The Karolinska Institute in Stockholm awards the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine annually on December 10. From 1901 to date there have been five winners of Italian descent. In 1975 Renato Dulbecco who was born in Italy shared the Nobel Prize with David Baltimore and Howard Martin Temin.

Birth and early years

Renato Dulbecco was born on 22 February 1914 in Catanzaro Italy. His mother was Calabrese and his father was Ligurian. He went to school in Imperia. In 1930 he graduated from High School at the age of sixteen. Although he was interested in mathematics and physics he decided to study medicine at the University of Turin. It was in this period he developed his interest in biology rather than applied medicine. He worked under Professor Guiseppe Levi who was the Professor of Anatomy where he learnt histology and cell culture. At Levis’ laboratory he met two students who had a profound influence on him. They were Salvador Luria and Rita Levi-Montalcini. Both these students also went on to win Nobel Prizes in Physiology or Medicine.

Military Service

After obtaining his MD in 1936 he went into the military service as a medical officer. In 1938 he was discharged and returned to pathology. However one year later in 1939 World War II broke out and he was initially sent to the French front and later to Russia. He had a narrow escape in a Russian offensive in 1942 and was sent home to recuperate. After Mussolini’s government collapsed he joined the Resistance Movement. He briefly became a councilor in the city of Turin but returned to the laboratory, as routine politics did not appeal to him. He also went back to doing a few courses in physics for two years. He moved back to the Levi institute and worked with Levi-Montalcini. She encouraged him to move to the U.S. Luria who had also been in the U.S. from the beginning of the war came to Turin in the summer of 1946. He encouraged Dulbecco to go to the U.S. and to work for his group. Rita Levi- Montalcini also encouraged him in this direction as she also was leaving for the U.S. to work in another laboratory. In the autumn of 1947 both Rita Levi- Montalcini and Renato Dulbecco left for the U.S. to begin illustrious careers.

In the U.S.

Working with Luria

Renato Dulbecco went to work with Luria in his small laboratory in Bloomington, Indiana. Jim Watson soon joined them. Here Renato Dulbecco discovered photo reactivation of phage inactivated by ultraviolet light using his mathematical knowledge. This work attracted the attention of Max Delbruck who offered him a job with his group at Caltech.

At Caltech

In the summer of 1949 Dulbecco moved to Caltech. There he continued his work on phages for a few years. Delbruck offered him an opportunity to work in the animal virus field. This greatly interested him and he visited all the major animal virus labs in the U.S. After these visits he discovered a way to assay animal viruses using a plaque technique. This was similar to what he had used for phages using cell culture. He thus opened up animal virology to quantitative work. He used this technique to study the biological properties of the poliovirus. In 1955 he isolated the first mutant of the poliovirus, which was subsequently used by Albert Sabin in the preparation of his vaccine.

As a result of these successes he first became Associate Professor and then Full Professor at Caltech.

In the late fifties a graduate student Howard Temin and postdoctoral fellow Harry Rubin were working on the Rous Sarcoma virus in his laboratory. This work kindled his interest in the tumour virus field. He started working on the oncogenic virus, the polyoma virus right from 1958. This work led to many interesting discoveries including the interaction of the virus (and of SV40) with the host cells in lytic infection and transformation.

The Nobel Prize

Renato Dulbecco received the Noble Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1975 along with Howard Martin Temin and David Baltimore. They received the prize for their discoveries concerning the interaction between tumour viruses and the genetic materials in the cells.

Renato Dulbecco and his fellow scientists demonstrated that the infection of normal cells with certain types of viruses (oncoviruses) led to the incorporation of virus-derived genes into the host- cell genome. This also led to a transformation (the acquisition of a tumour phenotype) of those types of cells. This finding was one of the first clues to the genetic nature of cancer.

Temin and Baltimore demonstrated that the transfer of viral genes to the cell is mediated by the enzyme reverse transcriptase or more precisely RNA dependent polymerase. This enzyme replicates the viral genome (in this case made of RNA) into DNA, which is later incorporated in the host genome.

Oncoviruses cause certain cancers in humans. Dulbecco and his team provided the basis for understanding the precise molecular mechanisms by which these organisms propagate. The mechanisms of carcinogenesis mediated by oncoviruses closely resemble the process by which normal cells degenerate into cancer cells. Thus these discoveries have helped us to have a better understanding of cancer. They have also helped us to discover ways and means to fight cancer.

Other prizes and honours

In 1964 Dulbecco won the Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research along with Harry Rubin. They were presented this prestigious award for their fundamental contributions to the knowledge of the relationship between cancer and cancer-producing DNA and RNA viruses.

He is also a member of the National Academy of Sciences. He is a foreign member of the Royal Society. He is a member of the Accademia dei Lincei. He is also a member of IPPNW (International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War).

Move to the Salk Institute

In 1962 Renato Dulbecco move to the Salk Institute for Biological Studies at La Jolla, California. From this year his second wife Maureen also helped him. He rejoined the Salk Institute in 1977 as a Distinguished Research Professor and Senior Clayton Foundation Investigator. During his second tenure at the Salk Institute from 1977-81 he also served on the faculty of the medical school of the University of California at San Diego.

In 1988 he became the President of the Salk Institute and remained the president till 1992.

Move to London

In 1972 he moved to London with his family. He began working at the Imperial Cancer Research Fund laboratories in London. He was the Deputy Director of the Institute till 1977. Here he got a chance to work in the field of human cancer research. He worked in the field of tumours induced by viruses. He worked with Yoshi Ito. During this period he began his major work on breast cancer.

The Human Genome Project

In 1986 the Human Genome Project was launched. Renato Dulbecco was one of the pioneers who launched this project, as he believed the sequence of DNA would solve a great many problems of mankind. In May 1987 an Italian Genome Project was begun in Italy as a result of his efforts. This project aims at deciphering the human genetic code.

Move back to Italy

In 1993 he moved back to Italy. He became the President of the Institute of Biomedical Technologies at C.N.R. (National Council of Research) in Milan. He also heads the Italian National Oncology Commission.

Studies on Breast Cancer

Dulbecco’s more recent research has involved the study of the origin of breast cancer. He has studied the various cell types that comprise the breast tissue as a first step to understand the process by which some cells become malignant and lead to breast cancer. He has used monoclonal antibody techniques to study the cancer in both human and animal subjects. In this way he will develop new and reliable means of classifying breast cells. This will help to identify those cells, which are highly susceptible to carcinogens. He has produced antibodies some of which have been used for clinical applications.

Currently he is supervising a project carried out at the Department of Human Genome and Multifactorial Diseases by Ileana Zucchi and her group. The aim of this interesting project at the CNR is to identify the genes involved in the pathogenesis of breast cancer using the Functional Genomic Approach.

The Dulbecco Open Laboratory

The Dulbecco Open Laboratory is dedicated to genomic and proteomics students. Dr. Renato Dulbecco will participate in the founding of the laboratory. This laboratory has been named in honour of Dr. Renato Dulbecco who was the director of the Human Genome Section at the ITB, CNR. He currently works with the researchers of the ITB as Project Manager. This lab will be equipped to deal with the technological aspects in the fields of genetics, proteomics, bioinformatics and animal models. The Cariplo Foundation will fund this project for a period of three years. It will also serve as a platform for researchers to carry out new and path-breaking fundamental and advanced research.

Renato Dulbecco has expressed a wish to retire at La Jolla, California, as he will be 92 years old. Although he will give up his Italian connections he will follow the work going on at the Salk Institute at La Jolla, California as well as play the piano.