ACCC - Association of Community Cancer Centers -
[Cached Version]
Published on: 2/3/2004
Last Visited: 9/9/2004
The American Society of Gene Therapy presented its 2004 Young Investigator of the Year Award to Laurence Cooper, MD, PhD, of City of Hope Cancer Center in Los Angeles for his work in genetically manipulating human T cells of the immune system to fight cancer.
Cooper, a physician in City of Hope's Department of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology and an assistant professor in its Division of Molecular Medicine, helped to develop a new approach to improving the treatment of leukemia and lymphoma by genetically modifying a patient's own immune cells to recognize and attack his or her malignancy.
The society noted that Cooper, a leading expert in the treatment of children with cancer and in pediatric bone marrow transplantation, has helped to move this new technology rapidly from laboratory research to Food and Drug Administration-approved clinical trials in less than two years, demonstrating "tremendous expertise and innovation in genetic technologies."