2010 Annual Meeting Speakers:
- Prof. Dr. G. J Adema (NCMLS Nijmegen, Netherlands)Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre, Nijmegen Centre for Molecular Life Sciences (NCMLS), Nijmegen, Netherlands
Prof. Dr. Adema holds the chair in Molecular Immunology at the NCMLS Department of Tumor Immunology. His research mainly focuses on the molecular analysis of dendritic cells and regulatory T cells, and their function in the immune system in health and disease. The knowledge gathered in the fundamental immunological studies is translated into pre-clinical and clinical vaccination studies of cancer patients with autologous, antigen-loaded dendritic cell vaccines. - Prof. Dr. James Allison (New York, USA)Ludwig Center for Cancer Immunotherapy, New York, USA
James Allison has a longstanding interest the in the mechanisms of T cell activation and its regulation, as well as developing novel strategies for immunotherapy of cancer. He has made many significant contributions to our understanding T cell costimulation and inhibition, and conceived the notion of immunological checkpoint blockade for the therapy of cancer. He is currently the Chairman of the Immunology Program, Director of the Ludwig Center for Cancer Immunotherapy, David H. Koch Chair in Immunologic Studies, Attending Immunologist at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. He is also an Investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, a Member of the National academy of Sciences, and of the Institute of Medicine. - Dr. Victor Appay (INSERM, Paris, France)
Dr. Appay leads the HIV pathogenesis and Immunosenescence group at the Institut National de la Santé et Recherche Médicale (INSERM). His main research interest is exploring the factors that govern the development and maintenance of effective CD8+T cell responses in HIV infection using basic immunology. The work of his team also focuses on the development with progressive HIV disease of premature immunosenescence, or immune ageing. - Prof. Dr. John Barrett (Bethesda, USA)National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, USA
John Barrett is Chief of the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute's Stem Cell Allotransplantation Section of the Hematology Branch, National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, in Bethesda, USA. His research is directed to defining the antigens involved in graft-versus-host disease, graft-versus-leukemia and graft versus tumor immunity and designing improved ways to reconstitute the immune system after stem cell transplantation using technologies to selectively eliminate harmful alloreactive T cells from the transplant while conserving graft-versus-leukemia reactivity. - PD Dr. Philipp Beckhove (Heidelberg, Germany)Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, Heidelberg, Germany
PD. Dr. Philipp Beckhove leads an independent research group at the German Cancer Research Center. The objective of Dr. Beckhove’s research group „Translational Immunology“ is to gain new insights into the immune defence system of cancerous cells and to evolve the results from basic research through to clinical treatments. The pursuit of which is based on close interdisciplinary collaboration with the oncological departments of the university hospital. New therapeutic concepts developed by the research group are being “translated” into clinical application under the roof of the National Center for Tumor Diseases in Heidelberg (NCT). - Prof. Dr. J. S. Bromberg (New York, USA)Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, USA
Prof. Dr. Bromberg has great experience in starting, building, and reorganizing critical components of multiorgan transplant programs. In addition to his clinical transplantation practice, Prof. Bromberg is pursuing basic and clinical research involving immunology and transplantation. His current projects are focused on determination of key mechanisms in T cell homing and tolerance induction, investigation of signals important for induction and inhibition of Foxp3 expression in regulatory T cells (Treg) as well as interaction of Tregs with other cells in different disease models of autoimmunity. - Prof. Federica Cavallo (Torino, Italy)University of Torino, Italy
Federica Cavallo, PhD, is Associate Professor of Immunology (General Pathology) of the University of Torino. She is among the founders of the new Molecular Biotechnology Center (MBC) of the University of Torino, where her laboratory is now located. She has a successful experience in basic and translational cancer immunotherapy, and has a considerable expertise in transgenic mouse models of cancer and DNA vaccination. At present her lab is combining immune regulators of various kind and vaccines to prevent and cure autochthonous cancers in pre-clinical models. A major effort is devoted to grab new knowledge on tumor and microenvironment transcriptome from microarray analysis and next generation sequencing data. These technologies are currently exploited to tease apart new mechanisms of carcinogenesis inhibition and to spot both miRNA and new oncoantigens to be exploited in a new generation of antitumor vaccines. - Dr. Helen X. Chen, MD Bethesda, USAInvestigational Drug Branch, Cancer Therapy Evaluation Program, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, USA
