Arlene H. Sharpe, MD, PhD, FAIO

Biography


Arlene Sharpe, MD, PhD is the Kolokotrones University Professor, Harvard University and Chair, Department of Immunology, Harvard Medical School (HMS). She is a member of the Department of Pathology at Brigham & Women’s Hospital (BWH) and the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, and Leader of the Cancer Immunology Program at the Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center. Dr. Sharpe earned her MD and PhD degrees from HMS and completed her residency in Pathology at BWH. She is a leader in the field of T cell costimulation. Her laboratory has discovered and elucidated the functions of T cell costimulatory and coinhibitory pathways, including the immunoinhibitory functions of the CTLA-4 and PD-1 pathways. Her laboratory currently focuses on elucidating roles of these pathways in regulating effective anti-tumor immunity and tolerance, and translating this fundamental understanding into new therapies. She is member of the National Academy of Sciences and National Academy of Medicine, and a Fellow of the American Association for Cancer Research, National Academy of Inventors, the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer, and the American Association of Immunologists. She received awards including the William B. Coley Award, the SITC Richard V. Smalley Memorial Award and Lectureship, the FASEB Excellence in Science Lifetime Achievement Award, the AAI Lifetime Achievement Award, and the American Society for Investigative Pathology Rous-Whipple Award.

Arlene H. Sharpe, MD, PhD, FAIO

SITC Election Platform Statement


What are the two or three critical issues facing the field of cancer immunotherapy?

As a basic scientist, I believe the critical issues facing the field of cancer immunotherapy include: 1) developing an in depth mechanistic understanding of how single agent and combination immunotherapies work and how to better predict and prioritize the translation of combination immunotherapies from mouse to human; 2) developing immunotherapeutic approaches to target “cold” or “non-inflamed” tumors; and 3) developing a deep understanding of immune cell-tumor cell interactions.

There is a crucial need for better preclinical models that accurately translate to human immunity. Such models are essential for guiding prioritization of potential targets for clinical translation. In addition, there is a critical need to identify mechanisms and biomarkers of response and resistance in order to develop immunotherapies to treat non-responders and develop rational approaches for combination cancer immunotherapy. For example, further studies are needed to understand how PD-1 regulation of cell types and molecular circuits compares to other inhibitory receptors in order to design rational combination therapies. Further work is also needed to identify organ-specific regulators of immune cell, stromal cell, and tumor cell interactions, integrating studies of tissue-specific regulators of tolerance and inflammation. 

What is Your Vision for SITC?

In its early days, SITC was a small organization comprised of the true believers in cancer immunotherapy. Cancer immunotherapy has come of age with a diverse and large community of immunologists, cancer biologists and oncologists. My vision is that SITC continue to be the champion for cancer immunotherapy and bring this community of researchers, physicians, industry, and regulators together to improve cancer patient outcomes through cancer immunology and immunotherapy. I take great pride in the wide range of SITC educational and mentoring activities. I am inspired by the collaborative community that SITC enables – the annual meeting is so special - highlighting new discoveries ranging from basic to translational to clinical, and providing a forum to discuss innovative ideas, and catalyze new collaborations. Given the diverse cancer immunology and immunotherapy community, I would like to see SITC expand its fellowships and funding to promote interdisciplinary training or interdisciplinary pilot grant awards focused on bringing together investigators from different disciplines to spark innovation.   

My priorities will be to further highlight the importance of basic science research in cancer immunology and immunotherapy, enhance educational opportunities, promote the training and mentoring of the next generation of scientists, and enhance collaboration.