Michel Sadelain Was Honored with the 2024 Gairdner Award for Pioneering Medical Discoveries

Michel Sadelain received the prestigious 2024 Gairdner Award in recognition of his pioneering work in immunotherapy, specifically his contributions to the development of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy.

His research has been transformative in the field of cancer treatment, offering a revolutionary approach where a patient’s immune cells are genetically engineered to fight cancer. This breakthrough has provided new treatment options for patients with certain types of leukemia and lymphoma, and has opened the door for ongoing advancements in personalized medicine.

Dr. Michel Sadelain is the founding director of the Center for Cell Engineering and leads the Gene Transfer and Gene Expression Laboratory at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC), where he holds the Stephen and Barbara Friedman Chair. He is also affiliated with the departments of medicine and pediatrics at Memorial Hospital and the molecular pharmacology and chemistry program at the Sloan Kettering Institute. Furthermore, he serves as the inaugural director of the Columbia Initiative for Cell Engineering and Therapy (CICET) and directs the Cancer Cell Therapy Initiative at the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center at Columbia University Irving Medical Center.

Dr. Sadelain has significantly advanced the development and optimization of CAR T cells for cancer treatment and has been instrumental in creating stem cell therapies for blood disorders. His research focuses on extending the survival of CAR T cells and enhancing their effectiveness against tumors and their microenvironment. In 2002, his team pioneered the design of ‘second-generation’ CARs, which include a costimulatory domain to enhance T cell proliferation and survival alongside the binding and signaling domains. These innovations have laid the groundwork for more effective CAR T cell therapies, leading to substantial clinical success in adult patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

Dr. Sadelain earned his MD from the University of Paris in 1984 and his PhD from the University of Alberta in 1989. After completing a clinical residency at the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Saint-Antoine in Paris, he pursued a postdoctoral fellowship with Richard Mulligan at the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research at MIT. He joined MSKCC in 1994 as an assistant member. Dr. Sadelain is a member of the American Society of Hematology, the American Society of Human Genetics, and the American Society of Cell and Gene Therapy, where he served on the board of directors from 2004 to 2007. He is also an elected member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation. He has authored over 150 scientific papers and book chapters and received the 2012 William B. Coley Award for Distinguished Research in Tumor Immunology.

Canada Gairdner International Award

These awards annually honor eight scientists for their outstanding contributions in understanding human disease and improving the health and well-being of people worldwide. Since 1957, the Gairdner Foundation has recognized 426 scientists, 98 of whom have subsequently won the Nobel Prize.

Yan Leyfman shared a post on LinkedIn:

“Huge congratulations to Dr. Sadelain on winning the 2024 Gairdner Award! Your pioneering discoveries continue to revolutionize medicine. Thrilled to see your hard work and brilliance recognized on such a prestigious level. Honored to have been one of your trainees and witness your impact firsthand!”

Introducing The 2024 Canada Gairdner International Award Laureates

Shankar Balasubramanian, Meghan Azad, Gagandeep Kang, Zelig Eshhar, David Klenerman, Christian Landry, Michel Sadelain, David Klenerman.

For more posts like this, visit oncodaily.com