Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

October 01, 2018

02/10/2018

Former Scripps Research postdoctoral associate James P. Allison wins the 2018 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine

October 01, 2018

Understanding how to shut off cancerous tumors' ability to hide from immune attack has given doctors new tools to fight cancers such as melanoma. For his discovery of how to reawaken immune system attacks on cancer, former Scripps Research postdoctoral associate James P. Allison, PhD, was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine on Monday, alongside Japanese immunologist Tasuku Honjo, MD, PhD.

Advancing the concept of immunotherapies for cancer has been an undertaking, says Michael Oldstone, MD, professor at Scripps Research. Allison deserves a lot of credit for bringing that therapy from the bench into humans.

Allison trained as a postdoctoral researcher in the laboratory of noted Scripps Research immunologist Ralph Reisfeld, PhD, from 1974 to 1977. In addition to his legacy in advancing cancer therapeutics, Scripps Research scientists know him as a determined scientist and skilled mentor.

The birth of a new therapy

Allison's innovative focus on optimizing the immune response, rather than specifically targeting tumors, proved revolutionary, says Wendy Havran, PhD, a professor in the Scripps Research Department of Immunology and Microbiology, who worked as a postdoctoral researcher under Allison at the University of California, Berkeley. Checkpoint blockade immunotherapy has saved numerous lives and provides hope to many cancer patients, she says.

In the 1970s, immunologists including Oldstone worked at the Scripps Clinic and Research Foundation, predecessor of Scripps Research. They focused on basic science, characterizing how the immune system recognized pathogens. They hoped to understand not only how the immune system recognized attackers, but also why the immune system sometimes becomes overzealous and attacks the body's own cells.

Argyrios Theofilopoulos, MD, a professor at Scripps Research, recalls the intensity of the work happening on the Scripps Research campus at that time, and the steps Reisfeld and Allison were taking to advance the field.

The institute was very famous already for our work on immunological aspects of diseases, Theofilopoulos says. At that time we knew nothing about T cell receptors. They were trying to identify the peptides that were presented to T cells, and thereby identify the T cell receptor.

In 1974, Allison accepted a position working with Reisfeld, an expert on major histocompatibility complex, critical to discernment of self versus attacker. Their work focused on the interaction among proteins called human leukocyte antigens and T cells. By 1977, Allison and a colleague, G. N. Callahan, reported in a letter to the journal Nature that they had found evidence that the immune system was prevented from attacking cancer cells due to an association between pathogenic markers and additional proteins.

Finding the factors that cloaked cancer from immune attack, then developing techniques to suppress the cloaking system, eventually led to the development of checkpoint-blockade cancer immunotherapies such as ipilimumab (Yervoy). It has inspired a new generation of immunologists focused on making more types of cancer visible to immune attack, among them, immunologist Mark Sundrud, PhD, associate professor at Scripps Research in Florida.

This highlights the life-changing implications of understanding how the immune system works at a fundamental level, Sundrud says.

Training the next generation of researchers

Oldstone remembers Allison as a postdoctoral researcher with incredible potential, saying, He was very smart and very determined. Interestingly, Allison's colleagues at the time included Rafi Ahmed, PhD, who has advanced cancer immunotherapies at Emory University, and Robert Schreiber, PhD, who has pioneered cancer immunoediting at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

Scripps Research has a long history of training postdoctoral researchers for impactful careers in science. Postdocs come from all over the world to improve human health in an environment that fosters collaboration, creativity, and scientific excellence, says Ryan Wheeler, director of the Career, International and Postdoctoral Services Office at Scripps Research.

After leaving Scripps Research, Allison moved to UC Berkeley, and went on to become Head of Immunology at Sloan-Kettering in New York. Today he is with M.D. Anderson in Texas, where he is currently Chair of Immunology.

Havran says her work with Allison continues to inspire her.

Jim took an unexpected basic science discovery, funded by grants from the National Institutes of Health, saw the implications, and was able to translate it to the clinic to treat cancer patients, she says. It is every researchers dream.

Immunology & Microbiology Awards and honors
LINK: https://www.scripps.edu/news-and-events/press-room/2018/20181001-allis...
See more stories from scripps

Most recent headlines

05/01/2027

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be demoed at CES 2026

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...

07/10/2026

Dalet Flex LTS Delivers Smarter Media Operations from Ingest to Distribution

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...

06/09/2026

Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA World Cup 2026 in Germany with Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos

June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...

04/08/2026

Dalet Announces Commercial Availability of Dalia, Bringing Media-Aware Agentic AI to Enterprise Productions

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...

31/07/2026

How Valuable Is TV to Smaller, Independent Cable Operators?

