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Published on: 5/11/2007
Last Visited: 5/11/2007
Robert C. Seeger, MD
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Dr. Robert C. Seeger, a native of Oregon, obtained his Bachelor's Degree (Chemistry) at Willamette University in Salem, Oregon and his Master's of Science (Anatomy) and M.D. degrees at the University of Oregon Medical School.He was a Pediatric Intern and Resident at the University of Minnesota Medical School from 1966 through 1968.During his residency he worked with Dr. Robert A. Good, a pioneer in Pediatric Immunology, and became interested in this discipline.He continued studies of immunology in leading research laboratories, investigating macrophage-lymphocyte interactions with Dr. Joost J. Oppenheim at the National Institutes of Health (1968 through 1971) and tumor immunology with Dr. N. Avrion Mitchison at University College London (1972 and 1973).
In 1974, Dr. Seeger moved to the UCLA School of Medicine where his research on immune aspects of cancer focused on childhood neuroblastoma.He successfully defined markers at the surface of these tumor cells with monoclonal antibodies that continue to be used in nationwide studies in diagnostic and therapeutic applications.He was among the first to establish human neuroblastoma cell lines that have since been used in numerous research laboratories in the world.Using these cell lines, he and colleagues were the first to report the differentiating effect on neuroblastoma cells of retinoic acid, a vitamin A derivative.In 1984 and 1985, he worked with molecular biologists to make the seminal discovery that amplification of the N-myc oncogene in neuroblastoma is a major predictor of survival in children affected by this disease.This was the first time activation of a human oncogene was shown to correlate with the aggressiveness of a human tumor.Additionally, he worked with Dr. C. Patrick Reynolds to develop monoclonal antibodies to remove (purge) neuroblastoma cells from bone marrow of patients so that it could be used to restore blood cell formation after high-dose therapy in a procedure called autologous bone marrow transplantation.This technology has been used in the treatment of children since 1988.
In 1989, Dr. Seeger was recruited to Childrens Hospital Los Angeles and the University of Southern California as Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Hematology-Oncology to head the Cancer Research Program.His laboratory became a national resource for testing for amplification of N-myc in neuroblastoma.With colleagues, he performed pilot studies of high-dose chemotherapy, purged autologous bone marrow transplantation, and retinoic acid therapy that led to a landmark nationwide study with the Children's Cancer Group that demonstrated that these therapies improve the survival of children with high-risk neuroblastoma.This therapeutic strategy is now used worldwide.A Program Project Grant of $8.9 million from the National Cancer Institute recognizes Dr. Seeger's continuing contributions to neuroblastoma research and is the first of its kind in the U.S. In this work, he and his colleagues are developing new therapies for patients with high-risk neuroblastoma.In another area of research, he recently was awarded $2.3 million to use gene chips (microarrays) to determine if the "molecular portrait" of a neuroblastoma provides information to predict how the patient will do.Through his career, Dr. Seeger has published 124 peer-reviewed papers.
Dr. Seeger received the 8th H. Russell Smith Award for Innovation in Pediatric Biomedical Research in 2001 for his outstanding contributions to improving the health of children.He continues to direct the Cancer Research Program at Childrens Hospital, which includes 37 faculty members.
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