A History of Science
at the Institute for Cancer Research

The Institute for Cancer Research (ICR) was formed in the early part of the 20th century as an institute for basic research into normal cellular growth and the origins of cancer. It has developed since then into one of America's leading comprehensive cancer treatment and research centers.

Partial list of important discoveries and milestones

• 2005 Kenneth Zaret's studies on the derivation of embryonic liver cells provide new insight into the basis of liver differentiation, regeneration, and cancer.
• 2005 Erica Golemis shows that a focal adhesion scaffolding protein is required for activation of a specific proto-oncogene, showing how cell structure can affect proliferation, an interaction that is critical for metastasis.
• 2005 Joseph Testa describes the first mouse model that faithfully recapitulates molecular features of human malignant mesothelioma.
• 2005 Dietmar Kappes identifies Th-POK as the gene mutated in mice deficient in CD4 helper T cells, indicating that this gene functions as a master regulator of CD4/CD8 T-cell lineage commitment.
• 2004 The Kyoto Prize in Basic Science is awarded to Alfred Knudson for life-time achievement and contributions to the betterment of mankind.
• 2004 The Nobel Prize in Chemistry is awarded to Irwin Rose and his colleagues Aaron Ciechanover and Avram Hershko for their discovery of ubiquitin-mediated protein degradation.
• 2004 Roland Dunbrack is selected as the assessor for the international protein structure prediction competition (CASP6) based on his seminal contributions to this field.
• 2004 Maureen Murphy eludcidates the mechanism whereby the p53 tumor suppressor protein induces programmed cell death.
• 2003 Peter Adams shows that defects in chromatin assembly during S-phase can contribute to genomic instability, a hallmark and potential driving force of human cancer.
• 2003 Heinrich Roder solves the structure of a pathogenic fragment from the human prion protein, providing a framework for understanding its conversion to an infectious, neurotoxic fibrillar form.
• 2003 Eileen Jaffe discovers the role of quaternary structure isoforms in regulating protein function.
• 2002 Joseph Testa and Jonathan Chernoff show that p21-activated kinases inactive the tumor suppressor NF2.
• 2002 Kenneth Zaret shows that a specific gene regulatory protein can open up a part of a chromosome that is closed to other regulators of gene expression, providing a model for how genes are activated in development.
• 2001 John Taylor and Luis Sigal collaborate to establish the first mouse model system to study replication of the hepatitis delta virus.
• 2001 Kenneth Zaret demonstrates that, apart from their role in transporting blood and oxygen, blood vessel cells provide an essential growth signal for developing tissues.
• 1999 Timothy Yen's discovery of mitotic checkpoint proteins provides new insights into how cancer cells develop chromosome imbalances.
• 1999 Kyoko Hayakawa shows that B-1 class of antibody-producing B- cells undergo positive selection during their development.
• 1999 Anna Marie Skalka's laboratory shows that a host-encoded protein, the DNA-dependent protein kinase, is required for retroviral integration into the host genome, providing the first evidence that this process is detected as DNA damage by the host cell.
• 1998 Anthoney Yeung discovers and characterizes the CEL 1 nuclease, which is used widely for the detection of mutations.
• 1998 Development of ultra-rapid mixing methods, which allow the first direct observation of protein chain collapse during initial stages of folding, by Heinrich Roder.
• 1997 John Burch discovers that genes in the heart are separately regulated by DNA elements in a modular fashion, providing a means of analyzing how the heart is patterned during embryonic development.
• 1997 Jonathan Chernoff shows that p21-activated kinases regulate the structure of the actin cytoskeleton, linking growth factors to changes in cell shape and movement.
• 1993 Raymond Yeung and Alfred Knudson discover that a TSC2 mutation causes inherited renal cell carcinoma in the Eker rat.
• 1993 Beatrice Mintz produces the first mouse model of human malignant melanoma, in which the disease resembles the human malignancy.
• 1992 Christoph Seeger describes the mechanism of priming of reverse transcription by hepadnaviruses, and uncovers a role for viral RNA in folding the active polymerase protein.
• 1991 Philip Tsichlis, Alfonso Bellacosa, and Joseph Testa clone the Akt1 and Akt2 genes - the first viral oncogenes described that inhibit programmed cell death.
• 1991 Timothy Yen discovers that a molecular motor controls the way human cells sort their chromosomes when cells divide.
• 1991 The first description of pro-B/pre-B bone marrow B lineage fractionation, by Randy Hardy.
• 1982 William Mason and Jesse Summers demonstrate that the hepatitis B virus utilizes reverse transcription for genome replication, previously thought to be unique to retroviruses.
• 1981 Beatrice Mintz's laboratory is one of the first to introduce a cloned gene into fertilized mouse eggs and prove that it is retained in animals developing from those eggs, and is transmitted to their progeny.
• 1980 Discovery of critical aspects of ubiquitin-dependent protein degradation by Avram Hershko and Irwin Rose.
• 1980 Alfred Knudson develops the "two-hit" theory, predicting the existence and behavior of tumor suppressor genes.
• 1980 Discovery by Robert Perry of transcription at unrearranged immunoglobulin gene loci, which leads to formulation of a stochastic model to explain why only one immunoglobulin gene in a cell functions in antibody production.
• 1980 Discovery of the SCID mouse, a mouse strain with no natural immunity, by Melvin Bosma. The SCID mouse is an essential research tool in devising new treatments.
• 1979 Beatrice Mintz shows that a fatal genetic anemia of mice can be prevented in utero by injecting normal blood-forming stem cells into the fetus through a placental blood vessel.
• 1976 The Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine is awarded to Baruch Blumberg for his discovery of the Hepatitis B virus and development of the HBV vaccine, the first "anti-cancer vaccine", which has reduced the incidence of liver cancer.
• 1975 Beatrice Mintz's laboratory demonstrates that malignant mouse teratocarcinoma stem cells can undergo normal development if placed in a normal embryo environment. This led her to produce the first developmentally totipotent stem cell line, and also to propose that induction of differentiation might cure some other malignancies.
• 1975 The first transgenic mammals containing foreign DNA are produced by Beatrice Mintz and Rudolf Jaenisch.
• 1974 Discovery by Robert Perry that the messenger RNAs of mammalian cells and their precursors contain a novel structure at their leading ends.
• 1972 Helen Berman and Jenny Glusker report the crystal structure of a nucleic acid-drug complex as a model for anti-tumor agent and mutagen action.
• 1968 Development of the first Hepatitis B vaccine by Baruch Blumberg and Irving Millman.
• 1967 Discovery of the Hepatitis B virus and development of the blood test for Hepatitis B by Baruch Blumberg.
• 1962 The first demonstration, by Robert Perry, that ribosomal RNA is synthesized in the nucleolus as a large precursor molecule that is subsequently processed into mature components.
• 1962 Beatrice Mintz's development of the first mammal comprising two genetically different cell populations in all tissues, as a tool for analyses of embryonic development and disease in mouse models.
• 1960 Discovery of the Philadelphia chromosome, the first genetic abnormality associated with a human cancer, by David Hungerford of the Fox Chase Cancer Center and Peter Nowell of the University of Pennsylvania.
• 1952 First nuclear transplantation (or 'cloning') experiment is performed by Robert Briggs and Thomas King using eggs of the frog Rana pipiens.
• 1946 Mary Bennett identifies an essential nutrient later revealed to be Vitamin B12.
• 1904 First cancer hospital in the US is established. The American Oncologic Hospital was later amalgamated with the Institute for Cancer Research, founded in 1927. The combined entity is now known as the Fox Chase Cancer Center.

Back to top