Prof. Roberto Cattaneo Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, USA

Roberto Cattaneo received his undergraduate degree from the University of Geneva, Switzerland. He received his PhD from the University of Heidelberg, Germany, where he characterized the transcription of hepatitis B virus. Dr. Cattaneo completed postdoctoral training at the University of Zurich, Switzerland, where he discovered adenosine-to-inosine hypermutation of viral RNA, and messenger RNA editing by polymerase stuttering. In 1999, he joined the Mayo Clinic, where he was instrumental in developing the Virology and Gene Therapy (VGT) track of Mayo Graduate School in 2004. Highlights of Dr. Cattaneo’s basic research include the characterization of how viruses interact with their receptors and enter cells, and the discovery of a “host exit receptor,” explaining why measles is the most contagious human virus.