Olivera Finn, University of Pittsburgh Distinguished Professor and founding chair of the Department of Immunology, was named the 2019 recipient of the Richard V. Smalley Memorial Award and Lectureship from the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer, the society’s highest honor.
Finn is credited with identifying the first tumor-associated T cell target on human adenocarcinomas in 1989. Her research group also identified certain antibodies in cancers of the breast, pancreas and colon, which led to the development of a potential cancer vaccine currently being tested in clinical trials.
The Smalley Memorial Award, established by SITC in 2005, is presented annually to a clinician or scientist who has significantly contributed to the advancement of research in the field of cancer immunotherapy. The award is named in honor of the past SITC president and charter member of the society.
Finn is the former director of the Pitt Cancer Institute Cancer Immunology Program.
