James Allison, PhD
The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
Dr. James Allison is Regental Professor and Chair of Immunology, Vice President of Immunobiology, and Executive Director of the Immunotherapy Platform. He also directs the Parker Institute for Cancer Research and holds the Olga Keith Wiess Chair of Cancer Research. He has led a distinguished career studying T cell regulation and advancing cancer immunotherapy. He received the 2018 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, shared with Dr. Tasuku Honjo, for discovering cancer therapy through inhibition of negative immune regulation.
His key discoveries include defining T cell receptor structure, identifying CD28 as essential for T cell activation, and showing that CTLA-4 inhibits T cell responses. Blocking CTLA-4 enhances immune activity and can lead to tumor rejection, forming the basis of immune checkpoint therapy. This work led to ipilimumab, the first FDA-approved checkpoint inhibitor. Dr. Allison is a member of the National Academies and received the Lasker-Debakey Award (2015). His current work aims to improve checkpoint therapies and identify new targets to better harness the immune system against cancer.
His key discoveries include defining T cell receptor structure, identifying CD28 as essential for T cell activation, and showing that CTLA-4 inhibits T cell responses. Blocking CTLA-4 enhances immune activity and can lead to tumor rejection, forming the basis of immune checkpoint therapy. This work led to ipilimumab, the first FDA-approved checkpoint inhibitor. Dr. Allison is a member of the National Academies and received the Lasker-Debakey Award (2015). His current work aims to improve checkpoint therapies and identify new targets to better harness the immune system against cancer.
