The Altieri laboratory explores the mechanisms that underlie how tumor cells survive and proliferate in cancer. In particular, his laboratory is interested in how tumor cells evade the normal processes that cause cells with genetic faults to self-destruct. Understanding these mechanisms could provide new therapeutic targets and novel approaches for virtually every type of human cancer. 

Born in Milan, Italy, and educated at the University of Milan School of Medicine, Dario C. Altieri, M.D., became a practicing clinician at the University, where he would later earn a postgraduate specialty degree in clinical and experimental hematology. In 1987, he joined the Scripps Clinic and Research Foundation in La Jolla, California, first as a research fellow and later as a member of the faculty.

In 1994, Dr. Altieri became an associate professor at the Yale University School of Medicine, was named professor in 1999, and served in that role until 2002 when he was recruited as the founding chair of the Department of Cancer Biology at the University of Massachusetts Medical School.

In 2005, he co-founded both the national Cancer Biology Training Consortium, which promotes scientific excellence in the next generation of cancer researchers; and the Pancreatic Cancer Alliance, an all-volunteer patient advocacy organization devoted to supporting pancreatic cancer research and education.

Dr. Altieri joined the Institute as the Wistar Cancer Center Director and its first Chief Scientific Officer in September 2010.  In addition to his leadership role, Dr. Altieri leads an active investigation program, studying the functional implications of a family of genes, known as Inhibitors of Apoptosis (IAP), which are essential for proliferation and survival of cells. In particular, Dr. Altieri has demonstrated that at least one IAP gene, called survivin, is required for both functions, and has been shown to be over-produced in virtually every human cancer.
 
Dr. Altieri and his team are currently focused on understanding the biology of survivin and how exploiting this biology may provide new cancer therapies.

1 - Altieri DC., Mitochondrial compartmentalized protein folding and tumor cell survival., Oncotarget. 2011 May 7. [Epub ahead of print], 21555789

2 - Vaira V, Faversani A, Dohi T, Maggioni, Nosotti M, Tosi D, Altieri DC, Bosari S., Aberrant overexpression of the Cell Polarity module Scribble in human cancer., American J. Pathology. 2011 May 4. [Epub ahead of print], 21549346

3 - Kang BH, Xia F, Pop R, Dohi T, Socolovsky M, Altieri DC., Developmental control of Apoptosis by the immunophilin Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor-interacting Protein (AIP) involves mitochondrial import of the Survivin protein., Journal of biological chemistry. 2011 May 13;286(19):16758-67. [Epub 2011 Mar 18.], 21454573

4 - Siegelin MD, Dohi T, Raskett CM, Orlowski GM, Powers CM, Gilbert CA, Ross AH, Plescia J, Altieri DC., Exploiting the mitochondrial unfolded protein response for cancer therapy in mice and human cells., Journal of clinical Investigation. 2011 Mar 1. pii:44855. doi: 10.1172/JC144855. [Epub ahead of print.], 21364280

5 - Kang BH, Tavecchio M, Goel HL, Hsieh CC, Garlick DS, Raskett CM, Lian JB, Stein GS, Languino LR, Altieri DC., Targeted inhibition of mitochondrial Hsp90 suppresses localised and metastatic prostate cancer growth in a genetic mouse model of disease., British Journal of Cancer. 2011 Feb 15;104(4):629-34. [Epub 2011 Feb 1.], 21285984

6 - Ghosh JC, Siegelin MD, Dohi T, Altieri DC., Heat Shock Protein 60 regulation of the mitochondrial permeability transition pore in tumor cells., Cancer Research. 2010 Nov 15;70(22):8988-93. [Epub 2010 Oct 26.], 20978188

7 - Tomaselli S, Meli M, Plescia J, Zetta L. Altieri DC, Colombo G, Ragona L., Combined in silico and experimental approach for drug design: the binding mode of peptidic and non-peptidic inhibitors to hsp90 N-terminal domain., Chemical Biology and Drug Design. 2010 Nov;76(5):382-91. doi: 10.1111/j.1747-0285.2010.01015.x., 20925690

8 - Kang BH, Siegelin MD, Plescia J, Raskett CM, Garlick DS, Dohi T, Lian JB, Stein GS, Languino LR, Altieri DC., Preclinical characterization of mitochondria-targeted small molecule hsp90 inhibitors, gamitrinibs, in advanced prostate cancer., Clincal Cancer Research. 2010 Oct 1;16(19):4779-88. [Epub 2010 Sep 28.], 20876793

9 - Altieri DC., Survivin and IAP proteins in cell-death mechanisms., Biochemical Journal. 2010 Sep 1;430(2):199-205. [Review], 20704571

10 - Houlihan RH, Kennedy MH, Kulesher RR, Lemon SC, Wickerham DL, Hsieh CC, Altieri DC., Identification of accrual barriers onto breast cancer prevention clinical trials: a case-control study., Cancer. 2010 Aug 1;116(15):3569-76., 20564133