Thomas Waldmann
Thomas A. Waldmann, MD, head of the Cytokine Immunology and Immunotherapy Section and Chief of the Metabolism Branch at the National Cancer Institute, will deliver the Gladstone Institutes 2007 Distinguished Lecture on Tuesday, May 22.
The lecture titled, "The biology of IL-2 and IL-15: Implications for Cancer Therapy and Vaccine Design," will be delivered from 4 to 5 p.m. in the Robert Mahley Auditorium, 1650 Owens Street at UCSF Mission Bay.
"To me, Tom represents the quintessential translational physician-scientist," said Warner Greene, MD, PhD, director of the Gladstone Institute of Virology and Immunology. "His studies have not only pioneered new basic insights into cytokine biology, but also have directly impacted the care and treatment of patients with immunodeficiency, autoimmune disease, and cancer."
Greene, a professor of medicine, microbiology and immunology at UCSF, trained in the laboratory of Waldmann in the early 1980s.
Waldmann's recent work on basic and clinical immunology focuses on the regulation of the human immune response by various cytokines and how dysregulation of these factors can lead to autoimmune, immunodeficiency and malignant disorders. He applies insights gained in fundamental research to the development of new approaches to the treatment of patients. A major area of his efforts is the critical role of the receptor for interleukin-2 (IL-2) on the growth, differentiation and regulation of normal and neoplastic T-cells. Waldmann co-discovered IL-15 and introduced various forms of IL-2/IL-15R-directed therapy for leukemia and autoimmune diseases.
Waldmann received his MD degree from Harvard Medical School. He joined the National Cancer Institute in 1956 and has been chief of the Metabolism Branch since 1973. His honors include the Ehrlich Medal and the Stratton, Lila Gruber, Simon Shubitz, Milken, Artois-Baillet Latour, Bristol-Myers Squibb prizes, and the President's Award of the Clinical Immunology Society. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Medicine, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
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