Scientific Areas of Expertise: Cancer Biology; Cancer Immunotherapy; T Cell Activation and Tolerance
For his unrivaled leadership in the field of PD-L1 biology, including his fundamental research that led to the cloning of B7-H1(PD-L1), subsequent demonstration of the immunosuppressive functions of the B7-H1/PD-1 signaling pathway, the use of antibody blockade of this pathway as a cancer immunotherapy, and his pivotal discovery of costimulation as a mechanism to improve tumor immunity, which has since led to the development of breakthrough treatments for human cancer.
An internationally celebrated pioneer in immuno-oncology, Dr. Chen has conducted leading fundamental research that has endowed the field of PD-L1 biology with enduring and groundbreaking contributions. His research demonstrated in the first proof-of-concept study that the B7-CD28 family of molecules can be targeted for cancer immunotherapy. He is also credited with discovering PD-L1, originally termed B7-H1. His team revealed that PD-L1 is expressed by tumors and that its activity can cause T cell dysfunction, thereby preventing T cells from targeting and eliminating cancer cells. His seminal finding that blockage of the immunosuppressive interaction between PD-1 and PD-L1 by monoclonal antibodies improves the immune system’s ability to eliminate cancer cells, provided the basis for the development of immunotherapies including the first-in-man clinical trial of an anti-PD-1 monoclonal antibody as a cancer treatment and development of PD-L1 staining as a biomarker. Dr. Chen’s revolutionary development of anti-PD-1/PD-L1 antibody therapy has since been expanded to a broad spectrum of human malignancies and has become a new standard for cancer treatment.
Additionally, Dr. Chen has discovered numerous molecular pathways involved in T cell stimulation and inhibition, while subsequently characterizing their translational application in human disease. Building upon this fundamental research, Dr. Chen developed an agonist antibody against the 4-1BB co-stimulatory pathway, leading to the generation of multiple 4-1BB-targeting antibodies that are currently being evaluated in clinical trials across a variety of cancer types. Dr. Chen’s ongoing research efforts have been devoted to discovering new co-signaling molecules and pathways and characterizing their roles in immune system regulation, autoimmune diseases, viral infections, transplantation rejection, and inflammation. As one of the pioneering leaders in the field of cancer immunotherapy, Dr. Chen continues to examine the mechanisms that govern the immune system’s ability to eradicate cancer and to develop breakthrough treatments for human cancer.
Selected Awards and Honors
2021 Elected Fellow, Academy of Immuno-Oncology, Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
2021 Elected Member, National Academy of Sciences, Washington, DC
2020 Richard V. Smalley MD Memorial Award and Lectureship, Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
2019 William O. Russell Lectureship and Joanne Vandenberge Hill Award University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas
2018 Kurt Hellman Award, Metastasis Research Society, Tampa, Florida
2018 Luminary Award, World Affairs Council of Connecticut, Hartford, Connecticut
2018 Giants in Cancer Care Award, OncLive, Cranbury, New Jersey
2017 Shizhang Bei Award, Biophysical Society of China, Beijing, China
2017 Presidential Award, Society of Chinese Biomedical Scientist in America, Boston, Massachusetts
2017 Warren Alpert Foundation Prize, Warren Alpert Foundation, Providence, Rhode Island
2016 Steinman Award for Human Immunology Research, American Association of Immunologists, Minneapolis, Minnesota
2015 Lifetime Achievement Award, Chinese American Hematologist and Oncologist Network, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
2014 William B. Coley Award for Distinguished Research in Basic and Tumor Immunology, Cancer Research Institute, New York, New York
2012 Honorary Master of Art Degree, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut