Richard W. Childs

Richard Childs pioneered the clinical application of NK cell therapy in solid tumors, particularly renal cell carcinoma, demonstrating that allogeneic NK cells could target and eliminate solid tumor cells in patients. His research at the NIH characterized KIR-mediated NK cell alloreactivity in non-hematopoietic malignancies and opened clinical trials of adoptive NK cell therapy beyond hematologic malignancies. He has contributed to understanding how solid tumor microenvironments suppress NK cell activity and strategies to overcome these barriers.