Written by Christina Crowe

The Department of Pathology is excited to welcome Dario Vitturi, Ph.D., back to UAB as assistant professor, Molecular and Cellular Pathology.

Originally from Montevideo, Uruguay, Vitturi obtained his Ph.D. at the University of Alabama at Birmingham under the direction of Rakesh Patel, Ph.D., Vice Chair, Research, in the Molecular and Cellular Pathology graduate program. Upon completion of his graduate studies, Vitturi joined the Department of Pharmacology and Chemical Biology at the University of Pittsburgh, first as a postdoctoral associate under the direction of Dr. Bruce Freeman, and then as a faculty member.

Having successfully established an independent research program, Vitturi has now returned to UAB. His research focuses on the mechanisms by which biological systems harness the generation of reactive species to modulate cell signaling pathways and maintain physiological homeostasis. Vitturi is particularly interested in elucidating the mechanisms that result in the formation of electrophilic species in vivo. Electrophiles can regulate enzymatic and transcription factor function via covalent modification of reactive cysteine residues. In this regard, Vitturi’s overarching hypothesis is that the endogenous generation of electrophilic species in vivo is a conserved mechanism for maintaining physiological homeostasis and regulating inflammatory responses.

Enabled by collaboration with basic and clinical scientists, Vitturi has applied his expertise to pathological conditions such as sickle cell disease, acute and chronic renal injury, as well as cardiac arrest, both at the pre-clinical and clinical levels. Finally, and in line with extensive expertise at the Center for Free Radical Biology at UAB, Vitturi maintains a keen interest in general redox biochemistry as well as in nitric oxide and metallo-protein biology.