Douglas Green

Douglas Green has made foundational contributions to understanding how cells decide between apoptosis, necroptosis, and pyroptosis, with direct implications for cancer immunology and therapy. His research elucidated how RIPK1 serves as a molecular switch between pro-survival NF-kB signaling, caspase-8-dependent apoptosis, and RIPK3-MLKL-dependent necroptosis. He demonstrated that the immunogenicity of tumor cell death depends critically on which death pathway is activated, with necroptosis and pyroptosis being more immunogenic than apoptosis. His integrative framework for cell death decision-making has guided strategies to redirect cancer cell death toward immunogenic modalities.