Dr. Helen Chen, M.D. is currently Associate Branch Chief of the Investigational Drug Branch of National Cancer Institute (NCI)’s Cancer Therapy Evaluation Program (CTEP). She is responsible for oversight of NCI-sponsored clinical trials involving antiangiogenesis therapies, EGFR/HER2 and IGF-1R targeting agents, and monoclonal antibody therapeutics. She is also involved in the development of NCI’s program for combination of molecular targeted investigational agents. She has authored more than 30 publications and book chapters on these areas, and has been on scientific committees for AACR and AACR-EORTC-NCI Annual Meetings, the ASCO-NCI-EORTC Annual Meeting on Molecular Markers, and the International Symposium for Antiangiogenesis Therapies. Dr. Chen a diplomate of the American Board of Internal Medicine, and also serves as an attending physician in the NCI’s Phase I clinic. - Prof. Dr. Mark Davis (Stanford, USA)Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, USA
Professor Dr. Davis, Director of the Stanford Institute for Immunology, Transplantation and Infection (ITI), is a professor of microbiology and immunology and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator. He is well known for identification in the 1980s of the elusive T-Cell receptor genes, which allow T lymphocytes to fight disease causing microbes, and he and his group have made many subsequent discoveries about this type of molecule and how it functions. - Prof. Dr. I. Jolanda M. de Vries (Nijmegen, Netherlands)Nijmegen Centre for Molecular Life Sciences, Nijmegen, Netherlands
Dr. Jolanda de Vries is Assistant Professor at the Department of Tumor Immunology at the Nijmegen Centre for Molecular Life Sciences. She was one of the pioneers to translate dendritic cell biology into potential clinical applications. The first clinical phase I/II studies in which patients were vaccinated with DCs loaded with tumor-specific peptides were initiated in 1997. She also developed a novel immuno-monitoring assay that is highly predictive for extended survival after vaccination with DCs (J Clin Oncology 2005). Her primary scientific interest continues along the line of DC-immunotherapy and in particular the migration and imaging of DC. For example, in-vivo imaging of ex-vivo labeled cells using MRI (Nature Biotechnology 2005). New opportunities for other cell-types (e.g. subsets of DCs) are now being developed. She recently completed the first plasmacytoid DC vaccination trial. - Prof. Dr. M. V. Dhodapkar (New Haven, USA)Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, USA
Prof. Dr. Dhodapkar is the chief of Section of Hematology at Yale School of Medicine and the director of Department of Hematologic Malignancies at Yale Cancer Center. He is interested in studying the biology of the human immune system and how it interacts with growing tumors in patients. His main reseach goal is understanding and harnessing the properties of the immune system to detect, prevent and treat cancer, with a particular focus on multiple myeloma. - Prof. Dr. Mary L. (Nora) Disis, MD (Washington, USA)University of Washington, School of Medicine, Washington, USA
Mary L. (Nora) Disis, M.D. is the Associate Dean for Translational Health Sciences in the University of Washington (UW) School of Medicine, Professor of Medicine and Adjunct Professor of Pathology and Obstetrics and Gynecology at UW and a Member of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center (FHCRC). Dr. Disis is an expert in breast and ovarian cancer immunology and translational research. Her research interest is in the discovery of new molecular targets in breast and ovarian cancer for the development of vaccine and cellular therapy for the treatment of those malignancies. - Dr. Mark E. Dudley (Bethesda, USA)National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, USA
Dr. Mark E. Dudley is the head of the Cell Production Facility at the Surgery Branch, National Cancer Institute. The Cell Production Facility translates basic research discoveries into cell and gene therapies for patients with cancer. Current projects include closed system bioreactors, retroviral and lentiviral gene therapy vectors, and artificial antigen presenting cells. These systems are being developed in the context of ongoing clinical trials to treat patients with advanced melanoma and other cancers. - Prof. Dr. D. I. Gabrilovich (Tampa, USA)University of South Florida, Tampa, USA
