James P. Allison facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
James Allison
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Allison in 2018
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| Born |
James Patrick Allison
August 7, 1948 Alice, Texas, U.S.
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| Education | University of Texas, Austin (BS, MS, PhD) |
| Known for | Cancer immunotherapy |
| Spouse(s) |
Malinda Bell
(m. 1969; div. 2012)Padmanee Sharma
(m. 2014) |
| Children | 1 |
| Awards | Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences (2014) Massry Prize (2014) Tang Prize (2014) Louisa Gross Horwitz Prize (2014) Harvey Prize (2014) Gairdner Foundation International Award (2014) Paul Ehrlich and Ludwig Darmstaedter Prize (2015) Lasker-DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award (2015) Wolf Prize (2017) Warren Alpert Foundation Prize(2017) Balzan Prize (2017) Sjöberg Prize (2017) King Faisal International Prize (2018) Albany Medical Center Prize (2018) Dr. Paul Janssen Award for Biomedical Research (2018) Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (2018) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Immunology |
| Institutions | M. D. Anderson Cancer Center Weill Cornell Medicine University of California, Berkeley University of California, San Francisco University of Texas at Austin |
| Thesis | Studies on bacterial asparaginases: I. Isolation and characterization of a tumor inhibitory asparaginase from Alcaligenes ?Eutrophus. II. Insolubilization of L-Asparaginase by covalent attachment to nylon tubing (1973) |
| Doctoral advisor | Barrie Kitto |
James Patrick Allison (born August 7, 1948) is an American scientist who studies the immune system. He is a Nobel Prize winner and a professor at the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas. He also leads the James P. Allison Institute there.
Dr. Allison's amazing discoveries have led to new ways to treat some of the most serious cancers. He is known for finding a key part of the immune system called the T-cell receptor. He also directs the scientific advisory council for the Cancer Research Institute (CRI).
In 2014, he won the Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences. Then, in 2018, he shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Tasuku Honjo for their work on cancer treatments.
Contents
Early Life and Education
James Allison was born on August 7, 1948, in Alice, Texas. He was the youngest of three brothers. When he was in eighth grade, his math teacher inspired him to become a scientist. He even spent a summer in a special science program at the University of Texas, Austin.
He earned his first degree, a Bachelor of Science in microbiology, from the University of Texas, Austin in 1969. He continued his studies there and received his PhD in biological science in 1973.
A Career in Science
After finishing his studies, Dr. Allison worked as a researcher at the Scripps Research Institute in California from 1974 to 1977. He then joined the MD Anderson Cancer Center as an assistant biochemist.
In 1985, he became a professor at the University of California, Berkeley. He also taught at the University of California, San Francisco starting in 1997.
Later, in 2004, he moved to the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City. There, he became a director and chair of immunology. He also worked as a professor at Weill Cornell Medicine. In 2012, he returned to the MD Anderson Cancer Center, where he has been the chair of immunology ever since.
Dr. Allison is a member of important science groups like the National Academy of Sciences. He also used to be the president of the American Association of Immunologists.
Groundbreaking Research
Dr. Allison's research has focused on how our immune system works, especially how it fights cancer. Early in his career, he studied how the immune system tells the difference between healthy cells and invaders.
In 1977, he and a colleague found that the immune system was sometimes stopped from attacking cancer cells. This was because certain proteins seemed to "turn off" the immune response. Finding these "off switches" was a big step in developing new cancer treatments.
Discovering the T-Cell Receptor
In 1982, Dr. Allison made a major discovery: he found the T-cell receptor. This is a special part of immune cells called T-cells that helps them recognize and fight off threats.
Unleashing the Immune System
In the early 1990s, Dr. Allison showed that a molecule called CTLA-4 acts like a brake on T-cells. It stops them from attacking. Then, in 1996, he made a breakthrough. He showed that if you block this CTLA-4 "brake" with a special antibody, the T-cells can become active and fight tumors more effectively.
This idea of "unleashing" the immune system by blocking its inhibitory pathways led to a new type of cancer treatment called "immune checkpoint therapies". This work led to the development of a medicine called ipilimumab. In 2011, this medicine was approved to treat a serious type of skin cancer called metastatic melanoma.
Dr. Allison continues to study how the immune system responds to cancer treatments. He wants to understand why some patients respond well to immunotherapy and others do not.
Awards and Recognition
Dr. James Allison has received many important awards for his work. Between 2010 and 2019, he was the top scientist in the world for receiving major international science awards.
Some of his notable awards include:
- The Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences (2014)
- The Tang Prize in Biopharmaceutical Science (2014), shared with Tasuku Honjo
- The Lasker-DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award (2015)
- The Wolf Prize in Medicine (2017)
- The King Faisal International Prize in Medicine (2018)
- The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (2018), shared with Tasuku Honjo, for their discoveries in cancer therapy.
He was also featured in a 2019 documentary film called "Jim Allison: Breakthrough," which tells the story of his scientific journey.
Personal Life
James Allison married Malinda Bell in 1969, and they had one son before divorcing in 2012. In 2014, he married Padmanee Sharma, who is also a scientist and his research partner. He is a stepfather to her three children.
Dr. Allison has a personal connection to cancer research. His mother passed away from lymphoma when he was 10 years old. His brother also died from prostate cancer in 2005.
Outside of his scientific work, Dr. Allison enjoys playing the harmonica. He plays in a blues band with other scientists who study the immune system and cancer. The band is called "The Checkpoints." He also plays with a local band called "The Checkmates."
See also
In Spanish: James P. Allison para niños
