Welcome to the Summer 2023 issue of the Ludwig Link!
You might notice, first, that the photo accompanying this letter has changed. This is because our former Senior Vice President for Communications, Rachel Reinhardt—whose photo used to be there—has left for sunnier climes, specifically, Arizona. We promise to maintain the high standards she established in this and all future issues.
You’ll still get, for starters, the rich assortment of discoveries made in Ludwig laboratories in our Research news section. We have features on how cancer cells may be reprogrammed into living cancer vaccines and how the immune system’s surveillance of cancer can itself induce metabolic adaptations in tumors that simultaneously promote their growth and equip them to suppress immune responses. And that’s just a sample of what’s on the menu. Read on for more.
We also, sadly, bring news of deaths in the Ludwig community, namely those of Ludwig New York alumnus Herbert Oettgen, former Ludwig Lausanne Director Hugh Robson MacDonald and former Scientific Advisor Christopher Walsh. We offer our condolences to their loved ones and recall, with gratitude, their contributions to our organization and to cancer research.
Our Q&A in this issue is with Ludwig Lausanne’s Michal Bassani-Sternberg, who helped pioneer the field of immunopeptidomics and is applying it to aid the development of personalized immunotherapies. And, of course, we also have news of awards, promotions and honors earned by Ludwig researchers, and of Ludwig’s participation in the AACR Annual Meeting. In our Ask a scientist section, Ludwig researchers tell us which area of cancer research they believe holds the greatest promise for someone now starting up a career in science. See what your colleagues said here.
Happy reading!
Sincerely,
Unmesh Kher
Editorial Director