Professor John Gribben receives prestigious José Carreras award from the European Hematology Association (EHA)

Professor Gribben’s research focuses on leukaemia, bone marrow transplantation and immunotherapy. His group investigates how cancer cells impair the function of the immune system to escape attack. He and his team identified that leukaemia and lymphoma cells disrupt the function of the molecule actin within T cells, interfering with these cells’ ability to communicate with other components of the immune system and launch an effective attack. They discovered that these defects could be reversed with the drug lenalidomide. Based on this work, Professor Gribben led a trial that resulted in the approval of lenalidomide and rituximab (a second immunotherapy) for follicular lymphoma. He has also led the introduction of the innovative new immunotherapy CAR-T therapy at Barts Health NHS Trust.

Professor Gribben accepted the award at the EHA's Annual Congress in Spain last month, where he presented a lecture entitled: “The impact of hematologic malignancies on the host immune system”.

The José Carreras Award is named in honour of Spanish opera singer José Carreras, who was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, and whose Foundation supports scholarship working in this field.