A former Scripps researcher was awarded a Nobel Prize in medicine Monday for his work on fighting off cancerous cells with the body’s own immune system.
James P. Allison, now a professor at the University of Texas, works with the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy.
Allison studied a known protein and, from it, developed a new treatment method to attack tumors.
The institute that selects the Nobel Prize winners called his work "a landmark in our fight against cancer."
In 1974, Allison began his work as a postdoctoral fellow at the Scripps Clinic and Research Foundation in La Jolla.
After three years in San Diego, Allison worked in Northern California, New York, and Maryland, before continuing his work in Texas.
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"I'm honored and humbled to receive this prestigious recognition," Allison said. "A driving motivation for scientists is simply to push the frontiers of knowledge."
Allison shared the prize with Tasuku Honjo of Kyoto University in Japan. Their work, although independent, both discovered ways to stop the “brakes” on the immune system to fight off cancerous cells.
They spilt the $1,000,000 prize.
