Ronald B. Herberman, MD, the first director of the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, a National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center, is an internationally recognized tumor immunologist who has made major discoveries in his field and has fostered the application of this information to novel approaches to cancer therapy.
Dr. Herberman also is associate vice chancellor for cancer research, Health Sciences, Hillman professor of oncology and professor of medicine at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.
The phenomenon of natural killer (NK) cell-mediated cytotoxicity against tumors was first discovered in Dr. Herberman's laboratory in the early 1970s, at a time when most cellular immunologists expected to find T cell-mediated cytotoxicity against experimental and human tumor cells. His pioneering investigations of NK cells have demonstrated that they play an important role in resistance to the metastatic spread of cancer and that stimulation of NK activity by various immunomodulators leads to inhibition of metastases.
In addition to Dr. Herberman's seminal contributions to research on NK cells, he has played a leading role in the development of several other important aspects of tumor immunology. During his 19 years at the NCI, his contributions included the development of evidence for specifics antitumor immunity to human tumors and evidence for the prognostic value of some of these functions; the organization of a national program of immunodiagnostic research and a critical approach to the evaluation of tumor markers; a major role in the development of the Biological Response Modifiers Program of the NCI; and the adoption of a systematic, rational approach to the clinical investigation of biological response modifiers.
Much of Dr. Herberman's current research focuses on the systematic evaluation of IL-2-stimulated NK cells for their therapeutic efficacy and prolongation of survival, especially in regard to the use of this strategy in treatment of minimal residual disease following conventional treatment by surgery or chemotherapy, or both.
Dr. Herberman's achievements have been recognized by numerous awards, including the Governor of Pennsylvania's Award for Excellence in Science and Medicine, a Lifetime Science Award from the Institute for Advanced Studies in Immunology and Aging, and the Solomon A. Berson Medical Alumni Achievement Award in Clinical Science from his alma mater, New York University. Dr. Herberman was noted as one of the 100 most-cited research authors for the period 1981-1990.
