George Coukos (born December 23, 1961) is a physician-scientist in tumor immunology, professor and director of the Ludwig Cancer Research Lausanne Branch and director of the Department of oncology UNIL-CHUV of the University of Lausanne and the Lausanne University Hospital in Lausanne, Switzerland. He is known for his work on the mechanisms by which tumors suppress anti-cancer immune responses, and the role of the tumor vasculature in that suppression. In addition to his work in ovarian cancer, the combinatorial immune therapies proposed by Professor Coukos have been successfully tested and approved for lung, liver and kidney cancers.

Early life and education

Born and raised in Greece, George Coukos obtained his MD in 1986 at the

University of Modena The University of Modena and Reggio Emilia ( it, Università degli Studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia), located in Modena and Reggio Emilia, Emilia-Romagna, Italy, is one of the oldest universities in Italy, founded in 1175, with a population of 20, ...

, Italy, and his PhD in 1991 at the University of Patras, Greece. He completed training in

Obstetrics Obstetrics is the field of study concentrated on pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period. As a medical specialty, obstetrics is combined with gynecology under the discipline known as obstetrics and gynecology (OB/GYN), which is a surgi ...

and

Gynecology Gynaecology or gynecology (see spelling differences) is the area of medicine that involves the treatment of women's diseases, especially those of the reproductive organs. It is often paired with the field of obstetrics, forming the combined are ...

at the University of Modena in 1991. He then undertook a post-doctorate fellowship in cell biology at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia (1991–1994) where he also completed residency training in obstetrics and gynecology (1994–1997) as well as fellowship training in

Gynecologic Oncology Gynecologic oncology is a specialized field of medicine that focuses on cancers of the female reproductive system, including ovarian cancer, uterine cancer, vaginal cancer, cervical cancer, and vulvar cancer. As specialists, they have extensive t ...

(1997–2000).

Career

In 2000, he became Assistant Professor at the University of Pennsylvania. He became Associate Professor in 2006 and Full Professor in 2010. At the University of Pennsylvania, George Coukos founded (2007) and directed the Ovarian Cancer Research Center, and served as associate director of the Division of Gynecologic Oncology. In 2012, Coukos was recruited by the University of Lausanne to head up the Department of oncology UNIL-CHUV, of the Lausanne University Hospital in Switzerland. He was appointed director of the Lausanne branch of the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research in the same year.

Major accomplishments

* Discovery of a spontaneous anti-tumor response in ovarian cancer, previously thought to be present only in few tumor types, such as kidney cancer or

melanoma Melanoma, also redundantly known as malignant melanoma, is a type of skin cancer that develops from the pigment-producing cells known as melanocytes. Melanomas typically occur in the skin, but may rarely occur in the mouth, intestines, or eye ( ...

* First to propose the notion that tumor endothelial barrier actively controls the localization of T cells in tumors, sparking major international efforts towards the development of combinations of anti-

angiogenesis Angiogenesis is the physiological process through which new blood vessels form from pre-existing vessels, formed in the earlier stage of vasculogenesis. Angiogenesis continues the growth of the vasculature by processes of sprouting and splitting ...

drugs with immune check points in numerous solid tumors * Discovery of mechanisms of

immune recognition The immune system is a network of biological processes that protects an organism from diseases. It detects and responds to a wide variety of pathogens, from viruses to parasitic worms, as well as cancer cells and objects such as wood splinters, ...

, including neoantigens, and development of rational T-cell therapy based on pursuit of

neoantigen Tumor antigen is an antigenic substance produced in tumor cells, i.e., it triggers an immune response in the host. Tumor antigens are useful tumor markers in identifying tumor cells with diagnostic tests and are potential candidates for use in c ...

s * Discovery of the pro-angiogenic role of T regulatory cells and tumor monocytes * Development of immunotherapies such as an autologous

dendritic cell Dendritic cells (DCs) are antigen-presenting cells (also known as ''accessory cells'') of the mammalian immune system. Their main function is to process antigen material and present it on the cell surface to the T cells of the immune system. ...

vaccine and adoptive T-cell therapy with vaccine-primed autologous T-cells

Awards and honors

* American Association of Obstetricians and Gynecologists Foundation's Scholar (2000) *Bristol-Myers Immunology-Oncology Young Investigator Grant, Gynecologic Cancer Foundation (2001) * Translational Science Award, Sidney Kimmel Foundation (2002) * Margaret Greenfield Award for Excellence in Ovarian Cancer Research, Gynecologic Cancer Foundation (2005) * Judah Folkman Award, Alliance for Cancer Gene Therapy (2006) *Sir William Osler Award for Excellence in Patient Oriented Research, University of Pennsylvania (2006) * Mimi Yurkow Courage Award, National Ovarian Cancer Coalition, Southern New Jersey Chapter(2007) * Teal Magnolias Award, National Ovarian Cancer Coalition (2008) * Ovarian Cancer Research Alliance (2008 and 2012) * Angela Carlino Award, Sandy Foundation (2009) * Rosalind Franklin Excellence in Ovarian Cancer Research Award (2010) * National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director's Transformative Award (2010) * Claudia Cohen Research Foundation Prize for Outstanding Gynecologic (2012) *Advanced grant, European Research Council (2013) * Stewart J. Rahr Foundation Prostate Cancer Foundation Challenge Award (2018) *

Helga Salvesen Helga Birgitte Salvesen (23 December 1963 – 20 January 2016) was a Norwegian physician and professor of medicine at the University of Bergen. Early life and education Salvesen was born in Asker, but moved to Bergen at the age of four. She to ...

Award for Best Translational Research, European Society of Gynecological Oncology (2019) * European Society of Medical Oncology Award for Translational Research (2021) * Web of Science Highly Cited Researcher (2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022) * American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Academy Fellow (2023)

References

External links

George Coukos academic profile at University of Lausanne

George Coukos profile at Ludwig Cancer Research
* George Coukos publications indexed b
Google Scholar
* University of Lausanne * Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV) *

Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research Ludwig Cancer Research is an international community of scientists focused on cancer research, with the goal of preventing and controlling cancer. It encompasses the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, an international non-profit organizatio ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Coukos, George 1961 births Living people University of Modena and Reggio Emilia alumni University of Patras alumni University of Pennsylvania alumni Obstetricians Gynaecologists Academic staff of the University of Lausanne Cancer researchers Immunologists University of Pennsylvania faculty