Andrea Musacchio

Musacchio received a Laurea in Biology from the University of Rome Tor Vergata summa cum laude in 1990, and earned his Ph.D., summa cum laude, from the Heidelberg University in 1995 working at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory. For his postdoctoral studies he joined Stephen C. Harrison laboratory at the Harvard Medical School in Boston. In 1999 he returned to Italy to found his laboratory at the [http://www.ieo.it European Institute of Oncology] in Milan, where he started working on mechanisms of cell division. He was a European Molecular Biology Organization Young Investigator from 2000-2004.

Musacchio moved to Dortmund in 2011 to direct the Department of Mechanistic Cell Biology at the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Physiology{{cite journal | author=Musacchio A. | title=Andrea Musacchio | journal=Current Biology | volume=22 | issue=14 | pages=R552–R554 | year=2012 | pmid=23012739 | doi=10.1016/j.cub.2012.06.024| doi-access=free | bibcode=2012CBio...22.R552M }}

Musacchio approached structural biology during his Ph.D., contributing to the determination of the first crystallographic structures of the SH3{{cite journal|last1=Musacchio|first1=A|last2=Noble|first2=M|last3=Pauptit|first3=R|last4=Wierenga|first4=R|last5=Saraste|first5=M|title=Crystal structure of a Src-homology 3 (SH3) domain.|journal=Nature|date=Oct 29, 1992|volume=359|issue=6398|pages=851–5|pmid=1279434|doi=10.1038/359851a0|bibcode=1992Natur.359..851M|s2cid=4254768}} and PH{{cite journal|last1=Macias|first1=MJ|last2=Musacchio|first2=A|last3=Ponstingl|first3=H|last4=Nilges|first4=M|last5=Saraste|first5=M|last6=Oschkinat|first6=H|title=Structure of the pleckstrin homology domain from beta-spectrin.|journal=Nature|date=Jun 23, 1994|volume=369|issue=6482|pages=675–7|pmid=8208297|doi=10.1038/369675a0|bibcode=1994Natur.369..675M|s2cid=4358947}} domains. During his post-doctoral training, he was involved in the determination of the clathrin triskelion structure,{{cite journal|last1=Musacchio|first1=A|last2=Smith|first2=CJ|last3=Roseman|first3=AM|last4=Harrison|first4=SC|last5=Kirchhausen|first5=T|last6=Pearse|first6=BM|title=Functional Organization of Clathrin in Coats: Combining Electron Cryomicroscopy and X-Ray Crystallography|journal=Molecular Cell|date=Jun 1999|volume=3|issue=6|pages=761–70|pmid=10394364|doi=10.1016/S1097-2765(01)80008-3|doi-access=free}} one of the first studies combining X-ray crystallography and electron microscopy.

