Having received the 7th BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award in Biology and Biomedicine, biophysicist Joseph Schlessinger describes in this interview how the study of tyrosine kinase receptors revolutionized the understanding of cell signaling and opened new therapeutic avenues for cancer and other diseases. Schlessinger explains how his discoveries allowed scientists to unravel the mechanisms by which cells detect external signals and activate responses that regulate their growth, differentiation, and survival. He also reflects on the impact this knowledge has had on the development of targeted therapies and the advancement of precision medicine, underscoring the importance of basic research as a driver of clinical innovation.
The BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award in the Biomedicine category is shared in this seventh edition by Tony Hunter, Joseph Schlessinge
Having received the 7th BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award in Biology and Biomedicine, biophysicist Joseph Schlessinger describes in this interview how the study of tyrosine kinase receptors revolutionized the understanding of cell signaling and opened new therapeutic avenues for cancer and other diseases. Schlessinger explains how his discoveries allowed scientists to unravel the mechanisms by which cells detect external signals and activate responses that regulate their growth, differentiation, and survival. He also reflects on the impact this knowledge has had on the development of targeted therapies and the advancement of precision medicine, underscoring the importance of basic research as a driver of clinical innovation.
The BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award in the Biomedicine category is shared in this seventh edition by Tony Hunter, Joseph Schlessinger and Charles L. Sawyers, for carving out the path that led to the development of a new class of successful cancer drugs.
00:00 Introduction
00:05 Could you explain the role of so-called tyrosine kinases in tumor formation?
00:50 When was it realized that tyrosine kinases were important in cancer? What happened, and how did the transition occur from working in a basic research area to suddenly becoming a central focus of pharmaceutical research?
02:38 Tyrosine kinases were discovered in 1979 and Imatinib was approved in 2001. Can this be considered a rapid achievement?
03:40 Why are these types of “personalized” drugs so important?
04:31 Can we expect more medicines of this kind of “personalized” therapy in the near future? In which diseases, in addition to cancer?
