Louis M Weiner, MD

Dr. Louis M Weiner was named the permanent director of the Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center at Georgetown University in October 2007. An internationally recognized medical oncologist specializing in the treatment in gastrointestinal cancers, Dr. Weiner is also an accomplished researcher developing novel immunotherapy treatments in his laboratory.

Dr. Weiner is recognized for his laboratory and clinical research focusing on new therapeutic approaches that mobilize the patient's immune system to fight cancer using monoclonal antibodies - laboratory-crafted proteins designed to recognize specific cancer cells. His laboratory designs and produces new antibody-based proteins with the aim of improving their tumor-targeting and immune-stimulating properties. This research has led to the surprising and clinically important observation that tumor targeting is impaired if the antibodies attach too tightly to their tumor targets. Dr. Weiner has also developed, and has clinically tested, "bispecific" antibodies and related antibody-based proteins designed not only to recognize and bind to cancer cells but also to stimulate immune-system cells to attack the targeted cancer cells.

As Director of the Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, Chair of the Department of Oncology, Associate Vice President of Georgetown University Medical Center, and Clinical Director of Cancer Services at Georgetown University Hospital, Dr. Weiner is responsible for the operation and development of the cancer center, including its educational, research and clinical missions. In his role as Clinical Director of Cancer Services at Georgetown University Hospital, Dr. Weiner also leads the clinical operation of the Medical Oncology group.

Dr. Weiner serves as the fourth director of the Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center. The center was founded at Georgetown University in honor of all-star football coach Vincent T. Lombardi in 1971 by John F. Potter, MD, a member of Vince Lombardi's oncology team. In 1974, in conjunction with Howard University, Lombardi Cancer Center became the 16th National Cancer Institute designated Comprehensive Cancer Center. The designation was renewed for Lombardi as a single site center in 1990 under the direction of director Dr. Marc Lippman, and again in 2003 under Dr. Richard Pestell.

Dr. Weiner earned his bachelor degree in biology with honors from the University of Pennsylvania and his medical degree from Mount Sinai School of Medicine at New York University. After completing his internship, residency, and service as chief medical resident at the University of Vermont's Medical Center Hospital, he held clinical and research fellowships in hematology and oncology at Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston.

Prior to joining Lombardi , Dr. Weiner served aschairman of the Medical Oncology Department and vice president for Translational Research at Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia, PA. He held an endowed chair in medical science and was the driving force behind developing an immunotherapy laboratory and clinical programs, as well as establishing the Center's medical oncology fellowship program. Dr. Weiner also served as professor in the Department of Medicine at Temple University School of Medicine.

Board certified in internal medicine and medical oncology by the American Board of Internal Medicine, Dr. Weiner has published more than 150 scientific papers and lectures extensively on targeted therapies for cancer. He served as Fox Chase Cancer Center's principal investigator for the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) from 1994 until 2002, a major national study group working to improve cancer treatment through clinical trials. Dr. Weiner is also chair of the Immunology Task Force of the American Association of Cancer Research as well as course director for the annual AACR/ASCO Clinical Methods Workshop. He serves on the steering committee of the NCI Translational Research Working Group and on the NCI's RAID Oversight Committee. He is a standing member of the Cancer Immunopathology and Immunotherapy Study Section of the National Institutes of Health.

Active in many professional organizations, Dr. Weiner is on several journal editorial boards, including Cancer Research and Clinical Cancer Research, and also reviews manuscripts for numerous peer-reviewed medical journals. He has received research awards from the American Cancer Society-Southeast Region, Janssen Pharmaceutical Research Foundation, the Israel Cancer Research Fund, and has received career development awards from the American Cancer Society and National Cancer Institute.