George C. Prendergast Explained

George C. Prendergast
Birth Place:	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Fields:	Oncology, Molecular biology, Oncoimmunology
Workplaces:	Lankenau Institute for Medical Research DuPont Pharmaceuticals Company The Wistar Institute Merck Research Laboratories Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Alma Mater:	Princeton University Yale University University of Pennsylvania
Awards:	1995 Pew Scholar in the Biomedical Sciences

George C. Prendergast (born 1961) is an American biomedical scientist. His research has focused on cancer pathobiology and immunology.^[1] Since 2004, he has been the President and CEO of Lankenau Institute for Medical Research, a cancer-focused research center in the U.S.^{[2] [3] [4]} He is also the co-director of the Program in Cancer Cell Biology & Signaling at the Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center, Thomas Jefferson University.^[5]

Education

Prendergast earned his bachelor's degree in biochemistry from the University of Pennsylvania, his master's degree in molecular biophysics and biochemistry from Yale University and his PhD in molecular biology from Princeton University.^{[6] [7] [8]} He was later an American Cancer Society postdoctoral fellow at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute at New York University Medical Center before working in the Department of Cancer Research at Merck.^{[9] [10]}

Career

In 1993, Prendergast joined the faculties of The Wistar Institute and the Department of Genetics at the University of Pennsylvania. In 1999, he also became a Senior Director at the DuPont Pharmaceuticals Company.^{[11] [12]}

In 2002, he moved his groups at Wistar and DuPont to the Lankenau Institute for Medical Research (LIMR) and became the President and CEO there in 2004.^[13] At LIMR, Prendergast created an organizational model for nonprofit biomedical research termed the acapreneurial™ model, whose stated aim is to balance academic studies with invention, product development and partnered entrepreneurialism.^{[14] [15] [16] [17]}

Prendergast's current research focuses on new uses of IDO1 inhibitory drugs in medicine, investigations of the IDO2 enzyme in cancer and autoimmunity, and therapeutic antibodies that target the disease severity modifier genes Bin1 and RhoB to broadly treat autoimmune disorders and diabetic complications.

His research team pioneered the early discovery and development of experimental drugs that inhibit the tryptophan catabolizing enzyme IDO1 as a new type of oral immunotherapy for cancer,^[18] currently under study worldwide.^[19] In 2008, Prendergast was recognized as one of the 250 most influential alumni of Princeton University.^[20] From 2010-2017, Prendergast was Editor-in-Chief of Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research, one of the most cited in the field.^[21] In 2018, Prendergast was named The Havens Chair in Biomedical Research by the Lankenau Medical Center Foundation.^[22]

Selected publications

• 10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-17-2285 . 29247038 . Discovery of IDO1 inhibitors: from bench to bedside . . 77 . 24 . 6795–6811 . 2017 . Prendergast . GC . Malachowski . WP . DuHadaway . JB . Muller . AJ. 6021761 . free .
• 10.1038/478192a . 21993754 . Why tumours eat tryptophan . . 478 . 7368 . 192–4 . 2011 . Prendergast . GC. free .
• 10.1158/2159-8290.CD-12-0014 . 22822050 . IDO is a nodal pathogenic driver of lung cancer and metastasis development . . 2 . 8 . 722–35 . 2012 . Smith . C . Chang . MY . Parker . KH . Beury . DW . DuHadaway . JB . Flick . HE . Boulden . J . Sutanto-Ward . E . Soler . AP . Laury-Kleintop . LD . Mandik-Nayak . L . Metz . R . Ostrand-Rosenberg . S . Prendergast . GC . Muller . AJ. 3677576 . free .
• 10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-05-2213 . 16166276 . Marrying immunotherapy with chemotherapy: why say IDO? . . 65 . 18 . 8065–8 . 2005 . Muller . AJ . Prendergast . GC. free .
• 10.1038/nm1196 . 15711557 . Inhibition of indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase, an immunoregulatory target of the cancer suppression gene Bin1, potentiates cancer chemotherapy . . 11 . 3 . 312–9 . 2005 . Muller . AJ . Duhadaway . JB . Donover . PS . Sutanto-Ward . E . Prendergast . GC. 12338548 .
• 10.1038/ng0996-69 . 8782822 . BIN1 is a novel MYC-interacting protein with features of a tumour suppressor . Nature Genetics . 14 . 1 . 69–77 . 1996 . Sakamuro . D . Elliott . KJ . Wechsler-Reya . R . Prendergast . GC. 21484402 .
• 10.1038/363038a0 . 8479534 . Recognition by Max of its cognate DNA through a dimeric b/HLH/Z domain . . 363 . 6424 . 38–45 . 1993 . Ferré-D'Amaré . AR . Prendergast . GC . Ziff . EB . Burley . SK. 1993Natur.363...38F . 4304430 .
• 10.1126/science.1987636 . 1987636 . Methylation-sensitive sequence-specific DNA binding by the c-Myc basic region . . 251 . 4990 . 186–9 . 1991 . Prendergast . G . Ziff . E . 1991Sci...251..186P.
• 10.1016/0092-8674(91)90457-A . 1840505 . Association of Myn, the murine homolog of Max, with c-Myc stimulates methylation-sensitive DNA binding and ras cotransformation . . 65 . 3 . 395–407 . 1991 . Prendergast . GC . Lawe . D . Ziff . EB. 36903663 . free .