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

31/07/2026

Early Registration Opens for the 2026 SMPTE Media Techno...

SMPTE, the home for media professionals, technologists and engineers, today opened early registration for the 2026 Media Technology Summit (MTS) and announced i...

31/07/2026

Central Christian Church Connects Remote Production Teams...

Clear-Com announced that Central Christian Church has transformed communication across its live production operations by implementing Clear-Com's LQ Seri...

31/07/2026

Haivision To Feature Makito ONE, Falkon X4 At IBC 2026

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

31/07/2026

ABC Stations Tout Community Support for License Renewals

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

31/07/2026

Finalists Announced for IBC2026 Innovation Awards

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

31/07/2026

IBC2026 Innovation Awards finalists unveiled honouring co...

IBC has unveiled the finalists for the IBC2026 Innovation Awards, recognising collaborative projects from around the world that solve real-world challenges and ...

31/07/2026

From focus puller to colourist

From focus puller to colourist Caroline Shawley July 30, 2026 0 Comments Ana Mar a Ormaza shares her story of instinct, storytelling and finding a cre...

31/07/2026

Amazon Prime Documentary Andata e Ritorno Relies on Blackmagic Design

Amazon Prime Documentary Andata e Ritorno Relies on Blackmagic Design Brie Clayton July 30, 2026 0 Comments DaVinci Resolve Studio and Blackmagic Clou...

31/07/2026

Krotos Launches Video to Sound Plugin for DaVinci Resolve

Krotos Launches Video to Sound Plugin for DaVinci Resolve Brie Clayton July 30, 2026 0 Comments AI-assisted workflow helps editors add synchronized, p...

31/07/2026

Half-Year Report on SES's Liquidity Contract

Luxembourg, July 31, 2026 - Pursuant to the liquidity contract entered into by SES with BNP Paribas as of 7 April 2026, please see the below update on the progr...

31/07/2026

SES Publishes FY2025 EU Taxonomy Restatement

Luxembourg, July 31, 2026 - SES today published a restatement of its FY2025 EU Taxonomy (Article 8) disclosure. The restatement updates the FY2025 EU Taxonomy d...

31/07/2026

Mercedes-Benz Ireland returning as the official car partner of The Traitors Ireland

RT Commercial has today announced Mercedes-Benz Ireland will return as the offi...

31/07/2026

RT Supporting the Arts is supporting 15 cultural events nationwide this August

RT Supporting the Arts is delighted to spotlight a diverse range of arts, culture and heritage events taking place across Ireland this August. From major festi...

30/07/2026

CP Communications Provides Broadcast Support for 2026 MLB All-Star Week in Philadelphia

CP Communications provided RF audio, RF video, communications, RF coordination, ...

30/07/2026

OpenDrives Named to 2026 CRN Storage 100 List

OpenDrives has been included in CRN's 2026 Storage 100 list in the Software-Defined Storage category. The annual list, selected by the CRN editorial team, r...

30/07/2026

SES Selected by LATAM Airlines for Multi-Orbit Satellite Connectivity

LATAM Airlines has selected SES to provide multi-orbit inflight connectivity to its fleet of Airbus and Embraer aircraft. More than 60 aircraft - including Airb...

30/07/2026

Tagboard Launches Producer API with Elgato Stream Deck Integration

Tagboard has launched the Producer API, an open interface that allows key commands in Tagboard's live production environment to be triggered from external d...

30/07/2026

FOX Sports Adds Del Mar to Horse Racing Coverage in Multi-Year Deal

FOX Sports and the New York Racing Association (NYRA) have announced a multi-year agreement with Del Mar Thoroughbred Club that will make FOX Sports the exclusi...

30/07/2026

ABC Commercial Launches Four FAST Channels on LG Smart TVs

ABC Commercial has launched four free ad-supported streaming television (FAST) channels on LG Smart TVs across North America, Great Britain, and select countrie...

30/07/2026

Six Kings Slam Returns to Netflix in October with Sinner, Alcaraz, Djokovic

The Six Kings Slam exhibition tennis tournament will return to Riyadh on October 21, 22, and 24, streaming live on Netflix at no additional cost to subscribers....

30/07/2026

Central Christian Church Uses Clear-Coms Gen-IC to Connect Remote Production Teams

Central Christian Church in Mt. Vernon, Illinois has deployed Clear-Com's LQ...

30/07/2026

Blackmagic Design Releases UltraStudio Express 3G Capture and Playback Devices

Blackmagic Design has released the UltraStudio Express 3G family, a pair of USB4 capture and playback devices compatible with Mac, Windows, and Linux computers ...

