Moffitt Cancer Center's Dr. James J. Mule named Master of Immunology

James J. Mulé, Ph.D., associate center director for Translational Science at Moffitt Cancer Center, has been named a Master of Immunology by the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) publication Cancer Immunology Research. The distinction recognizes his life's contributions to cancer research; in particular, his work to better understand how anti-tumor immune responses develop and are regulated by the body. The results of his life's work have helped shape the future of cancer therapy through the development of personalized immunotherapies that use a patient's own immune system to fight his or her disease.

Cancer Immunology Research, an online and print publication by the AACR, introduced the Masters of Immunology as a way to recognize and invite leading investigators to present a broad overview of the maturation of an important principal in cancer immunology. The cover story of the publication's August issue, co-authored by Mulé and Martin C. Mihm, M.D. of Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center, will highlight the historical aspect of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes in melanoma and immune response.

"The importance of T-cells in cancer has long been recognized, but we now have a better understanding of how tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) can affect tumor control and prognosis in patients with melanoma," said Mulé. "We are using this knowledge to pinpoint immune-checkpoints and effectively block negative regulators of the anti-tumor immune response for therapeutic benefit."

Mulé joined Moffitt in 2003. His research focuses on characterizing and validating genomic signatures of immunotherapy response, as well as designing and translating novel vaccine and adoptive T-cell transfer strategies to patients with advanced solid tumors.

Provided by H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute