Prof. Arturo Falaschi, MD, PhD, was the mind and driving force in the founding and development of the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology. On 11 November 2010, the Headquarters of the Centre, located in the AREA Science Park, Trieste, Italy was dedicated to his memory.
ICGEB Distinguished Scientist from 2004-2010, Director-General of the Centre from 1989-2004, Head of the Trieste Component of ICGEB from 1987-1989 and Group Leader of the Molecular Biology Laboratory from 1987 to 2010, ICGEB is built upon his legacy.
The “Arturo Falaschi ICGEB Fellowship Programme”, open to PhD and Postdoctoral applicants from ICGEB Member States, officially renamed in 2012, represents an exciting opportunity to interact with people all over the world in state-of-the-art scientific environments and in all the top scientific institutes. Youth, essential to nurturing a brighter and more equitable future, constitutes the backbone of the ICGEB’s training programmes that have been operating for over three decades across the world.
The Arturo Falaschi Conference series, featuring major meetings in the fields of Life Sciences was also launched in 2012. Spanning topics in Cardiac and Vascular Regeneration, DNA Tumour Viruses, DNA Replication and Genome Maintenance, and Atypical dementias, the 2023 editions will be held in September, in Trieste: “1st biennial conference on TDP-43 function and dysfunction in disease”, and in October, in Cape Town: “Advances in prostate and cervical cancer research“.
The 2022 Conference “At the intersection of DNA Replication and genome maintenance: from mechanisms to therapy” has been included in the general schedule of the International Year of Basic Sciences for Sustainable Development (IYBSSD2022).
We maintain the Biographical page of Prof. Arturo Falaschi as the gold standard of our research faculty.
Education
Faculty of Medicine, University of Milan, Italy, MD (Hons), 1957
Career History
2004-2010, Distinguished Scientist, ICGEB, Trieste
2004-2010, Director, Laboratory of Molecular Biology,
Scuola Normale Superiore SNS, Pisa
1989-2004, Director-General, ICGEB
1987-1989, Head, Trieste Component of the ICGEB
1982-1989, Director, “Progetto Finalizzato Ingegneria Genetica”, Italian National Research Council CNR
1971-2010, Director of Research, CNR
1970-1989, Director, “Istituto di Genetica Biochimica ed Evoluzionistica”,
CNR, Pavia
1970-1973, President, Italian Society for Biophysics and Molecular Biology SIBBM
1966, Professorship “Libera Docenza” in Molecular Biology
1965-1969, CNR Researcher, Institute of Genetics, University of Pavia
1962-1965, Fellow, Department of Biochemistry,
Stanford University, CA, USA, with Prof. A. Kornberg
1961-1962, Fellow. Department of Biochemistry,
University of Wisconsin, USA, with Prof. J. Adler and Prof. H.G. Khorana
1959-1961, Fellow, University of Ferrara, Italy, with Prof. E. Boeri
Teaching Activity
2004-2010, Professor of Molecular Biology, Scuola Normale Superiore SNS, Pisa
1988-2001, Co-ordinator of the Graduate School of Molecular Genetics, International School of Advanced Studies SISSA, Trieste
1978-1984 Director of the Graduate School of Genetics, University of Pavia
1966-1979, Professor of Molecular Biology, University of Pavia
Scientific Activity
Numerous and important scientific contributions in the field of replication studies of DNA in mammalian cells; a research theme and personal passion that distinguished Falaschi’s scientific activity from the time of his return from the United States in the ‘60s. He developed procedures to isolate neosynthesized DNA generated from the activation of DNA replication origins in mammalian chromosomes and established an innovative method for origin mapping. Thanks to these technological advances, he identified and characterized the Lamin B2 origin of DNA replication, the first human origin known in molecular details and now considered a standard in the field. Also intense was his biochemical activity in the field of DNA metabolism, particularly concerning purification and characterization of human proteins with helicase activity. His international scientific works featured in the most prestigious journals in the field of molecular research number over 130. He remains one of the few international researchers whose scientific activity is documented throughout almost fifty years (from 1962 to 2010).
Research interests in later years were articulated along the three main lines: i) Regulation of human DNA replication at the molecular level: identification of the origins of DNA replication and of the reactions occurring therein that lead to the initiation of bidirectional synthesis; ii) Human DNA helicases: isolation and description of the DNA unwinding enzymes present in the nucleus and identification of their possible role in origin or growing fork function; iii) Methodologies for gene therapy: developing conditions for the production of AAV-based vectors in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae; use of yeast-derived proteins to enhance the frequency of gene targeting in human cells.
