On Thursday, the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer announced Dr. Philip Greenberg as the 2018 recipient of the Richard V. Smalley, M.D., Memorial Award and Lectureship, the society’s highest honor. Greenberg is head of the Program in Immunology at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.
Greenberg, whose laboratory performed some of the earliest studies focused on how immune T cells identify and eliminate cancer cells, will receive the award and present the keynote address Nov. 10 during SITC’s 33rd Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C.
The Smalley Memorial Award, established by SITC in 2005, is awarded annually to a clinician or scientist who has significantly contributed to the advancement of research in the field of cancer immunotherapy. It is named in honor of the past SITC president and charter member of the society.
“Through his extraordinary scientific effort in the field of cancer immunotherapy, Dr. Greenberg has helped explain how T cells can be used to treat a range of cancers,” said SITC President Lisa H. Butterfield, Ph.D., in the society’s press release.
“Dr. Greenberg has been a tireless champion in our field, and it is an honor to name him as the 2018 Richard V. Smalley Memorial Award and Lectureship recipient,” she said.
Greenberg’s laboratory continues to elucidate the immunobiology of T-cell responses, identify new tumor antigen targets and develop novel T-cell therapies. Clinical trials of T-cell therapies his team developed are now underway in patients with leukemia and lung cancer and will soon be targeting pancreatic cancer.
Greenberg is the first recipient of the Smalley Award from Fred Hutch. Last year’s awardee was Dr. Paul M. Sondel (University of Wisconsin-Madison). Other past recipients include Drs. Suzanne L. Topalian (Johns Hopkins School of Medicine); Tasuku Honjo (Kyoto University); Carl H. June (University of Pennsylvania); Ronald Levy (Stanford University); and Steven A. Rosenberg (National Cancer Institute).
— Modified from a SITC press release
