ll Commentary Completing the Great Unfinished Symphony of Cancer Together: The Importance of Immigrants in Cancer Research Pat J. Morin,1,* Denis Wirtz,2,3,* and Ashani T. Weeraratna3,4,* 1Abramson Cancer Center, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19106, USA 2Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and Institute for NanoBiotechnology, Johns Hopkins University, Whiting School of Engineering, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA 3The Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21231, USA 4Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA *Correspondence:
[email protected] (P.J.M.),
[email protected] (D.W.),
[email protected] (A.T.W.) https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ccell.2020.08.017 Recent changes in U.S. immigration policy are adversely affecting biomedical science, at a time when biomedical research is most sorely needed on multiple fronts. Here we discuss the immense contributions of immigrants to cancer research and the adverse impact that current administration policies will have on successful cancer research. ‘‘America, you great unfinished but in recent years, an anti-immigrant grees than multi-generational native- symphony, you sent for me sentiment has rapidly burgeoned. This is born peers, and increasingly contribute You let me make a difference manifesting itself not only in crackdowns to the U.S. economy overall. Nearly 50% A place where even orphan on illegal immigration, but also in the of all Fortune 500 companies were immigrants thwarting of legal immigration, and the founded by immigrants and their children Can leave their fingerprints and sciences are particularly vulnerable to (Fearnow, 2019), and since 2000 nearly rise up .’’ this.