Richard Pestell

Richard G. Pestell, M.D., Ph.D.
Born	Perth, Western Australia
Residence	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Citizenship	United States, Australia
Fields	Oncology, Endocrinology
Institutions	Kimmel Cancer Center at Thomas Jefferson University (Current) Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center at Georgetown University Medical Center Albert Einstein Cancer Center at Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Alma mater	Massachusetts General Hospital (Postdoctoral Clinical and Research Fellow in Medicine) Harvard Medical School (Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Medicine) University of Melbourne (M.D., Ph.D.) University of Western Australia (M.B.B.S.)
Notable awards	Elected Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science (2011) RD Wright Medallion, University of Melbourne (2010) Susan G. Komen for the Cure “Light of Life” Award (2010) Doctor Honoris Causa, University of Western Australia (2008) Elected Fellow, Royal Society of Medicine (2007) Francis L. and Charlotte Gragnani Endowed Chair (2002-2005)

Richard G. Pestell, M.D., Ph.D. is an internationally renowned expert in oncology and endocrinology who currently serves as the Director of the Kimmel Cancer Center, Chairman of the Department of Cancer Biology and Associate Dean of Cancer Programs at Jefferson Medical College, and Vice President of Oncology Services at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.^[1][2][3]

Contents 1 Education and Early Career 2 Accomplishments 3 Personal life 4 Select Publications 5 Awards and Recognitions 6 Notes 7 External links

Education and Early Career

A native of Perth, Western Australia, Pestell received his M.B.B.S. in 1981 from the University of Western Australia, and his M.D. and Ph.D. in 1991 and 1997, respectively, from the University of Melbourne.^[4] He was a postdoctoral clinical and research fellow in medicine at the Massachusetts General Hospital and a postdoctoral research fellow in medicine at Harvard Medical School, respectively, from 1991 to 1993.^[5][6]

Following his postdoctoral research, Pestell was an Assistant Professor in the Department of Molecular Medicine at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, Illinois from 1993 to 1996. In 1996, Pestell left Chicago to become an associate professor, and later professor, in the Department of Medicine and Developmental and Molecular Biology at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, New York. Pestell would later serve as Chair of the Division of Endocrine-Dependent Tumor Biology at the Albert Einstein Cancer Center from 2000 to 2002.^[7][8] In 2002, Dr. Pestell was named Director of the Lombardi Cancer Center at the Georgetown University Medical Center.^[9][10] During this tenure, Pestell also served as Associate Vice President of the Georgetown University Medical Center, and the Francis L. and Charlotte Gragnani Chair of the Department of Oncology at the Georgetown University School of Medicine.^[11] While serving as Director of the Lombardi Cancer Center, Pestell led the successful effort for renewal of its National Cancer Institute designation,^[12] and founded the Capital Breast Care Center with Andrea Jung of the Avon Foundation.^[13] In 2005, Pestell was named President of the USA branch of the International Network for Cancer Treatment and Research, and held that position until 2010. Pestell additionally served as the founding Director for the Delaware Valley Institute for Clinical and Translational Science from 2008 to 2010. ^[14]

Accomplishments

In 2003, Pestell, along with other researchers from Georgetown University, identified a gene responsible for the spread of secondary, or metastatic cancer throughout the body. The study found that the migration of cancer cells throughout the body that caused these secondary tumors could be halted by knocking out a gene that also controls the cell cycle, called Cyclin D1.^[15]

In 2007, Pestell, along with other researchers from the Kimmel Cancer Center, discovered that a protein known as AKT1 may play an important role in the spread of about one quarter of all breast cancers. Their studies showed that this protein could be a potential target for new drugs to stop or slow the growth and progression of breast cancer.^[16]

In 2010, Pestell, again with other researchers from the Kimmel Cancer Center, provided definitive proof for the long suspected theory that inflammation in the breast is key to the development and progression of breast cancer. Their studies demonstrated that deactivating this inflammation selectively within the breast reduced the growth of the breast cancer stem cells responsible for tumor development, and stopped breast cancer from forming.^[17]

