Jim Allison

Jim Allison, PhD, is Regental Professor and Executive Director of the Immunotherapy Platform, at University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. He has spent a storied career studying the regulation of T cell responses and developing strategies for cancer immunotherapy. Dr. Allison helped identify the T cell antigen receptor, and discovered that blocking the CTLA-4 receptor on T cells enhances the immune system’s ability to eliminate tumors. As the chair of Immunology at MD Anderson, Dr. Allison’s current work focuses on deciperhing the mechanisms of anti-cancer activity, and determining the best design practices for T-cell based immunotherapies for patients.