SEATTLE, WA, January 26, 2018 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Marquis Who's Who, the world's premier publisher of biographical profiles, is proud to present Karl Erik Hellstrom, MD, PhD, with the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award. An accomplished listee, Dr. Hellstrom celebrates many years' experience in his professional network, and has been noted for achievements, leadership qualities, and the credentials and successes he has accrued in his field. As in all Marquis Who's Who biographical volumes, individuals profiled are selected on the basis of current reference value. Factors such as position, noteworthy accomplishments, visibility, and prominence in a field are all taken into account during the selection process.
A professor emeritus in the department of pathology at the University of Washington School of Medicine and Harborview Medical Center for just over a decade, Dr. Hellstrom led an impressive career in both academia and medicine. First acquiring his MD and PhD at Karolinska Institute Medical School in Stockholm, Sweden, in 1964, where he was born and raised, he did research as an assistant professor in its department of tumor biology while simultaneously pursuing his degrees. He also worked as an investigator in cell biology, which was funded by Swedish Medical Research Council for two years. Making the decision to move to the United States in 1966, with his wife and two small children to begin a new life and new career soon thereafter, Dr. Hellstrom and his family took a leap of faith and moved that same year.
First hired by the University of Washington as an associate professor of pathology the same year he entered the United States in 1966, within just three years, Dr. Hellstrom had become a full professor, where he remained until 1983. He then served as an adjunct professor of microbiology and immunology from 1984 to 2005, and affiliate professor of pathology from 1984 to 1985. Equally successful in the field, he spent seven years as a principal investigator for Pacific Northwest Research Institute, as a member and head of the tumor immunology program at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, and as a senior scientist, laboratory director, and vice president of Oncogen/Bristol-Myers from 1983 to 1990. The opportunity at Bristol-Myers led to his serving as the organization's vice president of oncology drug discovery at the Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharmaceutical Research Institute for five years from 1990 to 1995, and then as vice president of immunotherapeutics drug discovery in the institute for another two years from 1995 to 1997.
Dr. Hellstrom began studying tumor immunology as a student. He was responsible for publishing some of the first evidence for cell-mediated immune responses to a variety of human cancers, demonstrating that these reactions can be inhibited by tumor antigen and antigen-antibody complexes by a mechanism that involves suppressive T lymphocytes. Other studies provided early evidence of the role of co-stimulation in tumor immunology, showing anti-cancer activity of Mabs to CD137 and showing that the E6 and E7 epitopes of HPV 16 and d18 were targets for tumor rejection. Some of his more recent work has been concerned with cancer diagnostics, which led to the first demonstration of mesothelin and HE4 as biomarkers, showing that patients with ovarian cancer and certain autoimmune conditions make antibodies to mesothelin and HE4 and that both antigens could be detected with higher sensitivity in urine than in serum. Contributing his research by authoring and co-authoring more than 460 articles to scientific journals, Dr. Hellstrom was also on the editorial board for Cancer Immunology and Immunology.
Formerly serving on the Scientific Advisory Council for the Cancer Research Institute, Inc., and on the board of directors for Seattle Genetics, Inc., Dr. Hellstrom has also been a member of a number of professional organizations, including the Clinical Immunology Society, the American Association for Clinical Research, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He received several substantial awards for his work as well. The recipient of a Pap Award for Outstanding Contribution in Cancer Research from the Papanicolaou Cancer Research Institute in Miami, FL, in 1973, he later earned a National Award for Cancer Research from the American Cancer Society in 1974, and a Humboldt Award from Humboldt Stiftung in Bonn, Germany, in 1980. In addition to several other accolades over the years, he was also granted several patents in his field.
Married to Ingegerd Hellstrom with two children, Dr. Hellstrom is now enjoying his retirement by taking advantage of everything that Seattle has to offer. Fond of the outdoors, he not only enjoys working in his garden, but he and his wife love to take day trips on the water on their boat.
In recognition of outstanding contributions to his profession and the Marquis Who's Who community, Karl Erik Hellstrom, MD, PhD, has been featured on the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement website. Please visit www.ltachievers.com for more information about this honor.
About Marquis Who's Who :
Since 1899, when A. N. Marquis printed the First Edition of Who's Who in America , Marquis Who's Who has chronicled the lives of the most accomplished individuals and innovators from every significant field of endeavor, including politics, business, medicine, law, education, art, religion and entertainment. Today, Who's Who in America remains an essential biographical source for thousands of researchers, journalists, librarians and executive search firms around the world. Marquis publications may be visited at the official Marquis Who's Who website at www.marquiswhoswho.com.
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