Dennis Slamon
| Dennis J. Slamon | |
|---|---|
| Born |
August 8, 1948 New Castle, Pennsylvania |
| Alma mater |
Washington & Jefferson College (B.A.) University of Chicago (Ph.D. cell biology, M.D. (1975)) |
| Occupation | oncologist, professor |
| Awards |
Gairdner Foundation International Award (2007) Scheele Award (2009) |
Dennis Joseph Slamon (born August 8, 1948), is an American oncologist and chief of the division of Hematology-Oncology at UCLA. He is best known for his work identifying the HER2/neu oncogene that is amplified in 25-33% of breast cancer patients and the resulting treatment Herceptin.
Slamon is the son of a West Virginia coal miner. He attended Washington & Jefferson College for its pre-med program.
He currently serves as director of Clinical/Translational Research at UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, and as director of the Revlon/UCLA Women's Cancer Research Program at JCCC. He is a professor of medicine, chief of the Division of Hematology/Oncology and executive vice chair for research for UCLA's Department of Medicine. Slamon also serves as director of the medical advisory board for the National Colorectal Cancer Research Alliance, a fund-raising organization that promotes advances in colorectal cancer.
For 12 years, Dr. Slamon and his colleagues conducted the laboratory and clinical research that led to the development of the new breast cancer drug Herceptin, which targets a specific genetic alteration found in about 25 percent of breast cancer patients. To acknowledge Slamon's accomplishments, President Bill Clinton appointed Slamon to the three-member President's Cancer Panel in June 2000.
A 1975 honors graduate of the University of Chicago's Pritzker School of Medicine, Slamon earned his Ph.D. in cell biology that same year. He completed his internship and residency at the University of Chicago Hospitals and Clinics, becoming chief resident in 1978. One year later, he became a fellow in the Division of Hematology/Oncology at UCLA, Los Angeles.
His life and research was the template for the plot of the film Living Proof (2008), starring Harry Connick, Jr..
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