 |
|
|
|
 |
Alan N. Houghton
 |
Alan N. Houghton Vice Chair for Academic Affairs, Department of Medicine; Virginia and Daniel K. Ludwig Clinical Chair
|
|
|
I am a physician-scientist with a special expertise in cancer immunology, the study of the immune system and cancer. I also have a particular focus on understanding and treating melanoma, and I have developed novel treatments for this deadly form of skin cancer.
My research is focused on understanding both how the immune system recognizes cancer and how it rejects cancer. My colleagues and I conducted a clinical trial that was the first to show that a monoclonal antibody could significantly shrink a solid tumor -- in this case melanoma. Additional studies in my laboratory have identified molecules and molecular targets on cancer cells that may be useful for therapy and many of these are being evaluated in clinical trials. These trials are investigating the immune responses after vaccination with anti-idiotypic monoclonal antibody, glycolipids, peptides, and DNA. The vaccines are being evaluated in people with metastatic melanoma, prostate, breast, pancreatic, and small-cell lung cancers, soft tissue sarcoma, and other cancers.
Over the years, I have published more than 200 scientific papers and books, including a definitive textbook on melanoma entitled Cutaneous Melanoma (QMP Publishing, St. Louis). I am also actively involved in training young scientists, medical students, and clinicians who are interested in careers in biomedical research. I currently hold the Daniel K. Virginia Ludwig Chair in Clinical Investigation and am Co-Leader of the Melanoma Disease Management Team, and Head of the Laboratory of Tumor Immunology at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. I am also a Professor of Medicine & Immunology at the Weill Medical School of Cornell University.
In addition to my clinical and research activities at MSKCC, I am actively involved in oncology on a national level. I am Chairman of the National Cancer Center Networks Melanoma Committee and Co-Chairman of the Melanoma Study Group of the national cooperative clinical trials group CALGB. I am also an Editor of the Journal of Experiment Medicine.
My work has been recognized by various awards including the Boyer Award for Clinical Research, the C. Chester Stock Award, the Distinguished Achievement Award from the American Skin Association, the Cancer Research Institute Investigator Award, the Muscular Dystrophy Association Distinguished Achievement Award, and the Society of MSKCC Award in Clinical Medicine.
Phone
646-888-2330
Education
MD, University of Connecticut School of Medicine
Residencies
University of Connecticut School of Medicine
Fellowships
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
Board Certifications
Internal Medicine; Medical Oncology
Clinical Expertise
Melanoma; Immunotherapy; Cancer Vaccines
Department & Service
|
|
|
|
|
|
