Steven Rosenberg, Carl June and James Allison received the 2018 Albany Medical Center Prize in Medicine and Biomedical Research.
Rosenberg is chief of the surgery branch at NCI.
June is director of the Center for Cellular Immunotherapy at the Abramson Cancer Center at the University of Pennsylvania.
Allison is chair of the Department of Immunology at MD Anderson Cancer Center.
The $500,000 award has been given annually since 2001 to “those who have altered the course of medical research.”
A statement from the Albany Medical Center said the ”awardees were chosen to receive the 2018 Albany Prize for their groundbreaking research in immunology, the translation of their ideas into clinically meaningful therapies for diseases, including metastatic melanoma, lung cancer and leukemia, and their leadership in moving the field of immunotherapy forward.”
“We congratulate these amazing scientists for receiving this prestigious award. Their visionary work exemplifies the value of the national cancer program. Each has had a long history of NCI support and I celebrate their achievement,” NCI Director Ned Sharpless said in a statement. “Dr. Rosenberg is a pioneer whose immunotherapy work has advanced cancer treatment to an immeasurable degree. His innovations have changed patients’ lives.”
Vincent Verdile, the Lynne and Mark Groban Distinguished Dean of Albany Medical College and chair of the Albany Prize National Selection Committee, said that “because of the work of these three researchers, the nascent field of immunotherapy has already had spectacular success, leading to effective mitigation and often cures for thousands of cancer and HIV patients whose diseases were not treatable by other methods.”
The prize will be awarded during a celebration on Sept. 26, in Albany.
