Dr. Stan Riddell is a world leader in developing immunotherapies, which harness the power of the immune system to fight cancers and dangerous infections. His research focuses on detailing the complex biology of immune cells called T cells and pioneering therapies that use genetically reprogrammed T cells to specifically recognize and destroy diseased cells. These therapeutic T cells zero in on specific protein targets known as antigens, using either natural molecules called T-cell receptors or synthetic molecules called chimeric antigen receptors. Chimeric antigen receptors, also known as CARs, combine elements from T-cell receptors and from other immune cell-produced antibody molecules. His team’s breakthroughs are helping researchers make progress for patients who need better therapies.
Dr. Riddell is an expert in using hematopoietic (blood-forming) stem cell transplantation (HCT) to treat patients with leukemias, lymphomas and other blood-related cancers, and in treating graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) that can occur when a donor’s immune T cells attack normal tissues as well as the malignancy. Based on his extensive clinical experience and laboratory investigations, Dr. Riddell has developed innovative therapies that use T cells to treat various viral infections and cancers. He was the principal investigator on the first human trial of transferred therapeutic T cells, to prevent dangerous cytomegalovirus infections after HCT, and on four subsequent clinical trials of ‘adoptive’ T cell therapy, including the first using leukemia-reactive T cells to treat relapsed leukemia post-transplant and the first using CAR-engineered T cells of defined subset composition.