{"id":195047,"date":"2026-03-07T20:18:18","date_gmt":"2026-03-07T20:18:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/195047\/"},"modified":"2026-03-07T20:18:18","modified_gmt":"2026-03-07T20:18:18","slug":"renowned-researcher-joining-utsw-is-among-recipients-of-up-to-25-million-cancer-grand-challenges-award-newsroom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/195047\/","title":{"rendered":"Renowned researcher joining UTSW is among recipients of up to $25 million Cancer Grand Challenges award: Newsroom"},"content":{"rendered":"

DALLAS \u2013\u00a0March 05, 2026 \u2013 Jean-Laurent Casanova, M.D., Ph.D., an internationally recognized expert in the fields of genetics, immunology, and infectious diseases\u00a0who will be joining UT\u00a0Southwestern Medical Center on July 1, has been selected along with a global team of researchers to receive a\u00a0Cancer Grand Challenges<\/a> award of up to $25 million.<\/p>\n

The Cancer Grand Challenges initiative, co-founded in 2020 by the National Cancer Institute and Cancer Research UK, provides funding over approximately five years to interdisciplinary teams equipped to address the most complex research questions surrounding cancer. Dr. Casanova and his colleagues and collaborators will be an integral part of the Cancer Grand Challenge\u2019s ATLAS team, which will explore\u00a0the role of immune-modulating autoantibodies (auto-Abs) in cancer resistance.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy team and I are deeply honored to be participating in Cancer Grand Challenges and to expand our efforts to understand why certain people remain remarkably resistant to cancers,\u201d said Dr. Casanova, who has served as Professor at The Rockefeller University in New York since 2008 and has led the St. Giles Laboratory of Human Genetics of Infectious Diseases. \u201cBy applying genetic and immunological approaches, we hope to uncover protective mechanisms that could guide new strategies for cancer prevention and treatment.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Jean-Laurent<\/p>\n

Jean-Laurent Casanova, M.D., Ph.D., has served as Professor at The Rockefeller University in New York since 2008 and has led the St. Giles Laboratory of Human Genetics of Infectious Diseases. When Dr. Casanova joins UT\u00a0Southwestern on July 1, he will serve as Professor in the Center for the Genetics of Host Defense and Children\u2019s Medical Center Research Institute at UT\u00a0Southwestern (CRI), and he will have dual appointments in the Departments of Pediatrics and Immunology.<\/p>\n

Dr. Casanova\u2019s research into single gene \u201cinborn errors of immunity\u201d has transformed the understanding of why certain otherwise healthy individuals are uniquely vulnerable to specific viruses and bacteria, including influenza, West Nile virus, and COVID-19. Over three decades, his research has uncovered more than 80 genes that, when mutated, impair the body\u2019s ability to fight off specific infections, as well as several auto-Abs underlying specific infections. By pinpointing precise genetic defects that disrupt key immune pathways, his work is guiding new approaches to personalized care.<\/p>\n

The ATLAS team will be led by Paul Bastard, M.D., Ph.D., at Imagine Institute of the Necker Hospital for Sick Children in Paris. The team\u2019s research will seek\u00a0to uncover the biological mechanisms underpinning tumor resilience in the host to understand what protects certain individuals from developing cancer. The investigators plan to incorporate human\u00a0cohorts,\u00a0including those 100 years or older, cancer-free individuals with high-risk exposures, and cancer-discordant twin pairs, into their cutting-edge research.<\/p>\n

\u201cCancer Grand Challenges\u00a0unites exceptional research teams from across the globe to tackle\u00a0the\u00a0most complex problems\u00a0in cancer,\u201d said David Scott, Ph.D., Director of Cancer Grand Challenges. \u201cTogether, we\u2019re creating opportunities for bold\u00a0team\u00a0science that could redefine what\u2019s possible for people affected by cancer.\u201d<\/p>\n

ATLAS\u00a0is one of five\u00a0Cancer Grand Challenges\u00a0teams announced this week, spanning\u00a0nine countries, 34 institutions, and including more than 42\u00a0researchers. Total\u00a0funding for all five is $125 million.<\/p>\n

When Dr. Casanova joins UTSW, he will serve as Professor in the\u00a0Center for the Genetics of Host Defense<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Children\u2019s Medical Center Research Institute at UT\u00a0Southwestern<\/a>\u00a0(CRI), and will have dual appointments in the Departments of\u00a0Pediatrics<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Immunology<\/a>. He and his lab will continue their pioneering research into the fundamental role that genes play in the body\u2019s ability \u2013 or inability \u2013\u00a0to fight infections and now cancer.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe field of inborn errors of immunity is advancing at an extraordinary pace, and few scientists have contributed as profoundly to its momentum as Dr. Casanova. His ability to connect genetic variation with immune dysfunction is both elegant and transformative,\u201d said\u00a0Bruce Beutler, M.D.<\/a>, 2011 Nobel Laureate and Director of the Center for the Genetics of Host Defense. \u201cBringing a scientist of this caliber to UT\u00a0Southwestern significantly strengthens our capabilities and will accelerate innovation, helping us better understand the mechanisms that protect \u2013 or fail to protect \u2013 the human body.\u201d<\/p>\n

Drs. Beutler and Casanova have collaborated on several studies linking human genetic deficiencies to specific, severe infections over the last 20 years.<\/p>\n

Dr. Casanova earned his M.D. at the University of Paris Descartes and went on to specialize in pediatrics. He completed his Ph.D. in immunology at University of Paris Pierre and Marie Curie and co-founded the Laboratory of Human Genetics of Infectious Diseases at Imagine Institute. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Medicine and an Investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. His work has been recognized recently with two prestigious international awards: the 2025 Novo Nordisk Prize and the 2023 Maria I. New International Prize for Biomedical Research.<\/p>\n

More\u00a0information at:\u00a0New Teams Announcement | Cancer Grand Challenges<\/a><\/p>\n

About UT\u00a0Southwestern Medical Center<\/p>\n

UT\u00a0Southwestern, one of the nation\u2019s premier academic medical centers, integrates pioneering biomedical research with exceptional clinical care and education. The institution\u2019s faculty members have received six Nobel Prizes and include 24 members of the National Academy of Sciences, 25 members of the National Academy of Medicine, and 13 Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigators. The full-time faculty of more than 3,300 is responsible for groundbreaking medical advances and is committed to translating science-driven research quickly to new clinical treatments. UT\u00a0Southwestern physicians in more than 80 specialties care for more than 143,000 hospitalized patients, attend to more than 470,000 emergency room cases, and oversee nearly 5.3 million outpatient visits a year.<\/p>\n

About Cancer Grand Challenges<\/p>\n

Co-founded in 2020 by two of the largest funders of cancer research in the world, Cancer Research UK and the National Cancer Institute, Cancer Grand Challenges supports a global community of diverse, world-class research teams to come together, think differently and take on some of cancer\u2019s toughest challenges. These are the obstacles that continue to impede progress and no one scientist, institution or country will be able to solve them alone. With awards of up to $25 million, Cancer Grand Challenges teams are empowered to rise above the traditional boundaries of geography and discipline to make progress against cancer we urgently need. Cancer Grand Challenges now brings together 1,800 researchers and 21 teams from across the world to take on 18 challenges. Team ATLAS is funded by Cancer Research UK and the Torrey Coast Foundation through Cancer Grand Challenges.<\/p>\n

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