MD Anderson experts named to National Cancer Moonshot advisory panel
April 13, 2016
Medically Reviewed | Last reviewed by an MD Anderson Cancer Center medical professional on April 13, 2016
Two cancer experts at Â鶹ӳ» MD Anderson Cancer Center have been named to a to advise the National Cancer Institute in its work with Vice President Joe Biden¡¯s National Cancer Moonshot.
Jim Allison, Ph.D., professor and chair of Immunology and executive director of MD Anderson¡¯s Moon Shots Program immunotherapy platform, and , professor of Neuro-Oncology and member of the Glioblastoma Moon Shot team, were named to the panel announced recently by the National Cancer Institute of the National Institutes of Health.
The 28-member group will provide scientific guidance through recommendations to the presidentially appointed . President Obama announced the National Cancer Moonshot during his State of the Union speech on Jan. 12, appointing Biden to lead the task force, and later revealing a $1 billion initiative aimed at achieving a decade¡¯s worth of advances against cancer in five years.
¡°It¡¯s an honor to serve on the Blue Ribbon Panel for this important effort and to contribute to its focus on the growing field of cancer immunotherapy,¡± Allison said. ¡°Our experience establishing the immunotherapy platform and connecting it with our Moon Shots Program also will provide useful perspective for this effort.¡±
Allison invented immune checkpoint blockade ¨C freeing the immune system to attack cancer by disrupting a brake that halts immune response. He came to MD Anderson in 2012, establishing the immunotherapy platform to advance translational and clinical research progress in the field and leading the institution¡¯s basic research efforts in immunology.
Yung is an expert in clinical research and treatment of glioblastoma multiforme, the most lethal form of brain tumor. Yung has been a leader in glioblastoma investigations by The Cancer Genome Atlas, a joint effort by the NCI and the National Human Genome Research Institute to characterize the genetic variations behind cancer. He was senior author on a recent TCGA paper in the New England Journal of Medicine identifying molecular differences between various forms of gliomas that could guide diagnosis and treatment.
¡°I look forward to contributing to this focused initiative to improve how we treat glioblastoma and other difficult cancers,¡± Yung said. ¡°We have a responsibility to the patients we serve to make a collective and significant impact in our fight to end cancer.¡±
Read more about the advisory panel on MD Anderson's website.