Other activities
2008-2010, Senior Counsellor, Asia Pacific International Molecular Biology NetworkA-IMBN, Seoul, Korea
2006-2010, Editor-in-Chief, HFSP Journal
2006-2010, Rector, International Centre for Science ICS, Trieste, Italy
2005-2007, Executive Director, A-IMBN, Seoul, Korea
Selected publications
Marchetti, L., Comelli, L., D’Innocenzo, B., Puzzi, L., Luin, S., Arosio, D., Calvello, M., Mendoza-Maldonado, R., Peverali, F., Trovato, F., Riva, S., Biamonti, G., Abdurashidova, G., Beltram, F., Falaschi, A. 2010. Homeotic proteins participate in the function of human-DNA replication origins. Nucleic Acids Res. 38, 8105-8109 PubMed link
Falaschi, A., Abdurashidova, G., Biamonti, G. 2010. DNA replication, development and cancer: a homeotic connection? Crit Rev Biochem Mol Biol. 45, 14-22 PubMed link
Falaschi, A. Binding of DNA topoisomerases I and II to replication origins.2009. In: DNA Topoisomerases, Methods in Molecular Biology 582, D.J. Clarke (ed.), Humana Press, Springer Verlag, Heidelberg, Germany, 582, pp.131-143 PubMed link
Comelli, L., Marchetti, L., Arosio, D., Riva, S., Abdurashidova, G., Beltram, F., Falaschi A. 2009. The homeotic protein HOXC13 is a member of human DNA replication complexes. Cell Cycle 8, 454-459 PubMed link
Ochem, A.E., Hocine, R., Skopac, D., Falaschi A. 2008. Stimulation of the DNA unwinding activity of human DNA helicase II/Ku by phosphorylation. Archives of Biochemistry and Biophysics 470, 1-7 PubMed link
Falaschi, A. 2008. The HSFP Journal one year on: moving forward with a new feature. HSFP Journal 2, 123
Falaschi, A. 2008. Similia similibus: pairing of homologous chromosomes driven by the psychochemical properties of DNA. HSFP Journal 2, 257-261
Abdurashidova, G., Radulescu, S., Sandoval, O., Zahariev, S., Danailov, M.B., Demidovich, A., Santamaria, L., Biamonti, G., Riva, S., Falaschi, A. 2007. Functional interactions of DNA topoisomerases with a human replication origin. EMBO J. 26, 998-1009 PubMed link
Falaschi, A. Changing disciplinary borders into frontiers of progress. Editorial.2007. HFSP Journal 1, 1-3
Falaschi, A., Abdurashidova, G., Sandoval, O., Radulescu, S., Biamonti, G., Riva, S. 2007. Molecular and structural transactions at human DNA replication origins.Cell Cycle 6, 1705-1712
Falaschi, A., Abdurashidova, G. 2007. Molecular mechanics and DNA replication regulation. HFSP Journal 1, 215-219
Aladjem, M. I., Falaschi A., Kowalski, D. 2006. Eukariotic DNA replication origins.In: DNA replication and human disease. M.L. DePamphilis (ed.), Cold Spring Harbor Press, pp. 31-61
Sheng, C., Arosio, D., Doherty, K.M., Brosh jr, R.M., Falaschi, A., Vindigni, A. 2004. Analysis of the unwinding activity of the dimeric RecQ1 helicase in the presence of human replication protein A. Nucleic Acids Res. 32, 1-13
Stefanovic, D., Stanojcic, S., Vindigni, A., Ochem, A., Falaschi, A. 2003. In vitro protein-DNA interactions at the human lamin B2 replication origin. J. Biol. Chem.278, 42737-42743
Vindigni, A., Ochem, A., Triolo, G., Falaschi, A. 2001 Identification of human DNA helicase V with the far upstream element-binding protein. Nucleic Acids Res. 29, 1061-1067
Falaschi, A. 2000. Eukaryotic DNA replication: a model for a fixed double replisome. Trends Genet. 16, 88-92
De Stanchina, E., Gabellini, D., Norio, P., Giacca, M., Peverali, F., Riva, S., Falaschi, A., Biamonti, G. 2000. Selection of homeotic proteins for binding to a human DNA replication origin. J. Mol. Biol. 299, 667-680
Abdurashidova, G., Deganuto, M., Klima, R., Riva, S., Biamonti, G., Giacca M., Falaschi A. 2000. Start sites of bidirectional DNA synthesis at the human lamin B2 origin. Science 287, 2023-2026 PubMed link