Cancer Research Center, Earle A. Chiles Research Institute
Since taking on the role of Laboratory Chief in 1994, Bernard Fox, Ph.D., has divided his research efforts between preclinical animal models and the development, performance and monitoring of clinical trials. His most recent work involves translational immunotherapy trials for patients with melanoma, prostate, ovarian and non-small cell lung cancer.
Dr. Fox completed his Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees at the University of Detroit. After receiving his Ph.D. from Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan, he pursued five years of additional postgraduate training at the National Cancer Institute’s Surgery Branch. As a University of Michigan faculty member, he mentored physicians in training within the Department of Surgery’s Surgical Oncology Division.
In addition to his work at the Franz Cancer Research Center, he maintains an Associate Professor role at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU), where he is immersed in two departments: the Molecular Microbiology and Immunology department and Environmental and Biological Systems. Dr. Fox also shares his knowledge and expertise with OHSU Cancer Institute’s Tumor Immunology Focus Group.
- Dr. Fox has served as principal investigator for three FDA Investigational New Drugs (INDs) that draw on research into active-specific and adoptive immunotherapy strategies.
- His has actively fostered tumor immunology graduate programs through partnerships between the Earle A. Chiles Research Institute and both Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, China, and the Ludwig Maximilians University, Munich, Germany.
- Dr. Fox sits on the editorial board of four publications: Cellular Immunology, Current Molecular Medicine, Expert Opinion on Biological Therapy and Journal of Immunotherapy.
"One of the big goals in the near future is to start treating patients with adoptive immunotherapy again – first in melanoma and prostate cancer and then in breast cancer. For prostate cancer, a few patients undergoing immunotherapy have gone into remission – but that has been too rare. We need to study these men to understand their successes so that we can improve treatments for all patients."