Dr Owen Witte

           "Owen Witte received his undergraduate degree from Cornell and his MD from Stanford  University. He completed postdoctoral research at MIT then joined the faculty at UCLA where he presently is an Investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Distinguished Professor of Microbiology, Immunology and Molecular Genetics where he holds the President's Chair in Developmental Immunology, and Professor of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. He was named the Founding Director of the Institute of Stem Cell Biology and Medicine in 2005 recently renamed as the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research at UCLA.He has made significant contributions to the understanding of human leukemias, immune disorders, and epithelial cancer stem cells. His work includes the discovery of tyrosine kinase activity for the ABL gene and the demonstration of the BCR-ABL oncoproteins in human leukemias. This has had practical impact in leading to the development of kinase targeted therapy as an effective treatment for these leukemias and other cancers. His work also lead to the co-discovery of Bruton’s tyrosine kinase which is required for normal B-lymphocyte development, and when mutated leads to X-linked agammagloblulinemia, a form of immune deficiency. Recent work has concentrated on defining the stem cells for epithelial cancers of the prostate and other organ sites to help define new types of therapy for these diseases. His work utilizes advanced whole body imaging techniques like Positron Emission Tomography (PET) to monitor cancer growth and cellular immune functions. Dr. Witte is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the Institute  of Medicine. He has received recognition for his research including the Milken Foundation Award in Basic Cancer Research, the Rosenthal Award of the American Association for Cancer Research, the Dameshek Prize of the American Society of Hematology, the Alpert Foundation Prize, The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s de Villiers International Achievement Award, and the UCLA Faculty Research Lecture.  He currently serves on several editorial and advisory boards and was elected to the Board of Directors for the American Association for Cancer Research in 2010"
Extract of http://www.lornecancer.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=46&Itemid=72