8 researchers share Albany Med’s $500K prize

A trio of researchers considered “pioneers” in the field of immunology will share the Albany Medical Center Prize in Medicine and Biomedical Research.

The $500,000 prize is the largest award in medicine or science in the United States. It was established in 2000 by the late Morris “Marty” Silverman to honor scientists whose work has translated from “the bench to the bedside,” resulting in better outcomes for patients. A $50 million gift commitment from the Marty and Dorothy Silverman Foundation will allow the Albany, N.Y. hospital to award the prize for 100 years.

The three researchers are Dr. Ralph Steinman of Rockefeller University in New York City; Dr. Charles Dinarello from the University of Colorado, and Dr. Bruce Beutler of The Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, Calif.

“Collectively, the work of these scientists has led to a dramatically better understanding of the human immune system, in health and in disease,” said James Barba, president and CEO of Albany Medical Center and chairman of the National Selection Committee. “That knowledge has already directly resulted in new therapies for people with conditions including rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes, Crohn’s disease and cancer.”

Barba added that “the discoveries they have made about how the body senses and responds to infection remain the basis of active research that holds the promise of new and improved vaccines and innovative ways to harness the power of the immune system to better fight viruses and bacterial illness. Their achievements are nothing short of astounding.”

Steinman, a professor in Rockefeller’s Laboratory of Cellular Physiology and Immunology, is credited with the 1973 discovery of a type of white blood cell, which he named the dendritic cell. These cells “tell” other white blood cells, called T-cells, to multiply and get the immune system ready to “fight the enemy,” or give the word to other cells to ignore agents that are not harmful.

Steinman’s work, including his success in growing large numbers of dendritic cells in the lab, opened a new field of study focusing on the role of dendritic cells in immune function, their potential for vaccine enhancement and the treatment of autoimmune disorders and cancer.

In the same way, Dinarello’s work on anti-cytokine therapies, which block the immune system’s inflammatory reaction, led to a field of study in immunology called cytokine biology. In the 1970s, he identified and purified the body’s key fever-producing molecule, later named Interleukin-1, or IL-1.

Dinarello, currently professor of medicine at the University of Colorado Denver School of Medicine, has since focused on blocking IL-1 to quell inflammation. This work, and the subsequent discovery of many other Interleukins, has resulted in therapies for immune disorders such as including Crohn’s disease, diabetes, allergies and rheumatoid arthritis.

Beutler, professor and chairman of the department of genetics at Scripps, is known for defining the role of another key cytokine, called Tumor Necrosis Factor (TNF). In the 1980s, while at Rockefeller University, Beutler isolated TNF and demonstrated its role as a mediator of immune system-generated inflammation. Like the discovery of IL-1, this knowledge has directly resulted in improved outcomes for people with chronic inflammatory diseases.