Cell therapy virtuoso: Catherine Bollard

In the Medicine Maker piece, Cell Therapy Virtuoso, Children’s National Medical System’s Chief of Allergy and Immunology, Catherine Bollard M.D., discusses why she chose a career in medicine, the personal experience that ignited her interest in cell therapies, and her insights on the current state and future of the immunotherapy field. Highlights from the interview include:

• On the promise of T-cell therapy: “We’ve now developed several T-cell therapies that give complete remission rates of approximately 75% and two-year progression-free survival rates ranging from 50 percent to over 90 percent depending on the patient population.”
• Regarding the future of immunotherapy: “The field has expanded dramatically over the last 25 years. In particular, T-cell therapies for cancer have grown rapidly and now the field is expanding into other areas, such as regulatory T-cells for autoimmune disease and virus T-cells for HIV. Given what the immune system can do, the applications are almost limitless.”

Dr. Bollard was featured for her role as president of the International Society for Cellular Therapy.