CRANBURY, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--OncLive®, the leading digital provider of resources and information to oncology professionals, is pleased to announce that 2014 Giants of Cancer Care® inductee, James P. Allison, Ph.D., was recognized with the 2018 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his research that led to the use of immune checkpoint inhibitors to treat cancer.
“Congratulations to Dr. Allison on this amazing and well-deserved achievement,” said Michael J. Hennessy Jr, president of MJH Associates, parent company of OncLive®. “Dr. Allison’s breakthroughs have completely changed the way oncologists treat cancer.”
Allison’s work has led him to discover a protein called CTLA-4, which slows down T cells. T cells send the body’s immune system into battle, specifically when fighting cancer. Allison tinkered with T cells until he developed a class of drugs called immune checkpoint inhibitors that “disable the brakes” on T cells so they can be stimulated into better fighting cancer tumors.
“Dr. Allison really exemplifies what it means to be a Giant of Cancer Care®,” said Robert Goldsmith, vice president of OncLive®. “We couldn’t be prouder of him and his discoveries that have led to the development of a revolution in cancer treatment.”
Allison received his doctorate in 1973 at the University of Texas, Austin. Currently, he serves as chair of the Department of Immunology, the Vivian L. Smith Distinguished Chair in Immunology, director of the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy and executive director of the Immunotherapy Platform at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. Earlier in his career, he was a postdoctoral fellow at the Scripps Clinic and Research Foundation and a faculty member at the University of Texas System Cancer Center; University of California, Berkeley; and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. He was also an investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and a professor at MD Anderson. Allison has received numerous awards, including the Lasker-Debakey Clinical Medical Research Award, ASCO’s Science of Oncology Award and the Pezcoller Foundation–AACR International Award for Cancer Research.
Since 1901 the Nobel Prize award has recognized outstanding scientists who have made the most important discoveries for the benefit of humankind. Allison will split the $1 million prize with fellow scientist Tasuku Honjo, M.D., PhD. The two were jointly awarded the 2018 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their discovery of cancer therapy by inhibition of negative immune regulation.
About OncLive®
A digital platform of resources for practicing oncologists, OncLive® offers oncology professionals information they can use to help provide the best patient care. OncLive.com is the official website for the MJH Associates, Inc., Oncology Specialty Group, which publishes OncologyLive®, Oncology Nursing News® and more. MJH Associates Inc. is a full-service health care communications company offering education, research and medical media, including curetoday.com and CURE® magazine, the largest U.S. consumer publication focused entirely on cancer. Combining science and humanity to make cancer understandable, CURE® reaches patients, cancer centers and advocacy groups.
