Speaker details

Erkki Ruoslahti

Dr. Erkki Ruoslahti is Distinguished Professor at Burnham Institute for Medical Research and the University of California, Santa Barbara. He received his M.D. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Helsinki, Finland. Having held various academic positions in Finland and in the US, he joined Burnham Institute in 1979 and served as President of the institute from 1989 to 2002. Dr. Ruoslahti’s main scientific contributions are in the field of cell adhesion. He was one of the discoverers of fibronectin. His laboratory subsequently discovered in fibronectin the RGD cell attachment sequence and isolated cellular RGD receptors, now known as integrins. The RGD discovery has led to the development of drugs for diseases ranging from vascular thrombosis to cancer. Dr. Ruoslahti currently studies specific marker molecules in blood and lymphatic vessels that can be used to direct drugs and nanoparticles to tumors and other sites of disease. Dr. Ruoslahti’s is a member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, Institute of Medicine, and American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He is the recipient of the 2005 Japan Prize, G.H.A. Clowes Award, Robert J. and Claire Pasarow Foundation Award, and Jacobaeus International Prize. He is also a knight of the Order of White Rose of Finland.