Alessio Caruso
He/him/his
Postdoctoral Fellow
Email: acaruso@fas.harvard.edu
Alessio grew up in the Hudson Valley in New York state, along with Rome and Parma in Italy. He obtained a B.A. in chemistry from Vassar College in 2016 and a Ph.D. in chemistry from Princeton University in 2021. As an undergraduate, Alessio was first drawn to biochemistry through the MIT summer research program in biology, where he characterized exotic metalloenzymes in the lab of Professor Cathy Drennan. In his dissertation work, under the guidance of Professor Mohammad Seyedsayamdost, he went on to identify several new transformations in natural product biosynthesis carried out by radical S-adenosylmethionine enzymes, one of the largest and most versatile families of metalloenzymes in Nature.
As a postdoc, Alessio’s interests have shifted from searching for novel natural product scaffolds to deciphering the molecular mechanisms by which the gram negative cell envelope is assembled, all in the hopes of identifying desperately needed new antibiotic targets.
When not in the lab, Alessio loves running while listening to the Radiolab podcast, rock climbing with friends, and playing the cello. Once music halls reopen, he will eagerly take lab mates and friends to see the Boston Symphony Orchestra for a live performance. Alessio also has a deep appreciation for good food, and can often be found preparing all manner of Italian dishes for friends and family.