Louise Thomas Endowed Chair for Pediatric Cancer Research

Dr. Emmanuel Katsanis, Louise Thomas Chair in Pediatric
Cancer Research.

The Arizona Elks Endowed Chair for Neonatal Research

Douglas S. Holsclaw Family Endowed Chair in Genetics

Horace Steele Endowed Chair

Louise Thomas Endowed Chair for Pediatric Cancer Research

Sally Lindholm Endowed Chair in Genetics

The Louise Thomas Chair in Pediatric Cancer Research was named after Louise Thomas, a passionate advocate of children's health and a driving force behind the Steele Children's Research Center since its inception. After the painful experience of losing a son to cancer, Louise and her husband, Al, became advocates for the importance of medical research to find new treatments for childhood diseases.

In 2005, Emmanuel Katsanis, MD, was appointed The Louise Thomas Chair in Pediatric Cancer Research. His research efforts are focused on studying the immuno-stimulatory activities of a heat shock protein anti-cancer vaccine (CRCL). His research team is studying the effects that CRCL has on the different cells of the immune system and how best to combine CRCL with drug therapy against cancer. "Essentially, we are developing a therapeutic vaccine that would be administered to the cancer patient after their successful chemotherapy treatment," explains Dr. Katsanis. "This vaccine would boost the patient's immune system, thus warding off any remaining cancer cells and reducing the possibility of the cancer returning."

"I am honored to be appointed the The Louise Thomas Chair in Pediatric Cancer Research," says Dr. Katsanis. "This Chair will help support my laboratory, facilitate the recruitment of additional top-notch researchers and enable me to dedicate more time to pediatric cancer research."

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