Books

• Prendergast GC, editor (2004). Molecular Cancer Therapeutics: Strategies for Drug Discovery and Development. New York: John Wiley & Sons. . Reviewed in New England Journal of Medicine 352, 422-423 [2005]^[23]
• Prendergast GC and Jaffee EM, editors (2007). Cancer Immunotherapy: Immune Suppression and Tumor Growth. 1st ed. New York: Academic Press. . Reviewed in New England Journal of Medicine 358, 1764-1765 [2008] ^[24]
• Prendergast GC and Jaffee EM, editors (2013). Cancer Immunotherapy: Immune Suppression and Tumor Growth. 2nd ed. New York: Elsevier/Academic Press. .

Notes and References

1. Web site: George C. Prendergast - Science History . sciencehistory.org . 12 November 2008.
2. Web site: Lankenau Institute for Medical Research - George C. Prendergast, PhD. 29 December 2013.
3. Web site: Lankenau Institute for Medical Research: History and Accomplishments.
4. Web site: Low-carbohydrate, high-protein diets may reduce both tumor growth rates and cancer risk . sciencedaily.com . 15 June 2011.
5. http://www.kimmelcancercenter.org/research/areas/basicscience/CellBiology.php Program in Cancer Cell Biology & Signaling, Kimmel Cancer Center, Thomas Jefferson University
6. Web site: Resident Faculty of Lankenau Institute for Medical Research: George C. Prendergast, Ph.D..
7. Web site: Science History Institute: Oral history interview with George C. Prendergast (2003).
8. Web site: Lankenau Institute for Medical Research: Technology Development and Licensing.
9. Web site: Immunochemotherapy: The future of cancer treatment . myabcam.com . 18 August 2009.
10. Web site: Philadelphia Business Journal: Main Line research institute turns to Jefferson for invention licensing help.
11. Web site: Immunochemotherapy: INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ONCOLOGY . spandidos-publications.com . 31 March 2007.
12. Web site: Lankenau Institute for Medical Research President And CEO Invited To Speak At Three Oncology And Biotechnology Conferences This Spring . biospace.com . 19 April 2016.
13. Web site: Immunochemotherapy: INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ONCOLOGY . spandidos-publications.com . 31 March 2007.
14. Web site: Loop - George C. Prendergast . frontiersin.org . 31 December 2001.
15. Web site: Philadelphia Business Journal: Main Line research institute turns to Jefferson for invention licensing help.
16. Web site: Lankenau Institute for Medical Research President And CEO Invited To Speak At Three Oncology And Biotechnology Conferences This Spring . biospace.com . 19 April 2016.
17. Web site: Guiding light: Main Line startup taps Lankenau Institute's glow tech to make antibodies . bizjournals.com . 30 January 2001.
18. Discovery of IDO1 Inhibitors: From Bench to Bedside. Cancer Research. 15 December 2017. 77. 24. 6795–6811. Prendergast. George C.. Malachowski. William P.. Duhadaway. James B.. Muller. Alexander J.. 10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-17-2285. 29247038. 6021761.
19. Web site: Journal of the National Cancer Institute: Using IDO1 Inhibitors To Combat Cancer.
20. Web site: Princeton Alumni Weekly: The List. 21 January 2016.
21. Web site: American Association for Cancer Research 2017 Annual Report - Scientific Publishing.
22. Web site: Main Line Health: Peter and Louise Havens establish endowed chair for biomedical research at Lankenau. 9 May 2017.
23. Book Review Molecular Cancer Therapeutics: Strategies for Drug Discovery and Development Edited by George C. Prendergast. 351 pp., illustrated. Hoboken, N.J., John Wiley & Sons, 2004. $89.95. 0-471-43202-4. 8 October 2009. 10.1056/NEJM200501273520425. Takimoto. Chris H.. New England Journal of Medicine. 352. 4. 422–423.
24. Book Review Cancer Immunotherapy: Immune Suppression and Tumor Growth Edited by George C. Prendergast and Elizabeth M. Jaffee. 409 pp., illustrated. San Diego, CA, Elsevier Academic Press, 2007. $99.95. 978-0-12-372551-6. New England Journal of Medicine. 17 April 2008. 358. 16. 1764–1765. 10.1056/NEJMbkrev59011. Weiner. Louis M..