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Dr. Platania leads the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University in Chicago, a founding member of National Comprehensive Cancer Centers Network (NCCN). He is the Jesse, Sara, Andrew, Abigail, Benjamin and Elizabeth Lurie Professor of Oncology and Professor of Medicine and Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics. Since Dr. Platanias became director in 2014, the Lurie Cancer Center (LCC) has experienced dramatic growth, with doubling of its NCI funding and the recruitment of over 160 new faculty members. Under his leadership, LCC received the highest rating in its history, an overall exceptional and a near-perfect score on the last CCSG renewal.
Dr. Platanias was born and raised in Athens, Greece. He earned his medical degree from the University of Patras Medical School, in Patras, Greece. He subsequently moved to the US and began his research career at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland, as a Fogarty research fellow studying the immune mechanisms of bone marrow failure syndromes. He subsequently moved to New York City where he completed his residency in Internal Medicine and eventually to Chicago where he completed his fellowship in Hematology-Oncology at the University of Chicago. He joined Northwestern in 2002, initially as Deputy Director and eventually as Director of the Lurie Cancer Center in 2014. Prior to joining Northwestern, he was Professor and Chief of the Division of Hematology Oncology at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
Dr. Platanias is board certified in Internal Medicine and Medical Oncology, with clinical expertise in leukemia. Dr. Platanias’ research work focuses on cytokine signaling pathways in malignant cells, with translational applications in leukemia and brain tumors. He has published more than 370 papers and his research has been continuously funded by the NCI for over 30 years. In addition to being the principal investigator of the largest institutional grant for cancer (CCSG) at Northwestern, he is currently the principal investigator of 4 NIH R01 grants. He has made significant contributions in the interferon and cytokine signaling field for 3 decades. His early work on interferon signaling, along with the work of others, led to discoveries that helped define the modern cancer immunotherapy field and resulted in clinical applications for the treatment of malignancies. He has been recognized with numerous awards, including the Seymour and Vivian Milstein Award for outstanding contributions in cytokine research. Dr. Platanias previously served as President of the International Cytokine and Interferon Society and he was an elected member of the Association of American Cancer Institutes (AACI) Board of directors from 2018 to 2021. He serves as Editor for several oncology and immunology journals and has been a chair or member of several study sections and site visit teams for the NIH, including more recently the NCI Subcommittee A for Cancer Centers. He has also served as chair or member of several grant panels for the US Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs. He is an elected member of the Association of American Physicians (AAP) and currently serves as chair of several external advisory boards for NCI designated cancer centers across the country.
At the end of the presentation, participants will be able to
• Analyze mechanisms of inferon pathways of malignant cells
• Examine novel targets in GBM and pancreatic cancer
• Explain novel immunotherapy approaches
Dr. Platanias has indicated that he has no relevant financial relationships with commercial interests.
Dr. Lekakis has indicated that he has no relevant financial relationships with commercial interests.
Faculty, Primary Care Physicians, APRNs, PharmD
The University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to provide continuing medical education for physicians.
The University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine designates this live activity for a maximum of 1 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity. Successful completion of this CME activity, which includes participation in the evaluation component, enables the participant to earn up to 1.0 MOC points in the American Board of Internal Medicine’s (ABIM) Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program. It is the CME activity provider’s responsibility to submit participant completion information to ACCME for the purpose of granting ABIM MOC credit.
This article was printed from The Miller School of Medicine Medical News
at the following URL: https://events.med.miami.edu/event/interferon-pathways-and-novel-intracellular-checkpoints-for-immunotherapy/
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