Craig B. Thompson
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Craig B. Thompson (born 1953) is an American cell biologist and a former president of the
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK or MSKCC) is a cancer treatment and research institution in Manhattan in New York City. MSKCC is one of 72 National Cancer Institute– designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers. Its main campus is ...
.


Education and career

Thompson received his bachelor's degree from
Dartmouth College Dartmouth College ( ) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, Dartmouth is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the America ...
and went on to earn his medical degree in 1977 from the
University of Pennsylvania Medical School The Perelman School of Medicine (commonly known as Penn Med) is the medical school of the University of Pennsylvania, a private, Ivy League research university located in Philadelphia. Founded in 1765, the Perelman School of Medicine is the olde ...
. He received clinical training in internal medicine at
Harvard Medical School Harvard Medical School (HMS) is the medical school of Harvard University and is located in the Longwood Medical and Academic Area, Longwood Medical Area in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1782, HMS is the third oldest medical school in the Un ...
and in medical oncology at the
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center The Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, formerly known as the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and also known as Fred Hutch or The Hutch, is a cancer research institute established in 1975 in Seattle, Washington (state), Washington. History ...
at the University of Washington. After completing his training, Thompson became a physician at the
National Naval Medical Center National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...
in Bethesda, Maryland, and an assistant professor of medicine at the
Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU) is a health science university and professional school of the U.S. federal government. The primary mission of the school is to prepare graduates for service to the U.S. at home and abroa ...
. In 1987, he joined the faculty of the
University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...
as an assistant professor of medicine and an assistant investigator in the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. From 1993 until he joined the
University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...
, he was affiliated with the
University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...
, where he was professor of medicine, a Howard Hughes investigator, and director of the Gwen Knapp Center for Lupus and Immunology Research. Thompson joined the University of Pennsylvania in 1999 as a professor of medicine, the scientific director of The Leonard and Madlyn Abramson Family Cancer Research Institute, and the first chairman of the Department of Cancer Biology. In 2006 he was named director of the Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania and associate vice president for cancer services of the University of Pennsylvania Health System. Thompson became president and chief executive officer of
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK or MSKCC) is a cancer treatment and research institution in Manhattan in New York City. MSKCC is one of 72 National Cancer Institute– designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers. Its main campus is ...
in November 2010. He is married to Tullia Lindsten, also a cancer researcher.


Research

Thompson's laboratory undertakes basic research in the fields of cancer biology and
immunology Immunology is a branch of biology and medicine that covers the study of Immune system, immune systems in all Organism, organisms. Immunology charts, measures, and contextualizes the Physiology, physiological functioning of the immune system in ...
. This research has helped advance the understanding and deployment of immunotherapy to treat cancer. Thompson has studied how genes regulate apoptosis and metabolism, and investigated their application in treating cancer. In his earlier work, Thompson was among the first to describe the unique co-stimulatory properties of CD28 in augmenting lymphoid effector function, proliferation, and survival. Thompson identified the evolutionary duplication of CD28 into CD28 and CTLA-4 and demonstrated that CTLA4 had an inhibitory effect on immune activation. Thompson elucidated processes on the genes that control
programmed cell death Programmed cell death (PCD) sometimes referred to as cell, or cellular suicide is the death of a cell (biology), cell as a result of events inside of a cell, such as apoptosis or autophagy. PCD is carried out in a biological process, which usual ...
or
apoptosis Apoptosis (from ) is a form of programmed cell death that occurs in multicellular organisms and in some eukaryotic, single-celled microorganisms such as yeast. Biochemistry, Biochemical events lead to characteristic cell changes (Morphology (biol ...
. These processes shape lymphocyte development and immune system homeostasis. His group discovered the first Bcl-2 homolog to be identified, Bcl-Xl, and described the first BH3-only containing regulatory family member, Bcl-xS. He published this work alongside Stanley Korsmeyer's report of the first pro-apoptotic family member, Bax, and together established the three classes of this gene family and defined their
pro-apoptotic Apoptosis (from ) is a form of programmed cell death that occurs in multicellular organisms and in some eukaryotic, single-celled microorganisms such as yeast. Biochemistry, Biochemical events lead to characteristic cell changes (Morphology (biol ...
and anti-apoptotic roles. Thompson's recent research has focused on
cellular metabolism Metabolism (, from ''metabolē'', "change") is the set of life-sustaining chemical reactions in organisms. The three main functions of metabolism are: the conversion of the energy in food to energy available to run cellular processes; the co ...
. His discoveries in growth factor regulation of nutrient uptake and metabolism have provided direct mechanistic links between cellular metabolism and cell growth and survival. His work has also led to new insights into how intracellular metabolite levels can contribute to the regulation of gene expression,
cellular differentiation Cellular differentiation is the process in which a stem cell changes from one type to a differentiated one. Usually, the cell changes to a more specialized type. Differentiation happens multiple times during the development of a multicellula ...
and oncogenic transformation. This work has contributed to the resurgent interest in cancer cell metabolism and may form the basis for translational therapies to exploit the metabolic addictions exhibited by cancer cells.


