Nobel Laureate and Immunotherapy Pioneer to Speak at Graduation

James P. Allison, a world-renowned pioneer of cancer immunotherapy and the 2018 Nobel Prize winner in physiology or medicine, will address graduates of The University of Texas at Austin’s College of Natural Sciences at ceremonies Friday, May 8 at the Moody Center.

Allison received his bachelor’s degree in 1969 in microbiology and doctorate in 1973 in biological sciences, both from The University of Texas at Austin. He is one of the world’s most renowned researchers, a member of both the National Academy of Science and the National Academy of Medicine and an inductee in the National Inventors Hall of Fame. He is currently chair of the MD Anderson Immunology department in Houston and the founding director of the James P. Allison Institute, which is devoted to cutting-edge cancer research.

Allison’s discoveries relate to harnessing the power of the immune system to attack cancer. In most circumstances, the body reacts to cancer cells as if they were healthy cells, failing to recognize cancer as a disease it should fight. Allison identified one of the key factors at play, and his groundbreaking findings have since spurred a whole new class of cancer treatment options known as immune checkpoint therapy. 

This type of cancer immunotherapy involves immune cells known as T-cells. Allison studied how T-cells identify and wipe out infectious intruders, like bacteria and viruses, and discovered that one molecule in T-cells, called CTLA-4, can act as a kind of brake once activated. Some cancers defend themselves from the immune system by activating these brakes. Allison showed that blocking CTLA-4 could enable T-cells to recognize and fight cancer. Work in his lab eventually led to the development of the immunotherapy drug ipilimumab. His research has created powerful new ways to fight many cancer types, extending the lives of patients worldwide. 

When Allison was inducted into the college’s Hall of Honor as a Distinguished Alumnus in 2014, he spoke about a lifetime of ties to UT Austin and how experiences on the Forty Acres gave him the opportunity to pursue the science he first fell in love with as a child. A key lesson he described having learned at the University was that, with the privilege of getting to do the science he found exciting, came an obligation to try to make an impact in the world.  

“That’s something taught to me that’s been with me my whole career,” Allison said. “You’ve got to make it count. You’ve got to make it help people.”

The graduation speaker has received many notable international prizes over the years, including the Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences, the Lasker-DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award, the King Faisal Prize in Medicine and the BBVA Foundations of Knowledge Prize. A native of Alice, Texas, and a harmonica-player who has performed with Willie Nelson, Allison was the subject of the critically acclaimed 2019 documentary “Jim Allison: Breakthrough,” which was named one of the top  films of that year by The Washington Post.

Allison will speak at both 8 a.m. and 1 p.m. ceremonies for all undergraduate degree candidates graduating in Natural Sciences.