Gerardo Turcatti

Turcatti studied chemistry at the University of the Republic in Uruguay. In 1981, he moved to Switzerland to earn a master's degree in chemical engineering from the University of Geneva. Discovering the world of life sciences while working at the biotech company Biogen during his studies, he pursued a career as a chemical biologist. While working at the Glaxo Biomedical Research Institute in Geneva, he studied under Professor Horst Vogel at EPFL for an industry PhD thesis in chemistry and biochemistry titled "Novel fluorescence-based approaches to probe ligand recognition and structure of the tachykinin NK2 receptor".{{Cite journal|last=Turcatti, Gerardo|date=1995|title=Novel fluorescence - based approaches to probe ligand recognition and structure of the tachykinin NK2 receptor|url=https://infoscience.epfl.ch/record/31904?ln=en|journal=Infoscience|language=en|doi=10.5075/epfl-thesis-1426}}{{Cite journal|last1=Turcatti|first1=Gerardo|last2=Vogel|first2=Horst|last3=Chollet|first3=Andre|date=1995-03-28|title=Probing the Binding Domain of the NK2 Receptor with Fluorescent Ligands: Evidence That Heptapeptide Agonists and Antagonists Bind Differently|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/bi00012a015|journal=Biochemistry|volume=34|issue=12|pages=3972–3980|doi=10.1021/bi00012a015|pmid=7696262|issn=0006-2960|url-access=subscription}}{{Cite journal|last1=Turcatti|first1=Gerardo|last2=Nemeth|first2=Karin|last3=Edgerton|first3=Michael D.|last4=Meseth|first4=Ulrich|last5=Talabot|first5=François|last6=Peitsch|first6=Manuel|last7=Knowles|first7=Jonathan|last8=Vogel|first8=Horst|last9=Chollet|first9=André|date=1996-08-16|title=Probing the Structure and Function of the Tachykinin Neurokinin-2 Receptor through Biosynthetic Incorporation of Fluorescent Amino Acids at Specific Sites|journal=Journal of Biological Chemistry|volume=271|issue=33|pages=19991–19998|doi=10.1074/jbc.271.33.19991|pmid=8702716|s2cid=1141597|issn=0021-9258|doi-access=free}}{{Cite web|title=Gerardo Turcatti|url=https://people.epfl.ch/gerardo.turcatti/?lang=en|access-date=2020-12-30|website=people.epfl.ch}} His thesis earned him the EPFL Doctorate Award in 1996.{{Cite web|title=EPFL Research Prizes past laureates - Auto EPFL Doctorate award.pdf|url=https://drive.google.com/file/d/14KEbjstVn2tNPFUuG9Yr1n0nSoOi_3iv/view?usp=embed_facebook|access-date=2020-12-28|website=Google Docs}}

Until 1997 he was a research scientist at the Biochemistry Department of the Glaxo Wellcome Biomedical Research Institute, where he further adapted the methodologies he developed during his PhD to other G protein-coupled receptors (GPCR).{{Cite book|last=Turcatti, G.|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/47270133|title=Receptors : structure and function|date=2001|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=0-19-963881-0|editor-last=Clare Stanford, R. W. Horton|edition=|location=Oxford|chapter=Probing G protein-coupled receptors by fluorescence spectroscopy.|oclc=47270133}}{{Cite journal|last1=Zoffmann|first1=Sannah|last2=Turcatti|first2=Gerardo|last3=Galzi|first3=Jean-Luc|last4=Dahl|first4=Mads|last5=Chollet|first5=André|date=January 2001|title=Synthesis and Characterization of Fluorescent and Photoactivatable MIP-1α Ligands and Interactions with Chemokine Receptors CCR1 and CCR5§|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/jm000982i|journal=Journal of Medicinal Chemistry|volume=44|issue=2|pages=215–222|doi=10.1021/jm000982i|pmid=11170631|s2cid=41372771 |issn=0022-2623}}{{Cite journal|last1=Durroux|first1=Thierry|last2=Peter|first2=Marion|last3=Turcatti|first3=Gerardo|last4=Chollet|first4=André|last5=Balestre|first5=Marie-Noëlle|last6=Barberis|first6=Claude|last7=Seyer|first7=René|date=April 1999|title=Fluorescent Pseudo-Peptide Linear Vasopressin Antagonists: Design, Synthesis, and Applications†,‖|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/jm9804782|journal=Journal of Medicinal Chemistry|volume=42|issue=7|pages=1312–1319|doi=10.1021/jm9804782|pmid=10197974|issn=0022-2623|url-access=subscription}} In 1998 he went to work as a senior scientist at the Genomic Technologies Department of the Serono Pharmaceutical Research Institute.{{Cite journal|last=Adessi|first=C.|date=2000-10-15|title=Solid phase DNA amplification: characterisation of primer attachment and amplification mechanisms|url= |journal=Nucleic Acids Research|volume=28|issue=20|pages=87e–87|doi=10.1093/nar/28.20.e87|pmid=11024189|pmc=110803}}

