In 2013, Accelerate Brain Cancer Cure, the Florida Brain Tumor Association and Paul Hale of the Bret Hale Memorial Fund awarded more than $500,000 to Dr. Duane Mitchell at University of Florida to develop the first pediatric brain tumor immunotherapy trial at UF. The following article by UF Health provides an update on this pioneering research.
It all started with a book.
While he was in college, Duane A. Mitchell, M.D., Ph.D., read “The Transformed Cell,” a book that truly “transformed” his life.
Written by Steven A. Rosenberg, M.D., Ph.D., chief of surgery at the National Cancer Institute, the book details the years Rosenberg spent developing a treatment for melanoma using a patient’s own immune system, a process known as immunotherapy. Reading about Rosenberg’s work inspired Mitchell’s own interest in immunotherapy.
Now the co-director of the Preston A. Wells Jr. Center for Brain Tumor Therapy and director of the UF Brain Tumor Immunotherapy Program, Mitchell’s interest in immunotherapy has blossomed into a full-blown research career. Before coming to UF, Mitchell worked for eight years at Duke University, where he was associate director of the brain tumor immunotherapy program and held multiple positions related to brain tumor research.
Since arriving at UF Health in July 2013, Mitchell and his team have received funds from organizations such as the Department of Defense and Accelerate Brain Cancer Cure to support UF’s first pediatric brain tumor immunotherapy trial.
Click here to read the full article in UF Health.
