Irving Weissman

Irving Weissman pioneered the isolation of hematopoietic stem cells and translated this knowledge to understanding leukemia and cancer stem cells. His laboratory discovered that cancer cells including cancer stem cells upregulate CD47, a do-not-eat-me signal that enables immune evasion. Blocking CD47 has emerged as a promising immunotherapy strategy and is being evaluated in clinical trials. He has been a prolific mentor and co-founder of multiple biotechnology companies advancing cancer immunotherapy and stem cell biology.