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Th E Wi S Ta R in S T I T U T E N O N - P R O F I T U.S T H E W I S TA R I N S T I T U T E ocus F FA L L 2 0 0 2 Next-Generation Vaccines Self vs. Self? The Path to the Clinic Fr om the Direc t o r T H E W I S TA R I N S T I T U T E Focus CONTENTS ◆ FA L L 2 0 0 2 he reputation of The Wistar Institute as a leading Tcenter of biomedical discover y was firmly estab- lished in my mind long before I began work at the 4 Institute on June 10. As I’ve come to know the Engineering the Ins t i t u t e ’s extraordi n a r y scientists better, howeve r , it has N ext Generation become clear to me that Wistar is poised to make even of Va c c i n e s mo r e significant contributions to science and medicine New approaches to in years to come. combating cancer, His t o r i c a l l y , one of the areas in which Wistar has AIDS, and more. contributed most to public health is in the area of vaccines. The most commonly used vaccines against rabies and rubella wer e developed at Wis t a r , for example. Tod a y , vac - 6 cines continue to offer such promise against such a range of diseases that I intend in A St rong Sense the next few years to rec r uit to Wistar a number of new investigators to join the of Self al r eady strong group of immunologists at the Ins t i t u t e . Exploring the causes Wistar professor Hildegund C.J. Ertl, M.D., heads the immunology program and of autoimmunity. is an international leader in creating new vaccines, as detailed on pages 4-5. In her la b o r a t o r y, vaccines are in development to combat several forms of cancer and a num- ber of viral diseases, including HIV. 8 Recent immunological studies in the laboratory of Wistar associate professor Jan To d ay’s Science, Erikson, Ph.D., have identified a population of immune system cells that may be a To m o rrow’s Medicine key to understanding and treating lupus and other autoimmune diseases, as explained How a bright idea moves on pages 6-7. from the lab to the clinic. For discoveries made at Wistar to become useful diagnostic tools and therapies, the Institute must partner with biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies able to 10 P ro g re s s de v elop the res e a r ch findings into drugs and other products for doctors and their The latest from Wistar labs. patients. As described on pages 8-9, the Institute is a leader in promoting this pr ocess under the guidance of Mer yle Mel n i c o f f , Ph.D., Wis t a r ’s director of business B r i efi n g s de ve l o p m e n t . 12 Awards, news, and notes. Bef o r e I assumed the direc t o r ’s chair, the affairs of the Institute wer e under the wise and steady guidance of acting director Clayton A. Buck, Ph.D., and I would be remiss if I did not take this opportunity to thank him publicly for his strong stewa r d- 14 Welcome to Philadelphia! ship of Wistar and for his invaluable counsel to me since my arrival. We all owe Dir ector and CEO Russel E. Kaufman, M.D., Clayton an enormous debt of gratitude for his service to the Ins t i t u t e . meets his new neighbors. As we go forwa r d, I want to let Wis t a r ’s many friends and supporters know how ho n o r ed I am to be given the opportunity to lead this rem a r kable organization. Tog e t h e r , we can—and will—accomplish great things! On the Cove r : Hildegund C.J. Ertl, M.D., is developing innovative vaccines that show promise Russel E. Kaufman, M.D. against HIV and certain cancers. Di r ector and CEO Full story on page 4. Photo by Peter Olson. Foc us is published three times per year for donors, friends, faculty, and MARION WYCE The Wistar Institute is an equal opportunity/affirmative staff of The Wistar Institute by the Office of Public Relations, 3601 Spruce Street, Editor & action employer. It is the policy of The Wistar Institute Philadelphia, PA, 19104-4268. To contact the editor, phone (215) 898-3943, or Public RelationsAssociate to provide equal employment opportunities to all e-mail [email protected]. For general inquiries, contact The Wistar Institute FRANKLINHOKE individuals regardless of race, color, creed, religion, at (215) 898-3700. Director of Public Relations national/ethnic origin, sex, age, veteran status, Send address changes to: Development Office, The Wistar Institute, 3601 KARLYN ROSEN AIRES disability, or sexual preference for all terms and Spruce Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104-4268. Designer conditions of employment. The Wi s tar Institu te is a National Cancer Institu te - d e s i g n a ted Cancer Center. hen Lance Armstrong rode his told WH Y Y’s listeners, is the recent comple- pr oteins—the products of our genes—are bi c y cle down the Champs- tion of the draft human genome sequence. at work in cancer cells versus healthy ones. Élysées in Paris in July to win “What the genome project did was Both areas offer the promise of new, more the grueling Tour de France for open up the entire genome,” Kaufman accurate diagnostic tests and can help the fourth consecutive yea r , he said. “And we know that the basic prob - identify novel targets for drug therapies. Wonce again lifted the spirits of cancer lem of cancer is genetic.” Both are also areas of active inves t i g a t i o n patients and survi v ors every w h e r e with his Sometimes the genetics predisposing a at Wis t a r . rem a r kable accomplishment. person to cancer are inherited, he Genetics is not the only scientific area Ar m s t r ong is, of course, one of the explained. Mor e often, howeve r , the genet- poised to contribute to battling cancer, most famous cancer survi v ors in the world. ic error that leads to cancer is acquired he added. Studies of the immune system In 1996, he was diagnosed with metastatic during life through damage to DNA from and cancer are leading to the devel o p - testicular cancer. Giv en only a 50 perce n t disease or environmental factors. ment of vaccines able to spark our bodies chance to live, he was successfully trea t e d “H aving an understanding of all of the to attack tumors while sparing healthy with surgery and a combination of cutting- genes and all of the proteins and how they cells and tissues. Laboratory- c r eated anti- edge drugs, the latest results from the res e a r ch laboratories and clinics. Stories like Armstron g ’s, more common Lance Arms t r ong and today than in the past, lead one to ask: Is the 30-year war on cancer, declared by the Pro m i s e of Re s e a rc h President Richard Nixo n in 1971, becoming winnable at last? Th a t Is the War on Cancer question was put to Becoming Winnable? Russel E. Kaufman, M.D., director and CEO By Franklin Hoke of The Wistar Ins t i t u t e , in late July when he ap p e a r ed on WH Y Y’s “Radio Times,” hosted by Mar ty Moss-Coane. “I think it is winnable,” Kaufman replied. “We are going to continue to make pro g r ess on ever y fron t : diagnosis, treatment, pre- vention. Winnable means that, at some point, we will be able to all fit together will give us an idea of how bodies can differentiate between cancer manage cancer. We will always have some we might develop new therapies to inter- cells and normal ones and are being used forms of cancer, and we won’t be able to vene,” Kaufman said. “We have a trem e n - in both diagnostic tests and innovat i v e pre v ent all of it, but we will be able to dous understanding of how cancer works tr eatments. Her e again, Wis t a r make significant advances on it.” no w.” res e a r chers are at the foref r ont of efforts Ka u f m a n ’s fellow guest on the show, The newly acquired genetic knowl e d g e to enlist the immune system in the fight Rob e r t C. Young, M.D., president of Fox is combining with power ful new laborato- against cancer. Chase Cancer Center and president of the ry technologies to allow scientists to Dev eloping new therapies for difficult American Cancer Soc i e t y , echoed that an s w er types of questions they couldn’t diseases takes patience and persistence as s e s s m e n t . be f o r e. For example, which of our rou g h l y over many years. The inspiring story of “C e rt a i n l y , there are already good exam- 35,000 genes are turned on or off in a Lance Armstron g ’s rec o ver y from cancer ples of its curability, and the challenge is to gi v en tumor? How does that compare to se r ves, howeve r , as a promise and a pr oduce more cures,” Young said.
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