This year’s Göran Gustafsson lecturer in medicine: “What a joy!”
On 17 March, it is once again time for the Göran Gustafsson Symposium. Photo: Mikael Wallerstedt
On 17 March, it is time for this year’s Göran Gustafsson Symposium. The symposium will be honoured by a visit from Dr Hideho Okada of the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF).
Dr Hideho Okada is this year's Göran Gustafsson lecturer.
The theme of this year’s Göran Gustafsson Symposium is Innovative cell and gene therapies – Future developments. The programme will include lectures on CAR T cells, transplantation of insulin-producing cells, and several other advances in the field.
This year’s Göran Gustafsson Lecturer in medicine, Hideho Okada, Professor of Neurosurgery at UCSF, will deliver a lecture on how a patient’s own T cells can be modified to combat malignant brain tumours (gliomas). The ongoing study is regarded as highly innovative and aims ultimately to strengthen the immune system’s capacity to recognise and eliminate glioma cells.
“We use the patient’s own T cells, genetically modified with a so-called logic-gated receptor. The study is still ongoing, but we have observed promising – albeit preliminary – signs of safety and efficacy,” says Hideho Okada.
T cells will feature in several of the symposium lectures, which, according to Hideho Okada, is no coincidence.
“For the past 30 years, I have focused on developing effective immunotherapies for brain tumours. We have explored a wide range of approaches, including cancer vaccines, macrophages and natural killer cells (NK cells). In my research, I have found that the T cells modified in the way I will describe are by far the most potent.”
Strong links to Uppsala University
Dr Okada’s visit in connection with the symposium will not be his first to Uppsala University.
“Mats Hellström, Senior Lecturer at the Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, came to UCSF and worked with me in my laboratory as a fellow for one year approximately ten years ago. He subsequently invited me to Uppsala in 2018, when I had the opportunity both to lecture and to meet his colleagues,” says Hideho Okada.
This year, the lectures are held at The Humanities Theatre, the English Park Campus. Photo: Staffan Claesson, Bildbyrån
How does it feel to return?
“I am filled with joy and feel deeply honoured. Uppsala University is highly respected as one of the oldest and most distinguished medical centres in Europe. In fact, many glioma cell lines used worldwide were developed in Uppsala, including the U-251 cell line – where the ‘U’ stands for Uppsala. What a joy to visit Uppsala again and, above all, to meet my dear friends.
A mutual exchange
For Hideho Okada, the opportunity to reconnect with friends and colleagues is what he looks forward to most – alongside scientific dialogue and exchange.
“As I mentioned, I mostly look forward to seeing my research colleagues again, but also to engaging with them both scientifically and personally. I am particularly eager to hear their perspectives on my research and to learn more about their exciting projects in immunotherapy.”
Alongside Hideho Okada, a total of eight additional speakers will present at the Göran Gustafsson Symposium, representing Uppsala University and Karolinska Institutet.
Links to the full programme are provided below.
Robin Widing
About: The Göran Gustafsson Symposium
Each year, Uppsala University in collaboration with the Göran Gustafsson Foundation at UU and KTH, invites an internationally prominent researcher in medicine to give a lecture. This year the symposium is organised together with the ATMP Center Uppsala and Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology.