I lead a team of translational scientists who work on the whole solid tumour portfolio. We study tumour biology and mechanism of action and resistance to drive innovation in clinical trial design and accelerate clinical decision making with cutting-edge technologies. We provide the scientific rationale for the design of novel combinatorial strategies and identification of biomarkers of response to therapy.

Before joining AstraZeneca in October 2020, I was an Associate Professor and the Associate Director of Translational Science at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. In this role, I worked closely with early drug development physicians – enabling new findings and hypotheses from the clinic to be quickly validated in the laboratory setting.

My research interests have been focused on elucidating tumour vulnerabilities to improve patient selection and how the selective pressure imposed by targeted therapy impacts drug resistance. Highlights from my early research include the identification of resistance mechanisms to PI3K inhibitors and to anti-HER2 therapy. I also worked on the characterisation of actionable genomic alterations found in solid tumours that prompted the testing of novel therapeutic strategies.

I am passionate about bridging the gap between the clinic and the laboratory to bring new treatment options to patients with cancer

Maurizio Scaltriti Vice President, Translational Medicine, Early Oncology

2015

Tory Burch Award (Breast Cancer Research Foundation)

2014

AACR Early Career Speaker Award (NextGen Star)

2010

AACR-Susan G. Komen Scholar-in-Training Award

CURRENT ROLE

Joined Astrazeneca as Vice President, Translational Medicine, Early Oncology

2020

Joined AstraZeneca as Vice President of Translational Medicine, Early Oncology, Oncology R&D

2016

Appointed Associate Director of Translational Science of the Center for Molecular-Based Therapy, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

2013

Joined Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center as an Assistant Professor

Career highlights

2015

Approval of first DDR medicine, Oncology iMed Innovation and Achievement Award ‘Winner of the Winners’

2009, 2015

Gordon Research Conference on Mammalian DNA Repair in Ventura

2009, 2015

Companion diagnostic tests approved for activating mutations of EGFR-TK to guide therapy in lung cancer

Featured publications

Expression of p95HER2, a truncated form of the HER2 receptor, and response to anti-HER2 therapies in breast cancer

Scaltriti M, Rojo F, Ocaña A, Anido J, Guzman M, Cortes J, Di Cosimo S, Matias-Guiu X, Ramon y Cajal S, Arribas J, Baselga J. Expression of p95HER2, a truncated form of the HER2 receptor, and response to anti-HER2 therapies in breast cancer. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2007 Apr 18;99(8):628-38. doi: 10.1093/jnci/djk134 
Link: http://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17440164/

Lapatinib, a HER2 tyrosine kinase inhibitor, induces stabilization and accumulation of HER2 and potentiates trastuzumab-dependent cell cytotoxicity

Scaltriti M, Verma C, Guzman M, Jimenez J, Parra JL, Pedersen K, Smith DJ, Landolfi S, Ramon y Cajal S, Arribas J, Baselga J. Lapatinib, a HER2 tyrosine kinase inhibitor, induces stabilization and accumulation of HER2 and potentiates trastuzumab-dependent cell cytotoxicity. Oncogene. 2009 Feb 12;28(6):803-14. doi: 10.1038/onc.2008.432. Epub 2008 Dec 8.

Clinical benefit of lapatinib-based therapy in patients with human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-positive breast tumors coexpressing the truncated p95HER2 receptor

Scaltriti M, Chandarlapaty S, Prudkin L, Aura C, Jimenez J, Angelini PD, Sánchez G, Guzman M, Parra JL, Ellis C, Gagnon R, Koehler M, Gomez H, Geyer C, Cameron D, Arribas J, Rosen N, Baselga J. Clinical benefit of lapatinib-based therapy in patients with human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-positive breast tumors coexpressing the truncated p95HER2 receptor. Clin Cancer Res. 2010 May 1;16(9):2688-95. doi: 10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-09-3407. Epub 2010 Apr 20.

HER2-Mediated Internalization of Cytotoxic Agents in ERBB2 Amplified or Mutant Lung Cancers

Li BT, Michelini F, Misale S, Cocco E, Baldino L, Cai Y, Shifman S, Tu HY, Myers ML, Xu C, Mattar M, Khodos I, Little M, Qeriqi B, Weitsman G, Wilhem CJ, Lalani AS, Diala I, Freedman RA, Lin NU, Solit DB, Berger MF, Barber PR, Ng T, Offin M, Isbell JM, Jones DR, Yu HA, Thyparambil S, Liao WL, Bhalkikar A, Cecchi F, Hyman DM, Lewis JS, Buonocore DJ, Ho AL, Makker V, Reis-Filho JS, Razavi P, Arcila ME, Kris MG, Poirier JT, Shen R, Tsurutani J, Ulaner GA, de Stanchina E, Rosen N, Rudin CM, Scaltriti M. HER2-Mediated Internalization of Cytotoxic Agents in ERBB2 Amplified or Mutant Lung Cancers. Cancer Discov. 2020 May;10(5):674-687. doi: 10.1158/2159-8290.CD-20-0215. Epub 2020 Mar 25
Link: http://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32213539/

Convergent loss of PTEN leads to clinical resistance to a PI(3)Kα inhibitor


Juric D, Castel P, Griffith M, Griffith OL, Won HH, Ellis H, Ebbesen SH, Ainscough BJ, Ramu A, Iyer G, Shah RH, Huynh T, Mino-Kenudson M, Sgroi D, Isakoff S, Thabet A, Elamine L, Solit DB, Lowe SW, Quadt C, Peters M, Derti A, Schegel R, Huang A, Mardis ER, Berger MF, Baselga J, Scaltriti M. Convergent loss of PTEN leads to clinical resistance to a PI(3)Kα inhibitor. Nature. 2015 Feb 12;518(7538):240-4. doi: 10.1038/nature13948. Epub 2014 Nov 17. 
Link: http://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25409150/

PDK1-SGK1 Signaling Sustains AKT-Independent mTORC1 Activation and Confers Resistance to PI3Kα Inhibition

Castel P, Ellis H, Bago R, Toska E, Razavi P, Carmona FJ, Kannan S, Verma CS, Dickler M, Chandarlapaty S, Brogi E, Alessi DR, Baselga J, Scaltriti M. PDK1-SGK1 Signaling Sustains AKT-Independent mTORC1 Activation and Confers Resistance to PI3Kα Inhibition. Cancer Cell. 2016 Aug 8;30(2):229-242. doi: 10.1016/j.ccell.2016.06.004. Epub 2016 Jul 21.
Link: http://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27451907/

PI3K inhibition results in enhanced estrogen receptor function and dependence in hormone receptor-positive breast cancer

Bosch A, Li Z, Bergamaschi A, Ellis H, Toska E, Prat A, Tao JJ, Spratt DE, Viola-Villegas NT, Castel P, Minuesa G, Morse N, Rodón J, Ibrahim Y, Cortes J, Perez-Garcia J, Galvan P, Grueso J, Guzman M, Katzenellenbogen JA, Kharas M, Lewis JS, Dickler M, Serra V, Rosen N, Chandarlapaty S, Scaltriti M, Baselga J. PI3K inhibition results in enhanced estrogen receptor function and dependence in hormone receptor-positive breast cancer. Sci Transl Med. 2015 Apr 15;7(283):283ra51. doi: 10.1126/scitranslmed.aaa4442. Erratum in: Sci Transl Med. 2018 Oct 24;10(464)
Link: http://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25877889/

FOXA1 Mutations Reveal Distinct Chromatin Profiles and Influence Therapeutic Response in Breast Cancer

Arruabarrena-Aristorena A, Maag JLV, Kittane S, Cai Y, Karthaus WR, Ladewig E, Park J, Kannan S, Ferrando L, Cocco E, Ho SY, Tan DS, Sallaku M, Wu F, Acevedo B, Selenica P, Ross DS, Witkin M, Sawyers CL, Reis-Filho JS, Verma CS, Jauch R, Koche R, Baselga J, Razavi P, Toska E, Scaltriti M. FOXA1 Mutations Reveal Distinct Chromatin Profiles and Influence Therapeutic Response in Breast Cancer. Cancer Cell. 2020 Oct 12;38(4):534-550.e9. doi: 10.1016/j.ccell.2020.08.003. Epub 2020 Sep 3.
Link: http://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32888433/

Resistance to TRK inhibition mediated by convergent MAPK pathway activation

Cocco E, Schram AM, Kulick A, Misale S, Won HH, Yaeger R, Razavi P, Ptashkin R, Hechtman JF, Toska E, Cownie J, Somwar R, Shifman S, Mattar M, Selçuklu SD, Samoila A, Guzman S, Tuch BB, Ebata K, de Stanchina E, Nagy RJ, Lanman RB, Houck-Loomis B, Patel JA, Berger MF, Ladanyi M, Hyman DM, Drilon A, Scaltriti M. Resistance to TRK inhibition mediated by convergent MAPK pathway activation. Nat Med. 2019 Sep;25(9):1422-1427. doi: 10.1038/s41591-019-0542-z. Epub 2019 Aug 12.
Link: http://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31406350/

TRK xDFG Mutations Trigger a Sensitivity Switch from Type I to II Kinase Inhibitors.

Cocco E, Lee JE, Kannan S, Schram AM, Won HH, Shifman S, Kulick A, Baldino L, Toska E, Arruabarrena-Aristorena A, Kittane S, Wu F, Cai Y, Arena S, Mussolin B, Kannan R, Vasan N, Gorelick AN, Berger MF, Novoplansky O, Jagadeeshan S, Liao Y, Rix U, Misale S, Taylor BS, Bardelli A, Hechtman JF, Hyman DM, Elkabets M, de Stanchina E, Verma CS, Ventura A, Drilon A, Scaltriti M. TRK xDFG Mutations Trigger a Sensitivity Switch from Type I to II Kinase Inhibitors. Cancer Discov. 2021 Jan;11(1):126-141. doi: 10.1158/2159-8290.CD-20-0571. Epub 2020 Oct 1.
Link: http://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33004339/