As an independent scientist, his interests focused on the understanding of the molecular basis of mitosis, with emphasis on the spindle assembly checkpoint. Since the early days, Musacchio's lab adopted a multi-disciplinary approach merging structural biology, biochemistry and cellular biology, this way gaining comprehensive views on protein functions in living cells.{{cite journal|last1=Nasmyth|first1=K|title=How do so few control so many?|journal=Cell|date=Mar 25, 2005|volume=120|issue=6|pages=739–46|pmid=15797376|doi=10.1016/j.cell.2005.03.006|s2cid=18831437|doi-access=free}} He is best known for his work on Mad1/Mad2 complexes,{{cite journal|last1=Sironi|first1=L|last2=Mapelli|first2=M|last3=Knapp|first3=S|last4=De Antoni|first4=A|last5=Jeang|first5=KT|last6=Musacchio|first6=A|title=Crystal structure of the tetrameric Mad1-Mad2 core complex: implications of a 'safety belt' binding mechanism for the spindle checkpoint.|journal=The EMBO Journal|date=May 15, 2002|volume=21|issue=10|pages=2496–506|pmid=12006501|doi=10.1093/emboj/21.10.2496|pmc=126000}}{{cite journal|last1=Mapelli|first1=M|last2=Massimiliano|first2=L|last3=Santaguida|first3=S|last4=Musacchio|first4=A|title=The Mad2 conformational dimer: structure and implications for the spindle assembly checkpoint.|journal=Cell|date=Nov 16, 2007|volume=131|issue=4|pages=730–43|pmid=18022367|doi=10.1016/j.cell.2007.08.049|hdl=2434/65744|s2cid=17345925|url=https://air.unimi.it/bitstream/2434/65744/1/Cell%202007%20Mapelli.pdf|hdl-access=free}} which led to the formulation of the template model,{{cite journal|last1=De Antoni|first1=A|last2=Pearson|first2=CG|last3=Cimini|first3=D|last4=Canman|first4=JC|last5=Sala|first5=V|last6=Nezi|first6=L|last7=Mapelli|first7=M|last8=Sironi|first8=L|last9=Faretta|first9=M|last10=Salmon|first10=ED|last11=Musacchio|first11=A|title=The Mad1/Mad2 complex as a template for Mad2 activation in the spindle assembly checkpoint.|journal=Current Biology|date=Feb 8, 2005|volume=15|issue=3|pages=214–25|pmid=15694304|doi=10.1016/j.cub.2005.01.038|s2cid=3224122|doi-access=free|bibcode=2005CBio...15..214D}} and for his contributions to the understanding of the role of the kinase Aurora B, Mps1 and Haspin in mitosis.{{cite journal|last1=De Antoni|first1=A|last2=Maffini|first2=S|last3=Knapp|first3=S|last4=Musacchio|first4=A|last5=Santaguida|first5=S|title=A small-molecule inhibitor of Haspin alters the kinetochore functions of Aurora B.|journal=The Journal of Cell Biology|date=Oct 15, 2012|volume=199|issue=2|pages=269–84|pmid=23071153|doi=10.1083/jcb.201205119|pmc=3471222|url=http://dspace.mit.edu/bitstream/1721.1/77635/1/Antoni-2012-A%20small-molecule%20inh.pdf}}{{cite journal|last1=Santaguida|first1=S|last2=Vernieri|first2=C|last3=Villa|first3=F|last4=Ciliberto|first4=A|last5=Musacchio|first5=A|title=Evidence that Aurora B is implicated in spindle checkpoint signalling independently of error correction.|journal=The EMBO Journal|date=Apr 20, 2011|volume=30|issue=8|pages=1508–19|pmid=21407176|doi=10.1038/emboj.2011.70|pmc=3102279}}{{cite journal|last1=Santaguida|first1=S|last2=Tighe|first2=A|last3=D'Alise|first3=AM|last4=Taylor|first4=SS|last5=Musacchio|first5=A|title=Dissecting the role of MPS1 in chromosome biorientation and the spindle checkpoint through the small molecule inhibitor reversine.|journal=The Journal of Cell Biology|date=Jul 12, 2010|volume=190|issue=1|pages=73–87|pmid=20624901|doi=10.1083/jcb.201001036|pmc=2911657}}{{cite journal|last1=Sessa|first1=F|last2=Mapelli|first2=M|last3=Ciferri|first3=C|last4=Tarricone|first4=C|last5=Areces|first5=LB|last6=Schneider|first6=TR|last7=Stukenberg|first7=PT|last8=Musacchio|first8=A|title=Mechanism of Aurora B activation by INCENP and inhibition by hesperadin.|journal=Molecular Cell|date=Apr 29, 2005|volume=18|issue=3|pages=379–91|pmid=15866179|doi=10.1016/j.molcel.2005.03.031|doi-access=free}} In 2008, the structure of the Ndc80 complex {{cite journal|last1=Ciferri|first1=C|last2=Pasqualato|first2=S|last3=Screpanti|first3=E|last4=Varetti|first4=G|last5=Santaguida|first5=S|last6=Dos Reis|first6=G|last7=Maiolica|first7=A|last8=Polka|first8=J|last9=De Luca|first9=JG|last10=De Wulf|first10=P|last11=Salek|first11=M|last12=Rappsilber|first12=J|author-link12=Juri Rappsilber|last13=Moores|first13=CA|last14=Salmon|first14=ED|last15=Musacchio|first15=A|title=Implications for kinetochore-microtubule attachment from the structure of an engineered Ndc80 complex.|journal=Cell|date=May 2, 2008|volume=133|issue=3|pages=427–39|pmid=18455984|doi=10.1016/j.cell.2008.03.020|pmc=4754795}} set the foundation of a new line of his investigations on kinetochore assembly and attachment to microtubules{{cite journal|last1=Santaguida|first1=S|last2=Musacchio|first2=A|title=The life and miracles of kinetochores.|journal=The EMBO Journal|date=Sep 2, 2009|volume=28|issue=17|pages=2511–31|pmid=19629042|doi=10.1038/emboj.2009.173|pmc=2722247}}{{cite journal|last1=Petrovic|first1=A|last2=Mosalaganti|first2=S|last3=Keller|first3=J|last4=Mattiuzzo|first4=M|last5=Overlack|first5=K|last6=Krenn|first6=V|last7=De Antoni|first7=A|last8=Wohlgemuth|first8=S|last9=Cecatiello|first9=V|last10=Pasqualato|first10=S|last11=Raunser|first11=S|last12=Musacchio|first12=A|title=Modular assembly of RWD domains on the Mis12 complex underlies outer kinetochore organization.|journal=Molecular Cell|date=Feb 20, 2014|volume=53|issue=4|pages=591–605|pmid=24530301|doi=10.1016/j.molcel.2014.01.019|doi-access=free|hdl=10281/397721|hdl-access=free}}{{cite journal|last1=Basilico|first1=F|last2=Maffini|first2=S|last3=Weir|first3=JR|last4=Prumbaum|first4=D|last5=Rojas|first5=AM|last6=Zimniak|first6=T|last7=De Antoni|first7=A|last8=Jeganethan|first8=S|last9=Voss|first9=B|last10=van Gerwen|first10=S|last11=Krenn|first11=V|last12=Massimiliano|first12=L|last13=Valencia|first13=A|last14=Vetter|first14=IR|last15=Herzog|first15=F|last16=Raunser|first16=S|last17=Pasqualato|first17=S|last18=Musacchio|first18=A|title=The pseudo GTPase CENP-M drives human kinetochore assembly.|journal=eLife|date=Jul 8, 2014|volume=3|pages=e02978|pmid=25006165|doi=10.7554/elife.02978|pmc=4080450|doi-access=free}}

Musacchio spent his childhood in Rome, where he grew to be a strong supporter of A.S. Roma. He has started embracing Borussia Dortmund.

He is married and father of two boys.

{{Reflist|30em}}

• [http://www.mpi-dortmund.mpg.de/9310/Mechanistische_Zellbiologie The Department of Mechanistic Cell Biology at the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Physiology]
• [http://www.rcsb.org/pdb/author/Musacchio%2C+A All structures deposited at the PDB repository by Andrea Musacchio]{{dead link|date=October 2016 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
• [https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Andrea_Musacchio ResearchGate profile]

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Musacchio, Andrea}}

Category:21st-century Italian biologists

Category:1964 births

Category:Living people

Category:Scientists from Rome

Category:Heidelberg University alumni

Category:Members of the European Molecular Biology Organization

Category:Max Planck Institute directors

Category:University of Rome Tor Vergata alumni