Evenings at Whitney on April 12: Immunotherapy Approaches to Cancer Therapy

The Evenings at Whitney Lecture Series hosted by the University of Florida Whitney Laboratory returned on April 12, 2018, at 7 p.m. with the program titled “Immunotherapy Approaches to Cancer Therapy.” The guest speaker was Duane Mitchell, M.D., Ph.D., Phyllis Kottler Friedman professor in the Lillian S. Wells Department of Neurosurgery, state of Florida endowed cancer research chair at UF College of Medicine, director of cancer therapeutics and immuno-oncology at UF Health Cancer Center, and co-director of the Preston A. Wells Jr. Center for Brain Tumor Therapy. Mitchell talked about how certain types of cancer can be treated by improving or restoring the functioning of the body’s immune system. This free lecture was presented at Lohman Auditorium located at 9505 Ocean Shore Blvd., on the Whitney Laboratory campus. 

Immunotherapy, a form of treatment that creates an immune response against cancer, is used to fight certain types of cancer, including melanoma and lung cancer. Mitchell talked about the history of cancer immunotherapy and how he and his team are using this approach to develop new treatments for adult and pediatric brain tumors.    

Mitchell has worked at the University of Florida since 2013. He leads a comprehensive research program in both the laboratory and clinic that focuses on brain tumor immunotherapy. He is the principal investigator on multiple first-in-human immunotherapy clinical trials for both pediatric and adult patients with brain cancer. He also has eight United States patents pertaining to his cancer research. Mitchell earned a bachelor’s degree in biology from Rutgers University and a medical degree and doctorate in immunology from Duke University.