As a spin-off of Serono, in January 2001, he co-founded Manteia Predictive Medicine and became executive technology director. The Swiss-based company invented and developed novel high throughput DNA sequencing technologies currently owned by Illumina.{{Cite journal|last1=Bentley|first1=David R.|last2=Balasubramanian|first2=Shankar|last3=Swerdlow|first3=Harold P.|last4=Smith|first4=Geoffrey P.|last5=Milton|first5=John|last6=Brown|first6=Clive G.|last7=Hall|first7=Kevin P.|last8=Evers|first8=Dirk J.|last9=Barnes|first9=Colin L.|last10=Bignell|first10=Helen R.|last11=Boutell|first11=Jonathan M.|date=November 2008|title=Accurate whole human genome sequencing using reversible terminator chemistry|url= |journal=Nature|language=en|volume=456|issue=7218|pages=53–59|bibcode=2008Natur.456...53B|doi=10.1038/nature07517|issn=1476-4687|pmc=2581791|pmid=18987734}}

In 2006, after a 20-year career in biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies, he founded the Biomolecular Screening Facility (BSF) at EPFL and has been its director since its inception.{{Cite journal|last=Turcatti|first=Gerardo|date=April 2014|title=Developing the Biomolecular Screening Facility at the EPFL into the Chemical Biology Screening Platform for Switzerland|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.2174/1386207317666140323194716|journal=Combinatorial Chemistry & High Throughput Screening|volume=17|issue=4|pages=369–376|doi=10.2174/1386207317666140323194716|pmid=24661209|issn=1386-2073}} In 2020, Turcatti became adjunct professor at EPFL. In the framework of the NCCR research project on chemical biology, he is the project leader of the Swiss academic platform for chemical screens (ACCESS project).{{Cite web|title=Gerardo Turcatti, Head of BSF-ACCESS - NCCR Chemical Biology|url=https://nccr-chembio.ch/people/gerardo-turcatti/|access-date=2021-01-05|website=NCCR in Chemical Biology|language=en-US}}

Turcatti's industrial research has led to DNA sequencing technologies performing at higher throughput rates. He developed, amongst others, novel surface chemistries for DNA attachment;{{Cite journal|last=Fedurco|first=M.|date=2006-02-06|title=BTA, a novel reagent for DNA attachment on glass and efficient generation of solid-phase amplified DNA colonies|url= |journal=Nucleic Acids Research|language=en|volume=34|issue=3|pages=e22|doi=10.1093/nar/gnj023|issn=0305-1048|pmc=1363783|pmid=16473845}} prior to in situ massively parallel amplification of DNA templates;{{Cite patent|title=Methods of nucleic acid amplification and sequencing|gdate=2014-01-08|country=US|number=9297006|pubdate=2016-03-29|assign=Illumina Inc.|inventor1-last=Adessi|inventor1-first=Celine|inventor2-last=Kawashima|inventor2-first=Eric|inventor3-last=Mayer|inventor3-first=Pascal|inventor4=Jean-Jaques Mermod;Gerardo Turcatti}}{{Cite patent|title=Method of nucleotide detection|gdate=2014-06-03|country=US|number=9303290|pubdate=2016-04-05|assign=Illumina Cambridge Ltd.|inventor1-last=Fedurco|inventor1-first=Milan|inventor2-last=Romieu|inventor2-first=Anthony|inventor3-last=Turcatti|inventor3-first=Gerardo}}{{Cite patent|title=Preparation of templates for nucleic acid sequencing|gdate=2006-07-20|country=EP|number=1910559|pubdate=2008-04-16|assign=Solexa Ltd.