Prof. Dr. Gabrilovich holds a chair in tumor immunology at the Department of Oncologic Sciences-University of South Florida. His research mainly focuses understanding the biology and mechanism of tumor-associated immunosuppression and exploring approaches to eliminate immunosuppression. His team is also working on development of novel effective cancer vaccines including genetically modified dendritic cells and the combination of apoptosis-inducing therapy and immunotherapy. - Prof. Dr. John B.A.G. Haanen (Leiden, Netherland)Netherlands Cancer Institute/Antoni van Leeuwenhoek Hospital, Leiden, Netherlands
Prof. Dr. John B.A.G. Haanen, MD PhD is head of the Division of Medical Oncology at the Netherlands Cancer Institute/Antoni van Leeuwenhoek Hospital. His main research interest is immunotherapy of cancer and he was recently appointed professor of translational immunotherapy of cancer at the Leiden University. The main topics of his research are on the development of DNA-based vaccine strategies for the treatment of cancer and adoptive cellular therapy. In close collaboration with prof. Ton Schumacher he has developed a program for T cell receptor gene therapy. - Prof. Dr. Miriam Heemskerk (Leiden, Netherlands)Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, Netherlands
Mirjam H. M. Heemskerk is currently Associate Professor and Head of the Laboratory of Experimental Hematology at the LUMC Department of Hematology which she joined to pioneer the retroviral introduction of antigen specific T cell receptors as a means to engineer leukemia specific immunity. Her research interests are characterisation of alloimmune responses and occurrence of delayed immune reconstitution after HLA mismatched stem cell transplantation, high throughput identification of hematopoiesis-restricted minor histocompatibility antigens by reverse immunology approaches and TCR gene therapy of hematological malignancies. A clinical trial is being set up to treat patients with hematological malignancies after allogeneic stem cell transplantation with TCR engineered T cells. - Prof. Dr. Thomas Hünig (Würzburg, Germany)Institute for Virology and Immunobiology, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
Prof. Dr. Hünig holds a chair in Immunobiology at the Institute for Virology and Immunobiology. He was co-founder of the company TeGenero that developed the CD28-superagonist antibodyTGN1412. His main focus of research is regulation of T cell activation by CD28 and CTLA4. - Prof. Dr. Ulrich Kalinke (Twincore, Hannover, Germany)
Prof. Dr. Kalinke is the Executive Director of TWINCORE Research Center in Hannover and former Head of the Department of Immunology at Paul-Ehrlich-Institut (Langen). His main research area is experimental infection focusing on the influence of interferons on adaptive immunity and how different pathogens prevent the release of interferons. - Prof. Dr. Samir N. Khleif (Bethesda, USA)National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, USA
Prof. Dr. Khleif is head of the Cancer Vaccine Section, Vaccine Branch at the NCI and he also serves as a Special Assistant to the Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, leading the Critical Path Initiative for oncology. His reseach focuses on integrating translational basic laboratory research and clinical trials to understand the interaction between tumor cells and the immune system and to develop cancer vaccines. - Prof. Dr. Andreas Mackensen (Erlangen, German)University Erlangen, Erlangen, Germany
Professor Dr. Andreas Mackensen holds the chair position for Hematology/Oncology at the University Hospital of Erlangen. His main research area is the development of immunotherapeutic strategies for the treatment of malignant diseases. - Dr. Raj K. Puri (Silver Spring, USA)Division of Cellular and Gene Therapies, U.S. FDA´s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, Silver Spring, USA
Raj K. Puri, M.D., Ph.D. is the Director of the Division of Cellular and Gene Therapies (DCGT) in the U.S. FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research. He is also a Chief of Tumor Vaccines and Biotechnology Branch (TVBB). Dr. Puri oversees investigational new drug (INDs), investigational device exemptions (IDEs), and biological license applications (BLAs) for tumor vaccines, immunotherapy, cellular and gene therapy, tissue engineering, and xenotransplantation products and development of policies and guidance documents in these cutting edge areas of medical research. - Dr. Kati Revani (London, England)Imperial College London, London, England
Dr Rezvani is a Clinical Senior Lecturer and Consultant Haematologist at Imperial College in London. She is the clinical lead in allogeneic stem cell transplantation and clinical director of the Jacie accredited GMP cellular facility.
