Dario Alessi received a Ph.D. in 1991 then carried out postdoctoral research with Sir Philip Cohen FRS in the MRC Protein Phosphorylation Unit at Dundee from 1991 to 1997, where he became fascinated by protein kinases and how they control almost all aspects of cell biology. In 1998 Dario became a Programme Leader in the MRC Protein Phosphorylation Unit, and assumed the Directorship of the Unit in April 2012. A key focus of his current research is to understand the regulation and physiological roles of poorly understood protein kinases and components of the ubiquitylation system that are implicated in human disease. Dario is very keen to exploit findings emerging from his studies to develop novel treatments for disease. In March 2010 Dario Alessi was ranked as 16th most cited biochemist worldwide and by March 2013 Dario’s lab published over 210 peer-reviewed research papers/reviews that have accumulated more than 33000 citations.