Understanding the mechanisms that generate human somatic mutations, and determining the role of mutations in human cancer have been the focus of Dr. Loeb’s research for most of his career. His interest in the causes of human cancer has led him to the study of environmental carcinogens, chemical carcinogenesis, and mutagenesis by metal ions and by oxygen-free radicals. He initially formulated the hypothesis that cancers express a mutator phenotype and this led his laboratory to develop a series of methods for detecting mutations in human cancer. Most recently, Dr. Loeb’s laboratory developed a new method for sequencing DNA that offers unprecedented accuracy. This will allow scientists to follow the landscape of mutations during cancer treatment. His goal is to manipulate mutation rates in human tumor cells in order to slow down the growth of human tumors and prolong health span.
Dr. Loeb’s desire to educate the public about the presence of environmental carcinogens and their role in tumor progression led him to co-author the section on carcinogenesis in the 1984 AACR position paper on smoking and lung cancer. He has emphasized the importance of molecular biology toward understanding how cells work and to defining the difference between normal and malignant cells.
Career Highlights
2008 AACR-Princess Takamatsu Award
2008 J. B. Little Award, Harvard University
2002 President, Environmental Mutagen Society
1993-Present Professor of Biochemistry and Pathology, University of Washington School of Medicine
1988-1989 President, AACR
1986-2011 Director of the Medical Science Training Program (M.D./Ph.D.), University of Washington School of Medicine
1986-1989 Board of Directors, American Association for Cancer Research
1986 Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science
1985-1999 Outstanding Investigator Award, National Cancer Institute
1967-1978 Member, Fox Chase Cancer Center
1967 PhD, University of California, Berkeley
1966 Fellow, American College of Physicians
1966 Misra-Baptia Medal, Lucknow Medical School
1957-1961 Salk Scholarship in Medicine
1961 MD, New York University School of Medicine