|inventor1-last=Liu|inventor1-first=Xiaohai|inventor2-last=Milton|inventor2-first=John|inventor3-last=Smith|inventor3-first=Geoffrey Paul|inventor4=Colin Barnes;Isabelle Marie Julia Rasolonjatovo;Roberto Rigatti;Xiaolin Wu;Tobias William Barr Ost;Graham John Worsley;David James Earnshaw;Gerardo Turcatti;Anthony Romieu}} a DNA sequencing method using chemically engineered fluorescent nucleotide transient terminators;{{Cite journal|last1=Turcatti|first1=Gerardo|last2=Romieu|first2=Anthony|last3=Fedurco|first3=Milan|last4=Tairi|first4=Ana-Paula|date=2008-02-07|title=A new class of cleavable fluorescent nucleotides: synthesis and optimization as reversible terminators for DNA sequencing by synthesis †|url= |journal=Nucleic Acids Research|volume=36|issue=4|pages=e25|doi=10.1093/nar/gkn021|issn=1362-4962|pmc=2275100|pmid=18263613}} and a fluorescent microscopy setup enabling high throughput low cost whole genome analysis. Some of these DNA-related technologies he co-developed have been implemented in commercial instruments produced by Illumina.

More recently, Turcatti's research interests have shifted towards bioactive probes and drug discovery. The current academic research of his laboratory focuses on innovative high throughput screening methods and technologies for efficient early drug discovery processes enabling more specific and safer molecules as therapeutic agents, this includes drug repurposing strategies for application in various therapeutic areas.{{Cite journal|last1=Georgi|first1=Fanny|last2=Kuttler|first2=Fabien|last3=Murer|first3=Luca|last4=Andriasyan|first4=Vardan|last5=Witte|first5=Robert|last6=Yakimovich|first6=Artur|last7=Turcatti|first7=Gerardo|last8=Greber|first8=Urs F.|date=December 2020|title=A high-content image-based drug screen of clinical compounds against cell transmission of adenovirus|url= |journal=Scientific Data|language=en|volume=7|issue=1|pages=265|doi=10.1038/s41597-020-00604-0|issn=2052-4463|pmc=7423605|pmid=32788590|bibcode=2020NatSD...7..265G}}{{Cite journal|last1=Georgi|first1=Fanny|last2=Andriasyan|first2=Vardan|last3=Witte|first3=Robert|last4=Murer|first4=Luca|last5=Hemmi|first5=Silvio|last6=Yu|first6=Lisa|last7=Grove|first7=Melanie|last8=Meili|first8=Nicole|last9=Kuttler|first9=Fabien|last10=Yakimovich|first10=Artur|last11=Turcatti|first11=Gerardo|date=2020-08-20|title=The FDA-Approved Drug Nelfinavir Inhibits Lytic Cell-Free but Not Cell-Associated Nonlytic Transmission of Human Adenovirus|url= |journal=Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy|language=en|volume=64|issue=9|doi=10.1128/AAC.01002-20|issn=0066-4804|pmc=7449217|pmid=32601166}}{{Cite journal|last1=Varbanov|first1=Hristo P.|last2=Kuttler|first2=Fabien|last3=Banfi|first3=Damiano|last4=Turcatti|first4=Gerardo|last5=Dyson|first5=Paul J.|date=2019-01-29|title=Screening-based approach to discover effective platinum-based chemotherapies for cancers with poor prognosis|url= |journal=PLOS ONE|volume=14|issue=1|pages=e0211268|doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0211268|pmid=30695050|pmc=6350982|bibcode=2019PLoSO..1411268V|issn=1932-6203|doi-access=free}}{{Cite journal|last1=Varbanov|first1=Hristo P.|last2=Kuttler|first2=Fabien|last3=Banfi|first3=Damiano|last4=Turcatti|first4=Gerardo|last5=Dyson|first5=Paul J.|date=2017-02-06|title=Repositioning approved drugs for the treatment of problematic cancers using a screening approach|url= |journal=PLOS ONE|volume=12|issue=2|pages=e0171052|doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0171052|pmid=28166232|pmc=5293254|bibcode=2017PLoSO..1271052V|issn=1932-6203|doi-access=free}}

