Medical Research Takes Time
I often write about the need for funding for cancer research. In order for breakthroughs to occur, researchers need to fund their labs to test their theories. Dr. Jim Allison, from the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center is one of those researchers whose work over many decades was recognized today with the 2018 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for launching an effective new way to attack cancer by treating the immune system rather than the tumor.
Dr. Allison started his research career at MD Anderson in 1977. Trust me when I tell you that he was an early pioneer in immunotherapy. When I met Dr. Allison in 2014 he was just starting to get recognition for his important work. So what we take for granted today - that treatments for cancer include unleashing the body's own immune system to fight cancer - started decades ago. This is why we need to consistently fund research over time. We never know when that next breakthrough will occur.
This is not just true in cancer research. In my day job, I have been raising funds for fragile X research for the past year and a half at FRAXA Research Foundation. Fragile X is the most common inherited cause of autism and learning disabilities. It's a complicated neurological disorder that will require a lot more research funding to make breakthroughs like Dr. Allison's in cancer. But I believe it will happen if we continue to put resources into the labs that study fragile X.
And breakthroughs require funding of basic research to begin with. "We still have a lot to learn ... we need to continue to fund basic research because that's where this came from," Allison said in his news conference today. "The big jumps come of the basic science and we need to keep that in mind."
I am honored to have met so many brilliant researchers like Dr. Jim Allison. And I will continue to advocate for research funding. We are all in this together. #PrecisionMedicine #Immunotherapy #NobelPrize
Dr. Allison started his research career at MD Anderson in 1977. Trust me when I tell you that he was an early pioneer in immunotherapy. When I met Dr. Allison in 2014 he was just starting to get recognition for his important work. So what we take for granted today - that treatments for cancer include unleashing the body's own immune system to fight cancer - started decades ago. This is why we need to consistently fund research over time. We never know when that next breakthrough will occur.
This is not just true in cancer research. In my day job, I have been raising funds for fragile X research for the past year and a half at FRAXA Research Foundation. Fragile X is the most common inherited cause of autism and learning disabilities. It's a complicated neurological disorder that will require a lot more research funding to make breakthroughs like Dr. Allison's in cancer. But I believe it will happen if we continue to put resources into the labs that study fragile X.
And breakthroughs require funding of basic research to begin with. "We still have a lot to learn ... we need to continue to fund basic research because that's where this came from," Allison said in his news conference today. "The big jumps come of the basic science and we need to keep that in mind."
I am honored to have met so many brilliant researchers like Dr. Jim Allison. And I will continue to advocate for research funding. We are all in this together. #PrecisionMedicine #Immunotherapy #NobelPrize
