Steven Rosenberg, pioneer in immunotherapy, awarded National Medal of Technology and Innovation

Editor's Note

Steven Rosenberg, MD, PhD, chief of the Surgery Branch at the Center for Cancer Research at the National Cancer Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and a pioneer in the development of immunotherapy to fight cancer, was awarded the National Medal of Technology and Innovation. The news were reported on October 24 via an NIH press release.

Dr Rosenberg received the award, which recognizes outstanding contributions to America’s economic, environmental, and social well-being, from President Joe Biden. His pioneering work in immunotherapy includes identifying the anti-cancer properties of the hormone interleukin-2, which became the first cancer immunotherapy approved by the US Food and Drug Administration.

He was also the first to identify tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs), immune cells with cancer-fighting properties, and developed a therapy using TILs adoptive cell transfer (ACT) immunotherapy, now being widely developed for cancer treatments. Dr Rosenberg first introduced foreign genes into patients, opening the field of human gene therapy, and first used genetically engineered immune cells, known as CAR T cells, to treat patients with aggressive lymphomas.

The National Medal of Technology and Innovation is the “nation’s highest honor for technology and innovation,” according to the news release.