Speaker Profile
Ph.D., CEO and President, Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy
Biography
Jeffrey Bluestone, PhD is CEO and President, Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy and the A.W. and Mary Margaret Clausen Distinguished Professor at UCSF. A leading researcher in immune tolerance and T-cell activation, he has developed multiple immunotherapies including the first FDA-approved drug targeting T-cell co-stimulation in autoimmune disease and organ transplantation, and CTLA-4 antagonist drugs approved to treat metastatic melanoma. As an academic leader on a national and international scale he was founding director of the Immune Tolerance Network, the largest NIH-funded multicenter clinical immunology research program testing novel immunotherapies in transplantation, autoimmunity, and asthma/allergy. As former UCSF Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost, and former Director of the UCSF Diabetes Center, he has authored over 400 peer-reviewed publications and received numerous awards including election to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the National Academy of Medicine and as member of Vice President Biden’s Cancer Moonshot Blue Ribbon Panel.
Talk
Hacking Cancer with the Immune System
Defeating cancer with long-lasting, personalized treatments is one of the promises of immunotherapy. To accomplish that goal, we need to change how we approach translational research. Non-profit institutes bring trust, collaboration , superb scientists and the right resources to fuel key breakthroughs and bring better treatments to patients faster.
Session Abstract – PMWC 2017 Silicon Valley
Session Synopsis: Immune checkpoint inhibitors and other anti-tumor immune response boosters have been shown to be successful in treating different cancer types including melanoma and non-small cell lung cancer. The success of these agents reveals the importance of anti-tumor immune activities in curing cancers. This session will dive into checkpoint inhibitors and neoantigens as stand-alone treatments, as combination treatments, or treatments in combination with other categories of cancer therapeutics.
