07-11-2016, 06:51 AM
Alfred George Knudson, Jr. M.D., Ph.D. (August 9, 1922 – July 10, 2016) was a geneticist specializing in cancer genetics. Among his many contributions to the field was the formulation of the Knudson hypothesis in 1971,[1] which explains the effects of mutation on carcinogenesis (the development of cancer).[2]
Knudson was born in Los Angeles in 1922. He received his B.S. from California Institute of Technology in 1944, his M.D. from Columbia University in 1947 and his Ph.D. from California Institute of Technology in 1956.[2] He held a Guggenheim fellowship from 1953 to 1954.
From 1970 to 1976, Knudson served as the Dean of Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. He has been affiliated with the Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia from 1976 until his death in 2016.[3]
Knudson died on July 10, 2016 at his home in Philadelphia from a long illness at the age of 93.[4]
He received numerous prizes and honorary doctorates for his work, most prominently the 1998 Albert Lasker Award for Clinical Medical Research.[5] He also received the 1999 American Society of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology (ASPHO) Distinguished Career Award, the 2005 American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Award for Lifetime Achievement in Cancer Research, and the 2004 Kyoto Prize in Life sciences.[6]
More from Wiki.
May 19, 2014
In honor of its 50th anniversary, ASCO is highlighting the accomplishments of some of the many people who have advanced cancer care to where it is today in the "Oncology Luminaries" series. ASCO recognizes Dr. Knudson as one of these luminaries for his groundbreaking "two-hit" hypothesis of cancer causation.
knudson_alfred_am99_posters-with-michael-harris.jpg
Alfred G. Knudson Jr., MD, PhD, is an internationally recognized geneticist and physician included on ASCO’s list of Oncology Luminaries for his groundbreaking “two-hit” hypothesis of cancer causation.
The two-hit hypothesis proposed that people with familial cancers inherit one germline copy of a damaged gene, which is present in every cell of the body—the first “hit.” This alone is not sufficient to cause cancer growth. However, if patients were to develop a second “hit,” or a loss of the good copy in the gene pair, cancer would occur. In contrast, people who develop nonhereditary forms of cancer must get both “hits” in somatic cells, meaning that, in many cases, these cancers will occur later in life.
Dr. Knudson published this theory in 1971 in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences as part of his more than 20 years of research into the genetic mechanisms that cause retinoblastoma. Dr. Knudson further theorized that genes existed in the cell—now known as tumor suppressor genes—that could function to stop abnormal cell growth.
Like many groundbreaking scientific theories, Knudson’s two-hit hypothesis was not immediately embraced by the medical community. However, today, he is credited as a pioneering cancer geneticist and with helping to usher in a new era of research on tumor suppressor genes, including the 1986 discovery of the RB1 gene.
In honor of his contributions to science, Knudson has received many major medical awards, including the 2004 Kyoto Prize, the 1998 Albert Lasker Clinical Medical Research Award, the American Society of Hematology’s Distinguished Career Award, the American Cancer Society’s Medal of Honor, ASCO’s Karnofsky Memorial Lecture Award, and more.
Dr. Knudson has served at Fox Chase Cancer Center since 1976. He is currently a senior member of the Institute for Cancer Research and a Fox Chase distinguished scientist.
More detail on his work
Knudson was born in Los Angeles in 1922. He received his B.S. from California Institute of Technology in 1944, his M.D. from Columbia University in 1947 and his Ph.D. from California Institute of Technology in 1956.[2] He held a Guggenheim fellowship from 1953 to 1954.
From 1970 to 1976, Knudson served as the Dean of Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. He has been affiliated with the Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia from 1976 until his death in 2016.[3]
Knudson died on July 10, 2016 at his home in Philadelphia from a long illness at the age of 93.[4]
He received numerous prizes and honorary doctorates for his work, most prominently the 1998 Albert Lasker Award for Clinical Medical Research.[5] He also received the 1999 American Society of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology (ASPHO) Distinguished Career Award, the 2005 American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Award for Lifetime Achievement in Cancer Research, and the 2004 Kyoto Prize in Life sciences.[6]
More from Wiki.
May 19, 2014
In honor of its 50th anniversary, ASCO is highlighting the accomplishments of some of the many people who have advanced cancer care to where it is today in the "Oncology Luminaries" series. ASCO recognizes Dr. Knudson as one of these luminaries for his groundbreaking "two-hit" hypothesis of cancer causation.
knudson_alfred_am99_posters-with-michael-harris.jpg
Alfred G. Knudson Jr., MD, PhD, is an internationally recognized geneticist and physician included on ASCO’s list of Oncology Luminaries for his groundbreaking “two-hit” hypothesis of cancer causation.
The two-hit hypothesis proposed that people with familial cancers inherit one germline copy of a damaged gene, which is present in every cell of the body—the first “hit.” This alone is not sufficient to cause cancer growth. However, if patients were to develop a second “hit,” or a loss of the good copy in the gene pair, cancer would occur. In contrast, people who develop nonhereditary forms of cancer must get both “hits” in somatic cells, meaning that, in many cases, these cancers will occur later in life.
Dr. Knudson published this theory in 1971 in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences as part of his more than 20 years of research into the genetic mechanisms that cause retinoblastoma. Dr. Knudson further theorized that genes existed in the cell—now known as tumor suppressor genes—that could function to stop abnormal cell growth.
Like many groundbreaking scientific theories, Knudson’s two-hit hypothesis was not immediately embraced by the medical community. However, today, he is credited as a pioneering cancer geneticist and with helping to usher in a new era of research on tumor suppressor genes, including the 1986 discovery of the RB1 gene.
In honor of his contributions to science, Knudson has received many major medical awards, including the 2004 Kyoto Prize, the 1998 Albert Lasker Clinical Medical Research Award, the American Society of Hematology’s Distinguished Career Award, the American Cancer Society’s Medal of Honor, ASCO’s Karnofsky Memorial Lecture Award, and more.
Dr. Knudson has served at Fox Chase Cancer Center since 1976. He is currently a senior member of the Institute for Cancer Research and a Fox Chase distinguished scientist.
More detail on his work
The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the dedicated Communist but instead the people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction, true and false, no longer exists -- Hannah Arendt.