James P. Allison
Allison James Patrick (* 1948 in Texas) is an American immunologist.
Life
Allison grew up in Alice, Texas, on. He graduated from the University of Texas at Austin a bachelor's degree in microbiology and 1973 with the work of Studies on bacterial asparaginases: isolation and characterization of a tumor- inhibitory asparaginase from Alcaligenes eutrophus - Insolubilization of L- asparaginase by covalent attachment to nylon tubing a Ph.D. in life sciences.
As a postdoctoral fellow, he worked at the Scripps Research Institute, before a first chair at the Research Centre of the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Smithville, Texas received. After eight years, Allison joined as Professor of Immunology and Director of Cancer Research at the University of California, Berkeley.
2004 Allison went to the Memorial Sloan- Kettering Cancer Center in Manhattan, New York City. In 2011 he became director of the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, the Co - Director, he was since 2006. His work in New York from 2004 to 2012 was funded by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute ( HHMI ).
2012 moved Allsion as head of immunology at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas.
Allison is married since 1969 and has a son.
Work
At Allison's Research Services include the discovery of the T- cell receptor and the discovery that T cells require a second signal in addition to the binding to an antigen to initiate an immune response: A molecule called B7 on the antigen presenting cell must point to the CD28 activating the T cell.
Allison and coworkers discovered in 1995 that CTLA-4 is a protein that mediates the attenuation of the immune system by regulatory T cells. Besides being able to mitigate by activation of CTLA -4 autoimmune diseases, interested Allison - probably partly conditioned by an accumulation of cancer in his family - especially the ability to strengthen the immune system by blocking CTLA4 in his fight against cancer cells. In particular, a drug against CTLA4 would strengthen the immune system against all types of cancer - while most forms of cancer immunotherapy are effective only against a particular tumor. The monoclonal antibody ipilimumab (brand name Yervoy ) was approved after long years of studies in the United States as a drug for the treatment of metastatic malignant melanoma. Further studies with other types of cancer with the agent to be performed.
Inspired by Allison's approach to influence the immune system by antibodies against natural modulators are other cancer drugs in development worldwide.
Recent work Allison dealing with the modulation of the immune system by manipulation of the various mediators, as well as with the combination of these methods with classical chemotherapy.