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Innovators in Discovery

Home Patients, Caregivers, and Advocates Innovators

Cancer researchers, physician-scientists, and others are driving progress against cancer with discoveries that are advancing prevention and transforming care.

Dr. Patricia M. LoRusso: Making Clinical Trials Better

Dr. Patricia M. LoRusso: Making Clinical Trials Better

Patricia M. LoRusso, DO, PhD (hc), FAACR, began her medical career in early-phase clinical trial development to test new cancer therapies. Thirty years later. Dr. LoRusso is still conducting early-phase clinical trials to test novel ways to treat cancer.

Read more in Leading Discoveries magazine
Dr. Chi Van Dang: Understanding the MYC Oncogene to Benefit Patients

Dr. Chi Van Dang: Understanding the MYC Oncogene to Benefit Patients

Chi Van Dang, MD, PhD, FAACR, was among the first to discover that MYC oncogenes regulate tumor metabolism and to establish MYC’s role in regulating the circadian rhythm and the immune system.

Read more in Leading Discoveries magazine
Dr. Philip D. Greenberg: Harnessing T Cells to Fight Cancer

Dr. Philip D. Greenberg: Harnessing T Cells to Fight Cancer

Philip D. Greenberg, MD, FAACR, was among a minority of cancer biologists initially attracted to the work of harnessing the immune system to treat cancer. He led a team that was among the first to take T cells from a cancer patient, isolate specific cancer-targeting T cells, expand the number of T cells in the lab, and infuse them back into the patient as a cell-based cancer immunotherapy.

Read more in Leading Discoveries magazine
Dr. Lisa M. Coussens: Cancer Immunology Pioneer and Basic Science Stalwart

Dr. Lisa M. Coussens: Cancer Immunology Pioneer and Basic Science Stalwart

Lisa M. Coussens, PhD, FAACR, is a professor and chair of the Cell, Developmental, and Cancer Biology Department. Her laboratory research focuses on understanding how the immune system, and, specifically, chronic inflammation, is associated with solid tumor development.

Read more in Leading Discoveries magazine
Dr. Elizabeth M. Jaffee: A Cancer Immunotherapy Visionary

Dr. Elizabeth M. Jaffee: A Cancer Immunotherapy Visionary

The world-renowned expert in cancer immunology is developing vaccines for pancreatic cancer and other cancer types, Elizabeth M. Jaffee, MD, FAACR, is mentoring a new generation of cancer immunology researchers and clinicians, and advising the president of the United States on ways to accelerate progress against cancer.

Read more in Leading Discoveries magazine
Dr. John D. Carpten: Uncovering Cancer Genetics and Striving to Include Underrepresented Populations in Research

Dr. John D. Carpten: Uncovering Cancer Genetics and Striving to Include Underrepresented Populations in Research

Combing through the genome-wide data from the 91 high-risk prostate cancer families, John D. Carpten, PhD, FAACR, and his colleagues identified a region on chromosome 1 as a major prostate cancer susceptibility locus. The findings, published in Science in 1996, marked the first study to identify genetic variants associated with a predisposition to develop prostate cancer.

Read more in Leading Discoveries magazine
Dr. Marcia R. Cruz-Correa: A Focus on Cancer Health Disparities

Dr. Marcia R. Cruz-Correa: A Focus on Cancer Health Disparities

Marcia R. Cruz-Correa, MD, PhD, is a trailblazing researcher who studies factors that can lead to racial and ethnic health disparities among Hispanic populations and has spearheaded a program to encourage all eligible residents of Puerto Rico to receive regular colon cancer screenings.

Read more in Leading Discoveries magazine
Dr. Carl H. June: Forging a Path for Cancer Cell Therapy

Dr. Carl H. June: Forging a Path for Cancer Cell Therapy

Renowned physician-scientist Carl H. June, MD, FAACR, studied bone marrow transplantation and cellular therapies for people with HIV early in his career. Those experiences were followed by the dramatic development of CAR T-cell therapies for treating certain blood cancers.

Read more in Leading Discoveries magazine
Dr. Antoni Ribas Pivots in Response to COVID-19

Dr. Antoni Ribas Pivots in Response to COVID-19

Since the 1990s, Antoni Ribas, MD, PhD, FAACR has been a key contributor to the field of immunotherapy, seeing potential where many saw a dead end.

Read more in Leading Discoveries magazine
Dr. Susan Band Horwitz: Decades of Work to Understand One Molecule

Dr. Susan Band Horwitz: Decades of Work to Understand One Molecule

The groundbreaking research of Susan Band Horwitz, PhD, FAACR, focused on discovering the properties of Taxol (paclitaxel) and led to an effective cancer treatment.

Read more in Leading Discoveries magazine
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