Dr. Owen Witte, director of UCLA's Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research and a professor of microbiology, immunology and molecular genetics, has been inducted into the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Academy.
The AACR Academy was created to recognize and honor distinguished scientists whose important research has significantly advanced the fight against cancer. The fellows of the academy are selected by a rigorous peer-review process that evaluates them based on their scientific achievements in cancer research.
Witte is currently working to define the stem cells for epithelial cancers of the prostate and other organs to help define new and more effective therapies. His previous research laid the foundation for the development of the drug Imatinib (Gleevec®), the first targeted therapy for chronic myeloid leukemia. His work also defined Bruton's tyrosine kinase, which has become a target therapy of several types of leukemia and lymphoma with drugs like ibrutinib. Witte's research has focused on the interrelated problems of how cell growth is regulated, how cells differentiate, and understanding the function of cancer-causing genes in human leukemia and epithelial cancers (cancers of the lining of glands or organs such as the prostate or ovaries).