30/07/2026

ESPN Secures Media Rights to Womens Pro Baseball League

ESPN has reached a media rights agreement with the Women's Pro Baseball League (WPBL), making ESPN the national streaming home of the league's 2026 seas...

30/07/2026

Most Valuable Promotions and Professional Fighters League Merge

Most Valuable Promotions (MVP) and the Professional Fighters League (PFL) have announced a merger that will operate under the MVP banner. PFL CEO John Martin wi...

30/07/2026

Columbus Blue Jackets To Simulcast TV and Radio Broadcasts Beginning 2026-27

The Columbus Blue Jackets will simulcast all game broadcasts across television and radio beginning with the 2026-27 NHL season. Under the new format, the televi...

30/07/2026

TMRW Sports Selects Populous To Design Professional Flag Football Stadium

TMRW Sports has selected Populous as architect for a purpose-built stadium for its professional flag football league, being developed in partnership with the NF...

30/07/2026

SiriusXM Launches Sports Pass Subscription at $5 per Month

SiriusXM has announced SiriusXM Sports Pass, a new subscription plan launching September 1 that bundles the company's sports audio programming into a single...

30/07/2026

SVG Cloud & Content Workflows Summit Focuses on Live Production, Content Management, AI

Leagues, broadcasters, and technologists gather to tackle cloud economics, distr...

30/07/2026

AWSs Jason Dvorkin on the Power of AWS Elemental Inference, Agentic AI in Live Sports Production

A major player in the cloud-based solutions, Amazon Web Services (AWS) has conti...

30/07/2026

Minnesota Timberwolves Ink Local-Media-Rights Deal With DAZN

The NBA will provide production for all local game broadcasts, including pregame and postgame coverage...

30/07/2026

Cosm Detroit To Open September 10

Cosm will open its fourth immersive sports and entertainment venue in downtown Detroit on September 10. Located at 25 Cadillac Square, adjacent to Campus Martiu...

30/07/2026

NFL Network Added to ESPN App Beginning July 30

NFL Network will be available on the ESPN App beginning July 30 for Unlimited plan subscribers. The addition brings NFL Network's live games, studio program...

30/07/2026

NEP Platform Adds Riedels SimplyLive Production Suite

NEP Group has added Riedel's SimplyLive Production Suite to NEP Platform, giving customers access to the live production software through NEP's orchestr...

30/07/2026

SUNDANCE INSTITUTE NAMES TRISTA SCHROEDER GENERAL COUNSEL & CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER

LOS ANGELES, CA, July 30, 2026 - The nonprofit Sundance Institute today announce...

30/07/2026

Waves release Atlas Reverb

A new take on classic algorithmic reverbs Waves have just introduced a new flagship algorithmic reverb plug-in that offers the company's take on the ico...

30/07/2026

Arturia's Summer Sale now live

Save up to 30% on virtual instruments & plug-ins Arturia have recently launched their annual Summer Sale, which sees discounts of up to 30% applied across a...

30/07/2026

SSL unveil the Odyssey console

ActiveAnalogue technology powers new flagship modular console A year on from the launch of the Oracle, SSL have revealed a new flagship console which they s...

30/07/2026

DT 275 Pro from beyerdynamic

Up to 22dBA of passive attenuation The latest arrival to the beyerdynamic range introduces a new compact monitoring headphone that's been designed to ta...

30/07/2026

Apprenticeship success at SGL Carbon in Meitingen

As part of its traditional graduation ceremony, SGL Carbon honored the achievements of a total of twelve young professionals who successfully completed their ap...

30/07/2026

Premiere date revealed for SBS Original drama The Airport Chaplain, starring Hugo Weaving and Shabana Azeez

Premiere date revealed for SBS Original drama The Airport Chaplain, starring Hug...

30/07/2026

TVNZ Works with Evergent to Successfully Debut New Stream...

TVNZ and Evergent are celebrating a major TVNZ milestone - the evolution from a free-to-view, ad-supported business into a hybrid model, offering premium sport...

30/07/2026

WebMiere Adds Native VP9/AV1 WebM/MKV Import to Adobe Premiere Pro

WebMiere Adds Native VP9/AV1 WebM/MKV Import to Adobe Premiere Pro Brie Clayton July 29, 2026 0 Comments Brought to you by KawaiiEngine, WebMiere is a...

30/07/2026

Comments on FCC License Renewals for ABC Stations Top 150,000

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

30/07/2026

CW Sports Live Streaming to Launch Aug. 4 on the ESPN App

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

30/07/2026

Fox Advertising, iSpot Expand Measurement Deal

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...