Hoag Research Home |
Cell Biology Laboratory |
Clinical Trials
Hoag Cell Biology Laboratory:
Setting the Pace for Tomorrow’s Treatments
The Cell Biology Laboratory is firm evidence of Hoag’s commitment to furthering cancer treatment – not only in providing today’s finest care, but also in setting the pace for tomorrow’s treatments.
Since 1990, the biological therapies developed in the Cell Biology Laboratory have helped treat thousands of patients. Hoag’s development of patient-specific tumor vaccines has received international recognition, and has been widely published in some of the most prestigious scientific publications.
For details about Hoag Cell Biology Laboratory, please select from the following:
Hoag Cancer Center’s participation in groundbreaking research and clinical trials continues to set it apart from other community cancer centers across the nation. For information about the current clinical trials available at Hoag Cancer Center, please click here.
Dendritic Cell Therapy
Dendritic cells play a vital role in the human defense system against disease. They induce, sustain and regulate the immune response, enabling the body to determine which cells are harmful and should therefore be destroyed by the immune system. Hoag offers a clinical trial designed to help dendritic cells identify and defeat cancer cells. To read more about dendritic cell vaccines, please click here.
Back to Top
Tumor Vaccines
Hoag’s development of patient-specific tumor vaccines has received international recognition. The Hoag approach involves growing a patient’s own tumor cells in the lab and then injecting them back into the body to help the immune system recognize and fight cancer cells. Because each patient’s immune system and cancer are unique, many believe that the best vaccine treatment comes from the patient’s own cells. Hoag’s success rate in establishing cell lines is greater than nationally published data. Click here to read more about patient-specific vaccines
Back to Top
Adoptive Cellular Therapy
Hoag specializes in growing several types of lymphocytes in the Cell Biology Lab. Lymphocytes are immune cells that circulate in the blood stream and have inherent anti-cancer activity. Currently such cells are being used as part of the initial treatment plan for patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma as part of a clinical trial. Click here for details.
Back to Top
Autologous Stem Cells
The Cell Biology Laboratory also has expertise in the isolation and storage of stem cells from a person’s bone marrow or blood. After the administration of very high dose of chemotherapy, these stem cells can be reinfused into the patient to regenerate bone marrow.
Back to Top
Cell Biology Laboratory Team
Hoag Cell Biology Laboratory is operated under the direction of Hoag Cancer Center Executive Medical and Scientific Director Robert O. Dillman, M.D., Associate Scientific Director Senthamil R. Selvan, Ph.D., and staff scientist Andrew N. Cornforth, Ph.D., and is staffed by several research associates and assistants.
Senthamil R. Selvan, Ph.D.
"I am committed and privileged to discover and develop new cancer treatments that become available to patients through collaboration, dedication, integrity and the highest standards in scientific work."
Senthamil R. Selvan, Ph.D. was born and educated in India. He came to the United States after receiving his doctorate degree in Immunology from Jawaharlal Nehru University at New Delhi in 1988. Prior to coming to Hoag in 1999 to serve as Associate Scientific Director, Dr. Selvan served as Assistant Research Professor in the Department of Surgery at Duke University, as well as an Associate Member at the Duke Comprehensive Cancer Center. Dr. Selvan has authored more than two dozen publications, with some recognized as the best contributions to the field by Current Awareness in Biomedicine, UK and as journal highlights. He has participated in numerous workshops and advanced courses in the area of immunology and tumor biology, including serving as a lecturer at several national and international conferences. Dr. Selvan is an active member of the International Society for Biological Therapy of Cancer (iSBTc) and the Tumor Vaccine and Cell Therapy working group (TVACT). His primary mission is to discover and develop novel anti-cancer therapies to boost immunocompetence, to regress tumor growth, and to stabilize disease in patients.
Andrew Cornforth, Ph.D.
"The modern view of cancer therapy is that individual patients require individual treatments. Hoag Cancer Center’s strength is that our facility can provide a therapy that is crafted with the patients’ own cells and thus is specific for their disease."
Andrew Cornforth, Ph.D. received both his undergraduate and graduate degree at the University of California, Irvine. Dr. Cornforth’s doctorate degree, conferred in 2006, in Cancer Biology with a concentration in Experimental Pathology. Upon receiving his Ph.D., he returned to Hoag Cell Biology Laboratory as Staff Scientist, where he had previously served as a research assistant and research associate from 1994-2000. Dr. Cornforth has authored several publications. While at UCI, he was the recipient of a Carcinogenesis Training Grant from the National Cancer Institute and the UCI Cancer Research Institute, as well as the recipient of the Brython Davis Award.
Back to Top
|