Irving Weissman

Dr. Weissman is a Professor of Pathology and Developmental Biology at Stanford and the Director of the Stanford Institute of Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine and the Ludwig Center for Cancer Stem Cell Research. His research encompasses the phylogeny and developmental biology of the cells that make up the blood-forming and immune systems and he was the first to discover and isolate the mammalian and hematopoietic (or blood-forming) stem cells. He is also a leading expert in the field of cancer stem cell biology, pioneering the the study of genes and proteins involved in cell adhesion events (both as normal function and as events involved in malignant leukemic metastases). This work highlights the role of phagocytic cells such as macrophages with important implications for the development of new therapies, including a cancer treatment current in development that enlists the immune system to help attack persistent residual malignancies that linger and hide after traditional treatments.