HICCC Members Elected to Association of American Physicians

The Association of American Physicians (AAP), an honorific society of the nation’s leading physician-scientists, has inducted two Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center (HICCC) members, Charles Drake, MD, PhD, and Adolfo Ferrando, MD, PhD. Each year, the AAP nominates individuals that are on the cutting edge of medical practice and research. Election into the society is a prestigious honor; only 72 members were added to the AAP ranks in 2020.

Dr. Drake is a genitourinary oncologist and researcher who is pioneering the advancement of cancer immunotherapy. He is known for rapidly incorporating discoveries made in the research lab into innovative clinical trials, including anti-tumor vaccines. The Drake lab was the first group to show that Lymphocyte-Activation Gene 3 (LAG-3) is a cell surface marker for CD4 cells with regulatory function (Treg) and that blockade of LAG-3 with a monoclonal antibody could restore anti-tumor immune responses by mitigating CD8 T-cell tolerance in vivo. Dr. Drake co-directs the Cancer Immunotherapy Program and co-leads the Tumor Biology and Microenvironment program at the HICCC, and is a professor of medicine at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons.

Dr. Ferrando is a professor in the Departments of Pediatrics and Pathology & Cell Biology in the Institute for Cancer Genetics, and is the associate director for Shared Resources at the HICCC. Dr. Ferrando’s research explores the molecular mechanisms underlying the growth of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), particularly leukemias that develop resistance to chemotherapy drugs. The Ferrando lab identified a gene called NT5C2 which, when mutated, drive resistance to a common chemotherapy treatment, 6-mercaptopurine. By understanding the mechanisms of resistance, the Ferrando lab works to design new strategies to curtail the occurrence of relapse.