C. Michael DiPersio

C. Michael DiPersio is a Professor of Surgery and Molecular and Cellular Physiology at Albany Medical College. His research focuses on the roles of integrins, particularly α3β1 and α9β1, in regulating tissue remodeling during wound healing and cancer progression.

Education:

• PhD, Brown University, 1991
• BS, University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth, 1985

DiPersio’s work explores how integrin-mediated signaling controls extracellular matrix (ECM) dynamics, paracrine communication, and gene expression to modulate pathological processes such as chronic wounds, hypertrophic scars, and tumor metastasis. His lab employs genetic knockout models, transcriptomics, and cell biological approaches to identify therapeutic strategies targeting integrins.

Recent publications highlight integrin α3β1’s role in regulating the tumor secretome (e.g., fibulin-2, CSF-1) and post-transcriptional gene regulation via alternative splicing and polyadenylation. These studies link integrin signaling to mRNA stability pathways in cancer cells and stromal-tumor crosstalk in skin and breast tumors.

The DiPersio lab collaborates with Dr. Livingston Van De Water’s group to investigate integrin knockout models, emphasizing the antagonistic functions of α3β1 and α9β1 during wound healing and tumorigenesis. Current projects aim to translate these findings into therapies for cancer and pathological wound healing.