Dr. Nicholas Restifo is a pioneer in the field of cancer immunotherapy. He was recruited from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center where he was inspired by Lloyd Old and Murray Brennan. Since joining the NCI in 1989, his research has focused entirely on T lymphocytes because they are at the heart of anti-tumor immunity. He is an honors graduate from The Johns Hopkins University and obtained his MD from New York University. He became a principal investigator in 1993 and has authored or co-authored more than 300 papers and book chapters on cancer immunotherapy. His most recent efforts include a focus on how elements – literally from the periodic table – influence cancer immunity. These include work on how oxygen can inhibit anti-tumor immunity and how potassium ions from dying cancer cells can shut down the anti-tumor response. Successful treatment of patients with cancer is the goal of his laboratory, and his therapeutic approaches employ adoptive T cell transfer, gene modification and cellular reprogramming. Basic aspects of tumor and T cell immunology inform novel therapeutic interventions in the clinic. 

Cancer Biology, Chromosome Biology, Clinical Research, Immunology, Stem Cell Biology