Nobel Laureate Jim Allison Hosts Ukrainian Cancer Researchers
In the photo: Jim Allison, Padmanee Sharma, Philip Greenberg, Emily Hubbard with a group of Ukrainian cancer medicine leaders at the AACR 2023 Annual Meeting (Olena Yefimenko, Sergey Kozhukhov, Stepan Krulko, Liudmyla Ostrovska). Orlando, FL. April 17, 2023.
A native Texan, Jim Allison, became a world-renowned immunologist who received the highest reward in science and medicine for a revolutionary discovery in cancer care. Dr. Allison suggested treating cancer by harnessing the body's own immune system to target and destroy cancer cells.
This immune checkpoint therapy offered hope of a full cure or years of life to hundreds of thousands of patients previously prognosed to live for only months. However, the therapy is currently effective in only about 20% of cancer patients, and we don’t fully understand why. Further research is needed to help more patients.
In response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Dr. Allison joined 205 other Nobel laureates in signing an open letter expressing support for the Ukrainian people and their sovereignty. Additionally, he has actively engaged with Ukrainian colleagues at the professional conferences of the U.S. cancer medicine societies (AACR, ASCO, and SITC).
In April 2024, Dr. Allison invited a group of young talented scientists from Ukraine to visit his lab and Institute in the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. Dr. Allison and his colleagues shared their cutting-edge research insights and state-of-the-art science presentations.
Ukrainians were very much impressed and inspired by the unique opportunity to witness such a level of research infrastructure, scientific collaborations and resulting achievements. This experience left a profound impact on the visiting scientists, inspiring them to aim higher and work harder addressing open questions in cancer research that may help save more lives in the future.
In the photo: Jim Allison with a group of Ukrainian cancer scientists and physicians at his lab (Dinara Ryspayeva, Nina Bondarenko, Sophia Livshun, Igor Tokarchuk, Dmytro Shapochka, Rostyslav Semikov). Houston, TX. April 24, 2024.
