George Q. Daley | |
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 Daley at theEdmond J. Safra Center for Ethics in 2019 | |
| Born | Catskill, New York, U.S.[1] |
| Education | Harvard University (BA,MD) Massachusetts Institute of Technology (PhD) |
| Spouse | Amy Edmondson[1] |
George Quentin Daley[1] is an American biologist and physician. He is the Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, Caroline Shields Walker Professor of Medicine, and Professor of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology atHarvard Medical School. He was formerly the Samuel E. Lux IV Endowed Chair in Hematology/Oncology atBoston Children’s Hospital,[2] later the Robert A. Stranahan Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School, Director of the Pediatric Stem Cell Transplantation Program at the Dana-Farber/Boston Children's Cancer and Blood Disorders Center, an investigator of theHoward Hughes Medical Institute,[3] Associate Director of the Boston Children's Hospital Stem Cell Program, and a member of the Executive Committee of the Harvard Stem Cell Institute.[4] He is a past president of the International Society for Stem Cell Research (2007–2008).[5]
Daley was born inCatskill, New York.[6] He received hisBachelor of Arts,magna cum laude, fromHarvard College (1982), hisPh.D. inbiology from theMassachusetts Institute of Technology (1989), and hisM.D. fromHarvard Medical School, where he was the tenth individual in the school's history to be awarded the degreesumma cum laude (1991). He served as Chief Resident in Internal Medicine at theMassachusetts General Hospital and is currently a staff physician in Hematology/Oncology atBoston Children's Hospital andDana–Farber Cancer Institute.[7]
As a graduate student working with NobelistDavid Baltimore, Daley demonstrated that theBCR/ABL oncogene induceschronic myeloid leukemia (CML) in a mouse model,[8] which validated BCR/ABL as a target for drug blockade and encouraged the development ofimatinib (Gleevec; Novartis), a magic-bullet chemotherapy that induces remissions in virtually every CML patient. Daley's studies have clarified mechanisms of Gleevec resistance[9] and informed development of the next-generation chemotherapeutic drugsnilotinib,ponatinib andasciminib.[10][11]
Daley's current research seeks to translate insights instem cell biology into improved therapies for genetic and malignant diseases. His laboratory has pioneered human cell culture-based and murine models of human blood disease and cancer.[11] Important research contributions from his laboratory include the creation of customized stem cells to treat genetic immune deficiency in a mouse model (together withRudolf Jaenisch),[12] the differentiation of germ cells from embryonic stem cells (cited as a "Top Ten Breakthrough" byScience in 2003),[13][14] the generation of disease-specific pluripotent stem cells by direct reprogramming of human fibroblasts (cited in the "Breakthrough of the Year" issue ofScience magazine in 2008),[15][16] and demonstration of the role of the RNA-binding protein Lin28 in cancer and metabolic disease.
He has been elected a fellow of theAmerican Association for the Advancement of Science, theAmerican Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the Academy of theAmerican Association for Cancer Research. He is an elected member of theNational Academy of Sciences, theNational Academy of Medicine, theAmerican Society for Clinical Investigation, theAssociation of American Physicians and theAmerican Pediatric Society. Daley was an inaugural winner of the NIH Director's Pioneer Award (2004), which provides a five-year unrestricted grant to pursue highly innovative research,[13] and received the Judson Daland Prize from theAmerican Philosophical Society for achievement in patient-oriented research,[17] theE. Mead Johnson Award from the American Pediatric Society for contributions to stem cell research,[18] the E. Donnall Thomas Prize from theAmerican Society of Hematology for advances in induced pluripotent stem cell research, and the Rowley Prize from theInternational Chronic Myeloid Leukemia Foundation.[19] He has also received awards recognizing his contributions to medical research from theNational Institutes of Health,[20] the New England Cancer Society, Harvard Medical School, and the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of America.[4] In addition to funding by the NIH, Daley's research has been supported by theNational Science Foundation,Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency,American Cancer Society, Edward Mallinckrodt Jr. Foundation,Burroughs Wellcome Fund, Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of America, Roche Foundation for Anemia Research,Alex's Lemonade Stand, theEllison Medical Foundation, theEmerson Collective and the Doris Duke Medical Foundation.
Daley has been prominent in advocating for ethical oversight of human stem cell research. On behalf of the International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR), he chaired the special international task force that formulated the ISSCR Guidelines for Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research (2006) and as president of the ISSCR empaneled and served on the special task force that wrote the ISSCR Guidelines for Clinical Translation of Stem Cells (2008),[21] which have served as a roadmap for advancing stem cell science into clinical trials. Daley has testified six times before committees of theUnited States Senate andUnited States House of Representatives to advocate for expanded governmental support for stem cell research. He serves as the Chair of the Executive Committee of the Massachusetts Consortium on Pathogen Readiness, formed in 2020 to address the COVID-19 pandemic and threats from emerging infectious diseases.[22] He has served on the scientific advisory board of the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center and on the editorial board of the journalsScience,Cell,Cell Stem Cell,Stem Cells, andBlood.[11]
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