Earle A. Chiles Research Institute
Dr. Andrew Weinberg’s immunology research is offering new possibilities for treating cancer based on discoveries from his research into diseases of the autoimmune system. His Basic Immunology Laboratory is investigating ways to enhance vaccines that help the body fight cancer. His research is providing vital information in the field of immunotherapy, a promising treatment modality that may one day complement the current cancer treatment standards of surgery, radiation and chemotherapy.
After receiving his M.S. and Ph.D. in biochemistry at Washington State University, Dr. Weinberg completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of California, San Diego. He became a research immunologist at the VA Medical Center in Portland, and then established the Basic Immunology Lab at the Earle A. Chiles Research Institute in 1995. He is also an associate professor at Oregon Health & Science University’s Department of Molecular Microbiology & Immunology.
- Dr. Weinberg’s discoveries relating to the OX40 protein and its role in the immune system under attack by disease have attracted the attention of scientists worldwide. He has also received grant funding for further study of OX40 and vaccines in a Phase I clinical trial. His research to date has shown that when white blood cells are activated near tumor sites, they express the OX40 protein. Dr. Weinberg continues to explore how this protein can be stimulated through antibody treatment to train immune cells to attack cancer.
- His work with OX40 has significantly expanded the field of immunology, and his findings have been published in numerous scientific journals.
- Dr. Weinberg’s research encompasses breast, prostate, bladder and lung cancers, as well as autoimmune diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis and multiple sclerosis.
"Understanding how to rev up the immune system and control it at a basic molecular level is the next step in understanding, treating and even preventing disease. With OX40, I may make a significant discovery, and then 10 years down the line someone else’s work will dovetail onto mine. I see myself as just one scientist in the column of scientists that has gone on for hundreds of years, carrying on the tradition."