Bernard Fox, Ph.D.
Hong-Ming Hu, Ph.D

"As a scientist, the most exciting thing that can happen is to discover something completely new," says Hong-Ming Hu, Ph.D., chief of the Laboratory of Cancer Immunobiology. "The emphasis at the Franz Cancer Research Center is on pioneering new ideas. It's uniquely collaborative, with less preoccupation on working to get published and more focus on working hard to help patients."

Dr. Hu began his career in China, but research work there was fraught with funding difficulties and bureaucracy. When an opportunity opened to do research in the United States, he leaped at the chance. Bernard Fox, Ph.D., chief of the Franz Cancer Research Center's Laboratory of Molecular and Tumor Immunology, recognized Dr. Hu's potential and recruited him to join the Franz team. "The reputation of the Franz Cancer Research Center allows us to attract and retain some of the best scientists in the world," says Dr. Fox.

Dr. Hu became the first scientist to complete his doctorate while working at the Franz Cancer Research Center. Today, he is chief of his own lab. His most significant discovery to date involves an important new strategy for administering immunotherapy: Dr. Hu has found that giving anti-cancer vaccines immediately after chemotherapy, when the immune system is depleted, appears to open up space in which cancer-fighting T cells can grow and expand rapidly. He has received national and international awards to continue his studies. "Dr. Hu has made a significant contribution, not just to our team, but to medical science in our country," says Dr. Fox.