growth factors that govern the development and maintenance of bloodvessels and lymphatic vessels. In fact, three of the currently known five vascularendothelial growth factors and two of the five endothelial-specific growth factorreceptors were identified in the studies of Dr. Alitalo and his collaborators. Alitalo’smost significant discovery is the growth factor/receptor system (VEGF-C and itsreceptor VEGFR-3) that controls the growth of lymphatic vessels. His group has alsoshown that tumor lymphangiogenesis greatly enhances tumor metastasis, which can beblocked by VEGFR-3 signal transduction inhibitors that also improve anti-angiogenictumor therapy. Dr. Alitalo has been capable of translating genetic discoveries intotherapeutic strategies in a record period. Dr. Alitalo obtained his postdoctoral trainingfrom the Nobel laureates J. Michael Bishop and Harold E. Varmus. His achievementsduring the postdoctoral period included the sequencing of the Myc oncogene,determination of its protein product and the discovery of oncogene amplification in achromosomal abnormality of tumor cells. His scientific reports have been published inhigh impact journals and they have appeared among the 100 most cited Life Sciencespapers. Currently he is one of the most highly cited European scientists (Science 256:471, 1992, LabTimes 5: 42, 2009). He has been awarded several biomedical prizes.Alitalo has 388 original publications and 117 reviews in peer-reviewed journals.Publications have been cited 42,658 times according to the ISI Web of Knowledge. H-index: 116 (Sep. 21th, 2010).18 Korean Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology