PHILADELPHIA, Penn. -- Andrew Caton, Ph.D., an associate professor in The Wistar Institute's Tumor Immunology Program, has been chosen for the third time to receive the Lupus Foundation of Philadelphia's prestigious Sheryl N. Hirsch Award.
The annual honor was established in memory of Sheryl Hirsch, who died of lupus in 1981. She and her mother, Goldie Simon, founded the Lupus Foundation of Philadelphia to educate patients, their families, the medical community and the general public about lupus, and to promote research.
Along with the honor, Dr. Caton will receive a research grant to fund his work on systemic lupus erythematosus, a complex disease that is thought to result from a dysfunctional immune system. In particular, Dr. Caton is examining immune responses to foreign antigens. This research is expected to shed light on the role of infections in the initiation and exacerbation of lupus.
Dr. Caton earned his B.S. degree in biochemistry from the University of East Anglia in Norwich, U.K., and his Ph.D. in virology from the University of Cambridge, U.K. Prior to coming to Wistar in 1984, he worked as a postdoctoral assistant in molecular biology at the University of Oxford, U.K.
The Wistar Institute, established in 1892, was the first independent medical research facility in the country. For more than 100 years, Wistar scientists have been making history and improving world health through their development of vaccines for diseases that include rabies, German measles, infantile gastroenteritis (rotavirus), and cytomegalovirus; discovery of molecules like interleukin-12, which are helping the immune system fight bacteria, parasites, viruses and cancer; and location of genes that contribute to the development of diseases like breast, lung and prostate cancer. Wistar is a National Cancer Institute Cancer Center.