His research also targets the development of efficient methods for drug screening such as highly informative assays. By developing image-based high content screening methods to estimate efficacy, potency and early detection of off-target effects of potential drugs, they aim to contribute to the acceleration of the drug discovery process.{{Cite journal|last1=Jaferzadeh|first1=Keyvan|last2=Rappaz|first2=Benjamin|last3=Kuttler|first3=Fabien|last4=Kim|first4=Bo kyoung|last5=Moon|first5=Inkyu|last6=Marquet|first6=Pierre|last7=Turcatti|first7=Gerardo|date=2020-01-15|title=Marker-Free Automatic Quantification of Drug-Treated Cardiomyocytes with Digital Holographic Imaging|url=https://doi.org/10.1021/acsphotonics.9b01152|journal=ACS Photonics|volume=7|issue=1|pages=105–113|doi=10.1021/acsphotonics.9b01152|s2cid=212811883|url-access=subscription}}{{Cite journal|last1=Rappaz|first1=Benjamin|last2=Jourdain|first2=Pascal|last3=Banfi|first3=Damiano|last4=Kuttler|first4=Fabien|last5=Marquet|first5=Pierre|last6=Turcatti|first6=Gerardo|date=2019-11-28|title=Image-Based Marker-Free Screening of GABAA Agonists, Antagonists, and Modulators|url= |journal=SLAS Discovery|volume=25|issue=5|pages=458–470|language=en|doi=10.1177/2472555219887142|pmc=7243081|pmid=31779505}}{{Cite journal|last1=Campos|first1=Vasco|last2=Rappaz|first2=Benjamin|last3=Kuttler|first3=Fabien|last4=Turcatti|first4=Gerardo|last5=Naveiras|first5=Olaia|date=2018-04-05|title=High-throughput, nonperturbing quantification of lipid droplets with digital holographic microscopy|url= |journal=Journal of Lipid Research|volume=59|issue=7|pages=1301–1310|doi=10.1194/jlr.d085217 |doi-access=free |pmid=29622579|pmc=6027917|issn=0022-2275}}{{Cite journal|last1=Brandenberg|first1=Nathalie|last2=Hoehnel|first2=Sylke|last3=Kuttler|first3=Fabien|last4=Homicsko|first4=Krisztian|last5=Ceroni|first5=Camilla|last6=Ringel|first6=Till|last7=Gjorevski|first7=Nikolce|last8=Schwank|first8=Gerald|last9=Coukos|first9=George|last10=Turcatti|first10=Gerardo|last11=Lutolf|first11=Matthias P.|date=September 2020|title=High-throughput automated organoid culture via stem-cell aggregation in microcavity arrays|url=http://www.nature.com/articles/s41551-020-0565-2|journal=Nature Biomedical Engineering|language=en|volume=4|issue=9|pages=863–874|doi=10.1038/s41551-020-0565-2|pmid=32514094|s2cid=219543643|issn=2157-846X|url-access=subscription}}

Turcatti is a member of the scientific advisory board of ChemBioFrance,{{Cite web|title=ChemBioFrance - Infrastructure de recherche|url=https://chembiofrance.cn.cnrs.fr/en/|access-date=2021-01-05|website=chembiofrance.cn.cnrs.fr}} the scientific advisory board of Innopharma,{{Cite web|title=Innopharma|url=http://innopharmaplatform.com/|access-date=2021-01-05|language=es-ES}} and the European Cellular Assays Interest Group (EuCAI),{{Cite web|title=Members|url=http://eucai.org/members.html|access-date=2021-01-05|website=European Cell-based Assays Interest Group}} and the editorial board of the journal Combinatorial Chemistry and High Throughput Screening.{{Cite web|title=Combinatorial Chemistry & High Throughput Screening|url=https://benthamscience.com/journals/combinatorial-chemistry-and-high-throughput-screening/|access-date=2021-01-05|website=Combinatorial Chemistry & High Throughput Screening}}

