​Ezra Cohen, MD
Co-director, San Diego Center for Precision Immunotherapy
Professor of Medicine, Division of Hematology/Oncology, Department of Medicine, UC San Diego
Associate Director for Translational Science, Moores Cancer Center
Co-leader, Solid Tumor Therapeutics Program
Co-director, Gleiberman Head and Neck Cancer Center
The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) provided a $5.8 million award to University of California San Diego School of Medicine researchers to develop a new immunotherapy in which patients’ cells would be equipped with a special receptor that recognizes and targets cancer stem cells, whose survival abilities often render standard therapies ineffective or short-term. The award, to a team of scientists and physicians headed by Dr. Ezra Cohen, builds upon earlier and on-going research involving the receptor tyrosine kinase-like orphan receptor or ROR1.