The Society Pages
Remembering Brian P. Sorrentino (1958-2018)
Brian P. Sorrentino, MD
Brian P. Sorrentino, MD, a gene-therapy researcher specializing in
the treatment of blood and immune cell disorders, passed away
on November 16, 2018, at the age of 60. At the time of his death,
Dr. Sorrentino was director of both the Experimental Hematology
Division and the Vector Production Facility at St. Jude Children’s
Research Hospital in Memphis.
He survived Hodgkin lymphoma as a teenager in the 1970s, but
the aggressive treatment left him with long-term complications
including cardiac issues and radiation-induced lung cancer.
Dr. Sorrentino worked at St. Jude for 25 years. Most recently,
he conducted research to improve the immune systems of infants
NIH Awards $11.5 Million to
Washington University’s Leukemia
Program
Washington University School of Medicine in St.
Louis has been awarded an $11.5-million grant
from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to
support investigations into leukemia and related
blood cancers.
The grant was given through the NIH’s Spe-
cialized Program in Research Excellence (SPORE),
which is intended to boost translational research.
Researchers at Washington University’s SPORE
center will use the funds for five projects studying
biomarkers and new treatments for leukemia and
myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS).
These include:
• evaluating decitabine in the treatment
of TP53-mutated acute myeloid leuke-
mia (AML; project leads: Timothy J. Ley,
MD, and John S. Welch, MD, PhD)
The Paul G. Allen Frontiers Group, a philanthropic
group established by the Microsoft co-founder,
awarded nine grants to 10 investigators as part
of its Allen Distinguished Investigators program.
Winners receive $1.5 million in funding to support
biomedical research in areas ranging from neuro-
science to basic biology and the immune system.
The recipients included three projects focusing
on the treatment of hematologic malignancies:
Christian Steidl, MD
Matthias Stephan,
MD, PhD
• evaluating bispecific antibodies against
AML (project leads: John F. DiPersio, MD,
PhD, and Michael Rettig, PhD)
• activating natural killer cells to make
them more effective (project leads:
Todd Fehniger, MD, PhD, and Amanda F.
Cashen, MD)
David Weinstock, MD
Source: Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis press release, November
6, 2018.
Scott Manalis, PhD
10
ASH Clinical News
Source: WMC5, November 20, 2018; Memphis USA Today, November 18, 2018.
Philanthropy Group Awards 10 New
Distinguished Investigators
• developing new therapies for T-cell acute
lymphocytic leukemia (project lead: Daniel
C. Link, MD, and Geoffrey L. Uy, MD)
• investigating ATR inhibitors for the
treatment of MDS (project leads:
Timothy A. Graubert, MD, and Matthew
J. Walter, MD)
with X-linked severe combined immunodeficiency.
“Dr. Sorrentino was a prodigious researcher, and his colleagues
and friends at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital will remember
his kindhearted nature and dedication,” said James R. Downing,
MD, St. Jude’s president and CEO. “We mourn the loss of a great
individual, but we will continue to carry on his work as we strive to
advance cures for children with catastrophic diseases.”
Dr. Sorrentino was an active member of the American Society
of Hematology, serving as a reviewer for Blood and on several com-
mittees during his career.
• Christian Steidl, MD, from BC
Cancer Research Centre and the
University of British Columbia,
will study the tumor micro-
environment of Hodgkin
lymphoma to better under-
stand how cancer cells can
“hijack” the body’s natural
processes to allow the growth
and spread of cancer cells.
• Matthias Stephan, MD, PhD,
from Fred Hutchinson Can-
cer Research Center and the
University of Washington, will
develop a nanoparticle immu-
notherapy for lymphoma that
reprograms a patient’s own
immune cells to recognize and
destroy lymphoma cells.
Michel Sadelain, MD, PhD
Immunologist Michel Sadelain Wins
Pasteur-Weizmann/Servier Prize
Michel Sadelain, MD, PhD, director of the
Center for Cell Engineering at the Memorial
Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York, is the
winner of the 2018 Pasteur-Weizmann/Servier
Prize, in recognition of his work supporting the
development of chimeric antigen receptor T-cell
therapies.
The Pasteur-Weizmann/Servier Prize is
awarded every three years to an international
researcher, medical doctor, or scientist who has
made a major contribution to biomedical science
used to develop new therapies. The winner re-
ceives €250,000 to support his or her research. ●
Source: L’Institut Servier press release, October 16, 2018.
• David Weinstock, MD, from
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute,
and Scott Manalis, PhD, from
Massachusetts Institute of
Technology, will attempt to
convert lymphoma remissions
into cures by studying minimal
residual disease and its resis-
tance to treatment.
Source: Paul G. Allen Frontiers Group press release, October
30, 2018.
January 2019