Scientific contributions and patents

Thompson holds more than 30 patents related to
immunotherapy Immunotherapy or biological therapy is the treatment of disease by activating or suppressing the immune system. Immunotherapies designed to elicit or amplify an immune response are classified as ''activation immunotherapies,'' while immunotherap ...
and
apoptosis Apoptosis (from ) is a form of programmed cell death that occurs in multicellular organisms and in some eukaryotic, single-celled microorganisms such as yeast. Biochemistry, Biochemical events lead to characteristic cell changes (Morphology (biol ...
, and is a founder of three biotechnology companies. Patents arising from Thompson's research describing the co-stimulatory/inhibitory properties of CD28/CTLA-4, in collaboration with Carl June and Jeffrey Bluestone, were licensed for the development of
Abatacept Abatacept, sold under the brand name Orencia, is a medication used to treat autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, by interfering with the immune activity of T cells. It is a modified antibody. Abatacept is a fusion protein composed of ...
(Orencia) for autoimmune diseases and for use in T cell cloning and CAR T cell production. Thompson's work with Stanley Korsmeyer establishing the existence of three classes of Bcl-2-related proteins and defining their role in apoptosis led to the development of ABT-263 (navitoclax) and ABT-199 (venetoclax), recently FDA-approved for certain patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). Thompson's discovery of oncogenic metabolites (succinate, fumarate, and 2-hydroxyglutarate) that can inhibit tumor suppressor function and/or impair cellular differentiation has helped lead to the development of new treatments for leukemia, gliomas, sarcomas, and bladder cancer, currently in clinical trials.


Criticism

In December 2011, The University and its Abramson Family Cancer Research Institute sued Thompson after his move to Memorial Sloan Kettering, charging that he had made use of research conducted at the University of Pennsylvania to start a biotechnology company, Agios Pharmaceuticals that Thompson had co-founded in 2007 while still at the University." While most of the details were not announced, the suit was settled with an agreement wherein Agios entered into a licensing agreement with the University of Pennsylvania regarding specific intellectual property.


Other roles

* Member, Medical Advisory Board of the
Howard Hughes Medical Institute The Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) is an American non-profit medical research organization headquartered in Chevy Chase, Maryland with additional facilities in Ashburn, Virginia. It was founded in 1953 by Howard Hughes, an American busin ...
* Member,
Lasker Award In 1945 Albert Lasker and Mary Woodard Lasker created the Lasker Awards. Every year since then the award has been given to the living person considered to have made the greatest contribution to medical science or who has demonstrated public ser ...
Jury * Associate Editor of Cell, Immunity, and Cancer Cell * Scientific Editor, Cancer Discovery


Past roles

* Member, board of directors of the
American Association for Cancer Research The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) is the world's oldest and largest professional association related to cancer research. Based in Philadelphia, the AACR focuses on all aspects of cancer research, including Basic research, basic, ...
(2009-2012) * Chairman, scientific advisory board of the Damon Runyon/Walter Winchell Cancer Foundation * Chairman, Board of Scientific Counselors of the National Cancer Institute (2001-2003) * Chairman, medical advisory board of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute


Awards and honors

* Ernst W. Bertner Memorial Award (2017) * Drexel Prize in Cancer Biology (2014) * The American College of Physicians Award for Medical Science (2011) * Steven C. Beering Award for Medical Research (2011) * Katherine Berkan Judd Award (2010) * Member, National Academy of Sciences (2005) * Stanley N. Cohen Biomedical Research Award (2004) * ASCI Award from the American Society for Clinical Investigation (2003) * Member, National Academy of Medicine (2002) * Fellow, American Academy of Arts and Sciences (1999) * Member, American Society for Clinical Investigation (1989) * Member, Association of American Physicians


References


External links


Official web page at Sloan-Kettering
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thompson, Craig B. 1953 births American cell biologists Living people Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences American oncologists University of Michigan faculty Fellows of the AACR Academy Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences faculty Fellows of the American Academy of Microbiology Members of the National Academy of Medicine Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center faculty