As a research fellow at the NIH from 2001-2008, her laboratory studies in immune responses to leukemia led to the initiation of 3 FDA approved clinical trials of vaccination in patients with myeloid malignancies. She received a highly competitive award from the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) and started her position as a clinical senior lecturer at Imperial College in January 2008 where she has an active research laboratory program in transplantation and tumor immunology. - Prof. Dr. Antoni Ribas (Los Angeles, USA)University of California, Los Angeles, USA
Antoni Ribas, MD, is Associate Professor of Medicine and Surgery at University of California, Los Angeles. He practices oncology focused on new drug development for melanoma, and has an NIH-funded research laboratory focused also in melanoma. He also serves as Director of the Cell and Gene Therapy Core Facility, Assistant Director of the Tumor Immunology Program, Assistant Director of the Human Gene Medicine Program, General Clinical Research Center Advisory Board Member, and trains faculty at the Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Medicine.
Dr. Ribas is a permanent committee member of the NCI grant review panels. Dr. Ribas' clinical and laboratory research involves the development of novel strategies for the treatment of cancer, including anti-CTLA4 antibodies, cancer vaccines, BRAF inhibitor and Mek inhibitor targeted therapy, nanoparticle delivery of siRNA, and gene therapy strategies. - Dr. Martina Schuessler-Lenz, M.D. (Langen, Germany)Paul-Ehrlich Institut, Langen, Germany
Dr. Schuessler-Lenz is a Senior Clinical Assessor at the Division Medical Biotechnology of the Paul-Ehrlich Institut, and the alternate German member of the Committee for Advanced Therapies (CAT) of the European Medicines Agency. Her main area of expertise is the clinical development of Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products and of cancer immunotherapies. - Dr. Protul A. Shrikant (New York, USA)Roswell Park Cancer Insitute, New York, USA
Dr. Protul A. Shrikant completed a National Multiple Sclerosis Society Fellowship at the University of Minnesota, Center for Immunology (1999) and joined Roswell Park Cancer Institute in 2000 as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Immunology (2000), where he currently is an Associate Professor with tenure and serves on the advisory council for the Centre for Immunotherapy. He also holds an adjunct appointment with the Departments of Microbiology and Immunology at State University of New York at Buffalo. His research is focussed on characterizing the molecular pathways by which instructions program CD8 T cell responses and exploit the insights for developing novel strategies for tumor immunity. - Dr. Masato Tanaka, MD (Yokohama, Japan)RIKEN Research Center for Allergy and Immunology, Yokohama, Japan
Masato Tanaka, M.D. and Ph.D., graduated from Tokyo Medical and Dental University in 1988. I worked for Osaka Bioscience Institute and Osaka University Medical School, and engaged in research of the molecular mechanisms of apoptosis in laboratory of Prof. Shigekazu Nagata. I worked for Tularik Inc. in San Francisco, USA to investigate the molecular mechanisms of inflammatory reaction in 1997-1999. Since 2002, I became the team leader of Laboratory for Innate Cellular Immunity, RIKEN Research Center for Allergy and Immunology (RCAI), Yokohama Japan. In recent years, I focused on the physiological and pathological roles of apoptotic cell clearance by phagocytes, and strategic approach for immune regulation by dead cell clearance. - David L. Urdal, Ph.D. (Seattle, USA)Dendreon Corporation, Seattle, USA
Dr. Urdal has been Chief Scientific Officer and a Director of Dendreon Corporation since he joined the company in July of 1995. Dendreon (Nasdaq: DNDN) has been dedicated to targeting cancer and transforming lives through the discovery and development of novel products like Provenge®, an active immunotherapy for prostate cancer that has shown promise in Phase III clinical trials.
From 1982 to 1995, he held various positions with Immunex Corporation, including President of Immunex Manufacturing Corporation, Vice President and Director of Development, and Head of the Departments of Biochemistry and Membrane Biochemistry. At Immunex he participated in the discovery, development and commercialization of hematopoietic growth factors, cytokines and cytokine receptor drugs, like Leukine® and Enbrel®. Dr. Urdal received an M.S. in Public Health and a Ph.D. in Biochemical Oncology from the University of Washington. He is inventor on 16 patents and author on 79 publications. - Prof. Dr. Weiping Zou, MD (Ann Arbor , USA)Department of Surgery and Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Michigan School of Medicine, Ann Arbor , USA
Weiping Zou is a Professor of Surgery, Immunology and Biology and the director for Translational Research at the University of Michigan. His research interests are in tumor immunopathology and immunotherapy, with an emphasis on the cross-talk among immune cell subsets, stromal cells, tumor cells and tumor stem cells in the tumor microenvironment, and its impact on tumor immunity, tolerance and therapy.
