C2ST Presents the 2018 FNIH Lurie Prize in Biomedical Sciences Winner Zhijian ‘James’ Chen, PhD

May 30, 2019
4:00 pm – 5:30 pm

Northwestern Medicine Prentice Women's Hospital, Third Floor, Conference Room L
250 East Superior Street, Chicago, IL, USA

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Program Series:
Life Science

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Register now to attend “Harnessing the body’s immune system to fight cancer and autoimmune diseases” with the renowned 2018 FNIH Lurie Prize in Biomedical Sciences Winner, Dr. Zhijian ‘James’ Chen!

A recent breakthrough in our war against cancer is the development of therapies that harness our body’s immune system to seek out and destroy tumor cells. While such immunotherapies have significantly prolonged the life of some patients who had previously exhausted all treatment options, the majority of cancer patients still do not benefit from existing immunotherapies. Thus, there is an urgent need to devise new therapies that can benefit a larger population of cancer patients. A better understanding of the body’s immune system is also very important for the prevention and treatment of a growing list of autoimmune and inflammatory diseases, such as lupus, arthritis and neurodegenerative diseases. In these diseases, the immune system misfires and attacks our own tissues. Our immune system is also crucial for defending us from infections by a large variety of microbial pathogens, such as viruses, bacteria, and parasites.

Key to our understanding of the immune system is how it detects microbial pathogens and cancer cells and how it avoids attacking our own tissues in normal situations. An important mechanism of this immune detection is the detection of DNA from microbial pathogens and cancer cells. Our lab discovered the DNA sensing enzyme cGAS and the pathway through which cGAS launches immune and autoimmune responses. Dr. Chen will discuss the current status of immunotherapies and describe efforts in harnessing the cGAS pathway to fight cancer and autoimmune diseases.

With an introduction by Kenneth D. Bahk, PhD.

This program is generously supported by the Ann Lurie Trust.

Picture: Dr. Zhijian “James” Chen, the 2018 recipient of the Lurie Prize in Biomedical Sciences, gave remarks at the FNIH Award Ceremony.

 

 

 

 

Event Details

All attendees are cordially invited to attend a wine and cheese reception immediately after the program with Dr. Chen.

Discounted parking is available to attendees at the 202 E Huron parking garage. Ask at the C2ST registration table, and you can get a ticket to exit the garage at a discounted rate.

250 E. Superior St. is easily accessible using the Red Line or the 3, 66, 120, 121, and 157 buses (as well as others a few blocks away). For directions using public transportation visit www.transitchicago.com.

Notice: As a guest of Chicago Council on Science and Technology (C2ST), you agree to be photographed, videotaped, or filmed and grant C2ST permission to put the finished footage/photography to any uses that it may deem proper including marketing, advertising (print, radio, and television) and PR-related activities.

Featured Guests

Zhijian 'James' Chen, PhD

Zhijian ‘James’ Chen is an Investigator at Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Professor in the Department of Molecular Biology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas. He is also Director of Inflammation Research Center and George L. MacGregor Distinguished Chair in Biomedical Science at UT Southwestern.

Prior to moving to Dallas, Chen was a senior scientist at ProScript Inc. where he helped discover the proteasome inhibitor VELCADE, a medicine used for the treatment of multiple myeloma. After joining UT Southwestern in 1997, Chen discovered the regulatory role of ubiquitination in protein kinase activation in the NF-B and MAP kinase pathways. In addition, he discovered the Mitochondrial Antiviral Signaling (MAVS) protein that reveals a new role of mitochondria in immunity. More recently, Chen discovered cyclic GMP-AMP synthase (cGAS) as a cytosolic DNA sensor and a new cyclic di-nucleotide signaling pathway that mediate innate immune responses in animal cells.

For his work, Chen has received numerous honors including the National Academy of Science Award in Molecular Biology (2012), the American Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB) Merck Award (2015), the Lurie Prize in Biomedical Sciences from the Foundation of NIH (2018) and the Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences (2019). Chen is a member of the National Academy of Sciences.

To learn more about the impressive work Dr. Chen is doing, check out these links:

Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences

Background and Research on the cGAS Enzyme

UT Southwestern Zhijian ‘James’ Chen Lab

Dr. Philip Iannaccone, interviewer

Philip Iannaccone is a Professor of Pediatrics and Pathology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and the Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago. Dr. Iannaccone received his baccalaureate degrees from the State University of New York (S.U.N.Y.) College of Environmental Sciences and Forestry and Syracuse University. He received his M.D. from S.U.N.Y. Upstate Medical Center and his Ph.D. from Lincoln College, University of Oxford, England under the direction of Sir Henry Harris.  Dr. Iannaccone has served as the Chairman of the Board of Scientific Counselors of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and as a member of the National Advisory Environmental Health Sciences Council.  He has served on numerous scientific advisory boards including for the European Union Framework Program, the EU’s major scientific funding mechanism. He is the former Director of the Developmental Biology Program of the Stanley Manne Children’s Research Institute and previously served as Deputy Director and Senior Vice President of the Institute.  He served as the Director of the Northwestern University MD/Ph.D. Program and NU’s Markey Program in Developmental Biology.  He has published over 100 peer reviewed scientific papers on gene regulation, cancer biology and carcinogenesis.  He has written many book chapters and has published two books. Currently at the Stanley Manne Children’s Research Institute he is Scientific Lead for the Implementation of Scientific Vision and Programs and Associate Director for the Manne Research Institute Scientific Development Academy.