Submitted by Lee Raaen
The club was privileged to have Dr. Gupta of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center present an encore performance regarding research and advancements in the treatment and prevention of COVID-19 and cancer.
He pointed out that when he last spoke to the club about 11 months ago, a vaccine for COVID-19, particularly mRNA vaccines were mostly a theory. In a short time not only have vaccines been developed, but a large percentage of the population of the country has been vaccinated. King County is fortunate to have approximately 74% of people over the age of 16 vaccinated. Of course far more needs to be done to vaccinate unprotected populations not only in this country but around the world.
South King County has a lower vaccination rate than other areas of the county. This segment of the population has not yet reached the 70% level. Systemic racism and related its economic and other consequences are factors.
While Fred Hutchinson is known for its research into cancer, it is also very involved in the research and development of COVID-19 vaccines. Approximately 20% of their research resources are devoted to COVID.
Dr. Gupta explained the process of the development of COVID variances, and the relative concerns of the A, D, B and G variances first noticed in different countries around the world. The D variance is now the one most of concern here. Approximately 50% of new infections in the US are of the D variance. This is particularly true in low vaccinated areas. The good news is that the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines appear to be effective against this variant.
He explained that it is unknown if or to what extent someone who is fully vaccinated can still transmit the virus. As a result, safety precautions are still advisable by people who are vaccinated but interact with those who are too young or medically unable to receive the vaccines. He personally wears a mask around people indoors who may not be completely vaccinated.
Dr. Gupta for the second portion of his talk offered four alternative topics. The “winning topic” by a poll of the membership was “Harnessing the Immune System to Cure Cancer.” He presented a fascinating look into the use of the modification of T cells and T cell receptors in the fight against cancer. He pointed out that a normal function of T cells is to identify and destroy individual cells in the body which are in some way defective. They are researching the use of that function to target cancer cells. The Hutch has had success in using this approach in blood cancers, but because of the structure and environment of solid tumors, it does not work well with those cancers. Research into modifying cells, including the use of Crispr technology, is attempting to reengineer cells to use the T cell function in solid tumor cancers.
Once again, “Guppy” provided an interesting and informative presentation to our club membership and visitors.
Dr. Amitabha (Uh-Myth-aabh) “Guppy” Gupta got his Ph.D. in Cellular, Molecular, and Biophysical Sciences from Columbia University before moving to the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center to do his post-doctoral research. While he was doing his American Cancer Society-funded research and applying to be a teacher at a small liberal arts school, the Hutch convinced him to stay and talk about their research. He currently serves as the Scientific Content Strategist for the Philanthropy Department, where he keeps his finger on the pulse of the research going on at the Hutch, and helps translate it to the general public.