Pestell is also the author of more than 550 publications including over 330 original publications and sits on the editorial boards of a number of journals. His work is well cited, with over 27,000 citations.^[18][19]

Personal life

Pestell is married to Nataliia Pestell, owner of KittenTouch.com.^[20]

Select Publications

• Fan, S., Wang, J., Yuan, R., Ma, Y., Meng, Q., Erdos, M.R., Pestell, R.G., Yuan, F., Auborn, K.J., Goldberg, I.D., and Rosen, E.M., BRCA1 inhibition of estrogen receptor signaling in transfected cells. Science. 1999 May 21; 284(5418): p. 1354-6.

• Bromberg, J.F., Wrzeszczynska, M.H., Devgan, G., Zhao, Y., Pestell, R.G., Albanese, C., and Darnell, J.E., Jr., Stat3 as an oncogene. Cell. 1999 Aug 6; 98(3): p. 295-303.

• Tazebay, U.H., Wapnir, I.L., Levy, O., Dohan, O., Zuckier, L.S., Zhao, Q.H., Deng, H.F., Amenta, P.S., Fineberg, S., Pestell, R.G., and Carrasco, N., The mammary gland iodide transporter is expressed during lactation and in breast cancer. Nat Med. 2000 Aug; 6(8): p. 871-8.

• Tanaka, H., Matsumura, I., Ezoe, S., Satoh, Y., Sakamaki, T., Albanese, C., Machii, T., Pestell, R.G., and Kanakura, Y., E2F1 and c-Myc potentiate apoptosis through inhibition of NF-κB activity that facilitates MnSOD-mediated ROS elimination. Mol Cell. 2002 May; 9(5): p. 1017-29.

• Huang, E., Ishida, S., Pittman, J., Dressman, H., Bild, A., Kloos, M., D'Amico, M., Pestell, R.G., West, M., and Nevins, J.R., Gene expression phenotypic models that predict the activity of oncogenic pathways. Nat Genet. 2003 Jun; 34(2): p. 226-30.

• Genander, M., Halford, M.M., Xu, N.J., Eriksson, M., Yu, Z., Qiu, Z., Martling, A., Greicius, G., Thakar, S., Catchpole, T., Chumley, M.J., Zdunek, S., Wang, C., Holm, T., Goff, S.P., Pettersson, S., Pestell, R.G., Henkemeyer, M., and Frisen, J., Dissociation of EphB2 signaling pathways mediating progenitor cell proliferation and tumor suppression. Cell. 2009 Nov 13; 139(4): p. 679-92.

Awards and Recognitions

Year(s)	Award
2011	Elected Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science [21]
2010	RD Wright Medallion, University of Melbourne [22]
2010	Susan G. Komen for the Cure “Light of Life” Award [23]
2010	Raine Distinguished Professor [24]
2010	Elected Council Member, Interurban Clinical Club [25]
2009	Elected Fellow, College of Physicians of Philadelphia [26]
2009	Elected Honorary Fellow, American College of Physicians [27]
2008	Doctor Honoris Causa, University of Western Australia [28]
2007	Elected Fellow, Royal Society of Medicine [29]
2005	Australia Endocrine Society, Keith Harrison Award[30]
2002 - 2005	Francis L. and Charlotte Gragnani Endowed Chair[31]
2002	Diane Belfer Faculty Scholar in Cancer Research[32]
2000	Elected Member, American Society for Clinical Investigation [33]
1998 - 2002	Irma T. Hirschl Weil Caulier Career Scientist Award[34]
1991 - 1994	Neil Hamilton Fairley Postdoctoral Fellowship, National Health and Medical Research Council [35]
1990	Winthrop Fellowship, Royal Australian College of Physicians [36]

Notes

External links

• Office of the Director - Kimmel Cancer Center
• Thomas Jefferson University
• Thomas Jefferson University Hospital
• Interview with Dr. Richard Pestell

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