• {{cite journal |doi=10.1038/s41551-020-0565-2|title=High-throughput automated organoid culture via stem-cell aggregation in microcavity arrays|year=2020|last1=Brandenberg|first1=Nathalie|last2=Hoehnel|first2=Sylke|last3=Kuttler|first3=Fabien|last4=Homicsko|first4=Krisztian|last5=Ceroni|first5=Camilla|last6=Ringel|first6=Till|last7=Gjorevski|first7=Nikolce|last8=Schwank|first8=Gerald|last9=Coukos|first9=George|last10=Turcatti|first10=Gerardo|last11=Lutolf|first11=Matthias P.|journal=Nature Biomedical Engineering|volume=4|issue=9|pages=863–874|pmid=32514094|s2cid=219543643}}
• {{cite journal |doi=10.1021/acsphotonics.9b01152|title=Marker-Free Automatic Quantification of Drug-Treated Cardiomyocytes with Digital Holographic Imaging|year=2020|last1=Jaferzadeh|first1=Keyvan|last2=Rappaz|first2=Benjamin|last3=Kuttler|first3=Fabien|last4=Kim|first4=Bo Kyoung|last5=Moon|first5=Inkyu|last6=Marquet|first6=Pierre|last7=Turcatti|first7=Gerardo|journal=ACS Photonics|volume=7|pages=105–113|s2cid=212811883}}
• {{cite journal |doi=10.1177/2472555219887142|title=Image-Based Marker-Free Screening of GABAA Agonists, Antagonists, and Modulators|year=2020|last1=Rappaz|first1=Benjamin|last2=Jourdain|first2=Pascal|last3=Banfi|first3=Damiano|last4=Kuttler|first4=Fabien|last5=Marquet|first5=Pierre|last6=Turcatti|first6=Gerardo|journal=SLAS Discovery|volume=25|issue=5|pages=458–470|pmid=31779505|pmc=7243081}}
• {{cite journal |doi=10.1038/s41586-018-0287-8|title=Targeting STING with covalent small-molecule inhibitors|year=2018|last1=Haag|first1=Simone M.|last2=Gulen|first2=Muhammet F.|last3=Reymond|first3=Luc|last4=Gibelin|first4=Antoine|last5=Abrami|first5=Laurence|last6=Decout|first6=Alexiane|last7=Heymann|first7=Michael|last8=Van Der Goot|first8=F. Gisou|last9=Turcatti|first9=Gerardo|last10=Behrendt|first10=Rayk|last11=Ablasser|first11=Andrea|journal=Nature|volume=559|issue=7713|pages=269–273|pmid=29973723|bibcode=2018Natur.559..269H|s2cid=49571499}}
• {{cite journal |doi=10.1038/nrd.2016.175|title=Screening out irrelevant cell-based models of disease|year=2016|last1=Horvath|first1=Peter|last2=Aulner|first2=Nathalie|last3=Bickle|first3=Marc|last4=Davies|first4=Anthony M.|last5=Nery|first5=Elaine Del|last6=Ebner|first6=Daniel|last7=Montoya|first7=Maria C.|last8=Östling|first8=Päivi|last9=Pietiäinen|first9=Vilja|last10=Price|first10=Leo S.|last11=Shorte|first11=Spencer L.|last12=Turcatti|first12=Gerardo|last13=von Schantz|first13=Carina|last14=Carragher|first14=Neil O.|journal=Nature Reviews Drug Discovery|volume=15|issue=11|pages=751–769|pmid=27616293|s2cid=5799034|url=https://www.pure.ed.ac.uk/ws/files/27086374/NRDD_15_175V4_25716.pdf}}
• {{Cite journal|last1=Bentley|first1=David R.|last2=Balasubramanian|first2=Shankar|last3=Swerdlow|first3=Harold P.|last4=Smith|first4=Geoffrey P.|last5=Milton|first5=John|last6=Brown|first6=Clive G.|last7=Hall|first7=Kevin P.|last8=Evers|first8=Dirk J.|last9=Barnes|first9=Colin L.|last10=Bignell|first10=Helen R.|last11=Boutell|first11=Jonathan M.|date=November 2008|title=Accurate whole human genome sequencing using reversible terminator chemistry|url= |journal=Nature|language=en|volume=456|issue=7218|pages=53–59|doi=10.1038/nature07517|issn=0028-0836|pmc=2581791|pmid=18987734|bibcode=2008Natur.456...53B}}
• {{Cite journal|last1=Turcatti|first1=Gerardo|last2=Romieu|first2=Anthony|last3=Fedurco|first3=Milan|last4=Tairi|first4=Ana-Paula|date=March 2008|title=A new class of cleavable fluorescent nucleotides: synthesis and optimization as reversible terminators for DNA sequencing by synthesis †|url= |journal=Nucleic Acids Research|language=en|volume=36|issue=4|pages=e25|doi=10.1093/nar/gkn021|issn=1362-4962|pmc=2275100|pmid=18263613}}

{{Reflist}}

• {{Google Scholar id|id=-pkUHDEAAAAJ}}
• Website of the [https://www.epfl.ch/research/facilities/biomolecular-screening/ Biomolecular Screening Facility]

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Category:1959 births

Category:Living people

Category:University of the Republic (Uruguay) alumni

Category:University of Geneva alumni

Category:Academic staff of the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne

Category:Swiss chemists