Date/Time
Date(s) - 01/11/2023
12:00 pm - 1:00 pm

Location
JCC Lecture Theatre (4th floor)

Public Lecture:
Cell Therapy from CAR T to exa-cel: Execution is Everything

Presenter:
Dr. Stephan Grupp

The Department of Oncology was pleased to host Dr. Stephan Grupp as the 2023 Hooker Distinguished Visiting Professor. A special thank you to Dr. Grupp for his presentations at our Oncology Rounds and at the Pediatric Grand Rounds on main campus and to all those who attended in person and virtually via OTN.

Dr. Grupp, MD, PhD, is a pediatric oncologist and is currently the Chief of the Cellular Therapy and Transplant Section, Director of the Susan and Steven Kelly Center for Cancer Immunotherapy, and Medical Director of the Cell and Gene Therapy Lab at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP).

Dr. Grupp is a recognized world leader in the development and clinical application of cellular therapies. In 2012, he performed the first pediatric chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR T) trial for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and delivered CAR T-cell therapy to the first pediatric patient in the world. This novel treatment harnesses the patients’ own immune system cells (T cells) to fight cancer by programming them in the lab so they can find and destroy cancer cells. His work has been foundational to the development of a number of cellular therapies in both children and adults.

Dr. Grupp’s primary area of research is the use of CAR T and other engineered cell therapies in pediatric cancers and other life-threatening disorders such as sickle cell disease. He has delivered over 350 invited lectures and his ground-breaking research has been published in over 200 peer-reviewed articles, including high impact clinical and translational science journals such as the New England Journal of Medicine and Nature Medicine. In recognition of his international leadership, Dr. Grupp was elected to the National Academy of Medicine in 2019.

Dr. Grupp embodies the spirit of the Hooker Distinguished Professorship as an inspiring world leader working at the forefront of Oncology research and clinical care. His work resonates with clinical and basic science faculty as well as members of the broader community and inspires us in our work to lessen the burden of cancer through research, education and world class clinical care.

The Hooker Distinguished Visiting Professor Lecture Series is named after Dr. Harry Lyman Hooker (1876-1979). Dr. Hooker was born in Buffalo but grew up in Hamilton, where he practiced internal medicine. Upon his death, he left McMaster a $25 million bequest, which supports the University’s annual Hooker Distinguished Visiting Professor Lecture Series.