Stand Up To Cancer Hails Nobel Prize for Dr. James Allison, Pioneer of Immunology and a Leader of SU2C-Cancer Research Institute Immunology Dream Team

LOS ANGELES – Oct. 1, 2018 — Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C) today congratulated James P. Allison, PhD, leader of the SU2C-Cancer Research Institute (CRI) Cancer Immunology Dream Team, on receiving the Nobel Prize for Medicine or Physiology for his groundbreaking work that enables the human immune system to fight cancer.

“Jim Allison is truly a pioneer in cancer immunology,” said Phillip A. Sharp, PhD, chairman of the SU2C Scientific Advisory Committee and himself a Nobel laureate for his research in genetics. “Stand Up To Cancer has been proud to support his lifesaving work as a leader of a Dream Team of outstanding researchers. We congratulate him on the great tribute of a Nobel Prize.”

Allison shared the prize with Tasuku Honjo, MD, PhD, of Kyoto University in Japan.

Allison is chair of Immunology and executive director of the Immunotherapy Platform at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. In collaboration with Cancer Research Institute, and with support from the Sean Parker Foundation, a $10 million SU2C-CRI Dream Team on cancer immunology was formed, headed by Allison and Antoni Ribas, MD, PhD, of the University of California Los Angeles, and co-led by Drew M. Pardoll, MD, PhD, of the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore and Cassian Yee, MD, also of MD Anderson. Since then, the Melanoma Research Alliance has also provided $1 million in support, bringing the Dream Team’s total funding to $11 million.

The SU2C-CRI team has studied T cell-based immunotherapy, an approach that harnesses the power of immune cells called T cells against tumors through “checkpoint blockade”– a term Allison coined to describe the process by which brakes placed on T cells by tumors are released so that the T cells are freed up to attack tumor cells — and also adoptive cell transfer, in which T cells are taken from the body, modified and multiplied in the lab, and returned to the body to attack cancer.

“SU2C has invested over $150 million in cancer immunotherapy,” Sharp said. “It is one of the most exciting trends in cancer research and treatment today. We are very proud of Jim and all the scientists who are working hard to improve and expand immunotherapy.”

Added Sung Poblete, PhD, RN, president and CEO of SU2C, “The work done by Dr. Allison and his SU2C-CRI Dream Team colleagues is saving lives right now, which is what Stand Up To Cancer is all about. We are incredibly gratified to have supported Dr. Allison’s research, which is such a wonderful source of hope for cancer patients.”

SU2C is a division of the Entertainment Industry Foundation, with most of its research grants administered by the American Association for Cancer Research as the Scientific Partner of SU2C.

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MEDIA CONTACT:
Emily Gest: (917) 690-7823
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About Stand Up To Cancer
Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C) raises funds to accelerate the pace of research to get new therapies to patients quickly and save lives now. SU2C, a division of the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF), a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, was established in 2008 by film and media leaders who utilize the industry’s resources to engage the public in supporting a new, collaborative model of cancer research, and to increase awareness about cancer prevention as well as progress being made in the fight against the disease. As SU2C’s scientific partner, the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) and a Scientific Advisory Committee led by Nobel Laureate Phillip A. Sharp, PhD, conduct rigorous, competitive review processes to identify the best research proposals to recommend for funding, oversee grants administration, and provide expert review of research progress.

Current members of the SU2C Council of Founders and Advisors (CFA) include Katie Couric, Sherry Lansing, Lisa Paulsen, Rusty Robertson, Sue Schwartz, Pamela Oas Williams, Ellen Ziffren, and Kathleen Lobb. The late Laura Ziskin and the late Noreen Fraser are also co-founders. Sung Poblete, PhD, RN, has served as SU2C’s president and CEO since 2011.

For more information on Stand Up To Cancer, visit StandUpToCancer.org.