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t m c » p u l s e | j u n e 2 0 1 5 18 The opportunity to conduct clinical trials and the symbiotic relationship between clinicians and researchers were some of the biggest selling points when Allison decided to move to MD Anderson. Allison's initial cancer research dis- coveries took place while he was working in the Cancer Research Laboratory at the University of California, Berkeley. He later became chair of immunology at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center before arriving at MD Anderson in 2012. "I came here specifically to do this work," said Allison. "At Berkeley, it was not possible to do any human work." Between the clinical work, the surgical work to obtain tissue and tumor samples, and the research done in Allison's and Sharma's labs, teamwork plays a vital role in taking on the breadth of trials MD Anderson conducts. "We try to identify clinicians who are really interested—an oncologist using drugs to treat patients, who's interested in immunotherapy— and also try to find surgeons who will work with us, a pathologist who will help us get the tissues. Then we need to have research nurses," said Allison. "It's very complex. This isn't being done anywhere else on the planet, as far as I know. At least not at this scale." Allison's and Sharma's labs conduct differ- ent, but related, research. Sharma works closely with patients. She sees patients one day a week, predominantly bladder and kidney cancer patients. All patients are evaluated for possible inclusion in clinical trials, and many are enthu- siastic about the opportunity to help further research at MD Anderson. "They want us to learn so we can do better for future generations," said Sharma. "Especially with immunotherapy, because a lot of patients have heard about the potential benefits." Sharma's lab does translational work, trying to understand what is happening in the People kept saying, 'We need to harness the immune response.' Actually, we're not trying to harness or turn it on, we're just trying to unleash it. It's ready to go. — PADMANEE SHARMA, M.D., PH.D. Professor of Genitourinary Medical Oncology and Immunology at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center patients—what the immune response is when you give a certain drug or drug combination, or how the diseases progress. "That's what I call 'hypothesis-generating information,'" she said. "I can take all the data I learn from patients and say, 'This information correlates with when the patient did well.' But it doesn't really link A to B in terms of why the patient did well. You really need mouse models to understand that." That's where Allison's labs come in to play. "They can help us test that hypothesis," said Sharma. "They'll use the right mouse model and say, 'Yup, if you don't have this gene you don't get a response.'" Allison runs two labs, one working in con- junction with Sharma, and his own personal research lab, where he and his team search for new checkpoint targets and try to determine combinations of treatments to further improve survival rates.