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Professor James P. Allison

King Faisal Prize in Medicine 2018 Laureate

Topic: "Immunotherapy for Cancer"

We haven’t been able to successfully treat cancers such as pancreatic cancers and glioblastoma. We’re continuing our efforts and hope to make progress in the near future

Nationality: United States of America
Born: 7/8/1949, Alice, Texas, United States of America
Professor James Allison was awarded the prize for his outstanding contribution to the development of the field of immunotherapy for cancer. His identification of CTLA-4 as an inhibitory receptor of T-cells and pioneering the development of immune checkpoint inhibitors for the treatment of a range of cancers.

 

James Allison obtained his B.S. in Microbiology in 1969, followed by a Ph.D. in Biological Sciences from the University of Texas (UT), Austin, TX, USA in 1973. He completed his postdoctoral fellowship in Molecular Immunology at Scripps Clinic and Research Foundation. Afterwards, he served in several reputable universities and Hospitals all over the US as a professor, a director, a chair, and a head of Molecular, Immunology, and Cancer Departments. Since 2012, he has been a Professor at the Department of Immunology at MD Anderson, the Vivian L. Smith Distinguished Chair in Immunology, the Director of the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, the Chair of the Department of Immunology, an Executive Director of the Immunotherapy Platform, and a Deputy Director of the David H. Koch Center for Applied Research of Genitourinary Cancers at MD Anderson Cancer Center at the University of Texas in Houston.

He published over 250 highly cited articles, with over 40,796, and an H-index of 102. He is a member of the editorial board of several scientific journals and has participated in various conferences and exhibitions in his field.

Professor Allison received over 60 awards and honors including the Dana Foundation Award in Human Immunology Research, Lasker-DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award and Canada Gairdner International Award.

This biography was written in the year the prize was awarded.

 

  • He received many awards including:
    • Jessie Stevenson Kovalenko Medal in 2018.
    • Albany Medical Center Prize in Medicine in 2018.
    • Nobel Prize in Medicine in 2018.
    • Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement in 2019.
  • He retired from his position as the Vivian L. Smith Distinguished Chair in Immunology at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in 2019.

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