Physician-Scientist Joins VCU Massey Cancer Center

Andrew Larner, M.D., Ph.D., has joined the Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Cancer Center as co-leader of its Immune Mechanisms research program.

Larner most recently was with the Cleveland Clinic Lerner Research Institute, where he was a professor of molecular medicine.

Much of his research is devoted to studying the immune system's natural defenses and how they might be meaningful in fighting cancer. This includes understanding what happens with changes in and around cancer cells that either promote cancer cell growth or induce cell death.

"Coming to Massey was an opportunity for me to build on what's already here," said Larner, who will co-lead the program with Harry Bear, M.D., Ph.D. "I know and respect the work of leaders and researchers here, and my work fits in well."

Seven members of his lab staff moved from Cleveland to continue their work with Larner, and he anticipates recruiting more staff to examine the role of immune responses in a variety of different types of malignancies.  

Larner earned his medical and doctorate degrees from the University of Virginia.

His postdoctoral fellowship was at Rockefeller University, where he made a key discovery related to the pathway certain proteins use in triggering immune responses. This discovery has spawned additional research worldwide.

He completed a residency in Anatomic Pathology at the National Cancer Institute and was a senior scientist at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

His work may have an impact in breast, prostate and lung cancer, as well as in neurological diseases such as multiple sclerosis. Larner has nearly 80 publications and book chapters, and has trained more than 20 postdoctoral fellows, many of whom have faculty positions throughout the world.