Per Basse, MD, PhD, DM.Sci.

Department of Immunology
Assistant Member (Clinical Research)

Specializing In:

  • Immunology, Immunotherapy & Immuno-histology
  • Image Analysis
  • Animal Models, Cancer
  • Natural killer (NK) cells
  • Lymphocyte Traffic
  • Drug delivery (lymphocyte based
  • Microscopy, Confocal, Fluorescence, Live cell

Research Interests:

  • Cancer Immunotherapy
  • Cytotoxic T and NK cells
  • Lymphocyte Traffic
  • Drug delivery
  • Live Cell Microscopy

Biography

I received my M.D. from the University of Aarhus, Denmark, in 1984. Following a residency at the Department of Hematology, Aarhus County Hospital, I was lucky enough to get funding to set up a PhD project to study the trafficking of metastasizing tumor cells as well as activated NK cells at the Department of Immunology at the Institute of Medical Microbiology, University of Aarhus, Denmark.

In 1988 I received a fellowship from the Fogarty International Center, NIH, to study in the US for 1-2 years. I also received an invitation from Ronald B. Herberman, M.D., to join the newly established Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, as a visiting fellow. It was during this period my interest in NK cells changed from serious to passionate as I, against my own predictions, showed that under the right conditions, NK cells localize in high numbers and with impressive selectivity at tumor sites.

I returned to Denmark two years later to finish my Ph.D. in Immunology (“Tissue distribution of NK cells and their role in clearance and metastasis of tumor cells”, University of Aarhus, 1992. Mentors: Dr. Marianne Hokland, M.D., Ph.D., and the late Dr. Iver Heron, M.D., Ph.D.), but at the end of my “two year home-rule” in 1992, I was recruited back to the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute (UPCI) to study cancer immunotherapy based on NK cells, cytotoxic T cells and dendritic cells.

In the summer of 2017, I accepted an exciting offer from Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center to join the newly formed Division of Translational Research, DoM, under the leadership of my friend and former colleague from Pittsburgh, Dr. Pawel Kalinski. While I, in this new position, continue to study traffic and anti-tumor function of immune effector cells, a major and very important and very satisfying difference is that I am now given the possibility to apply myself and my insights from years of animal-based studies directly to translational and clinical cancer research.

Positions

Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center

  • Assistant Member (Clinical Research)
  • Department of Immunology

Background

Education and Training

  • 1992 - PhD - Cancer Immunology/immunotherapy, University of Aarhus, Denmark
  • 1984 - MD - University of Aarhus, Denmark
  • 1996 - DM.Sci. - Immunology/Cancer Immunology, University of Aarhus, Denmark

Residency

  • 1984 - Hematology, Aarhus University Hospital, Denmark

Fellowship

  • 1988-1990 - Fogarty International Center Fellowship (NIH). Anti-cancer effect of NK cells.

Honors & Awards

  • 2011 - Collaborative IDEA Award, Department of Defense, USA
  • 2008 - Concept Award, Department of Defense, USA
  • 2003 - Nominee – Small Group Facilitators, The Excellence in Education Awards
  • 2003 - Nominee – Lecturers, The Excellence in Education Awards
  • 2002 - PA Breast Cancer Coalition Research Grant Award, PA Dept. Health
  • 2000 - Concept Award, Department of Defense, USA
  • 1997 - IDEA Award, Department of Defense, USA
  • First Independent Research Support and Transition Award (NIH)

Research Overview

The overall goal of my research is to develop effective treatments of disseminated cancer based on tumor-seeking lymphocytes. We have shown that some IL-2-activated effector cells such as CD8+ CTLs, but especially natural killer (NK) cells, are impressively capable of localizing into tumors following systemic administration. We believe that we can take advantage of this phenomenon to improve cancer treatment in several ways; (i) By understanding how these lymphocytes succeeded in reaching and infiltrating the tumor areas, we should be able to support other anti-tumor lymphocytes in reaching the tumors sites as well; (ii) By enabling (e.g., via gene-transfer) the tumor homing effector cells to produce various cytokines, they should be able to attract and activate additional host anti-tumor effector cells; (iii) By using the tumor-homing cells as Trojan Horses, we can bring payloads of anti-cancer agents selectively to the tumor tissues.

Publications

  Full Publications list on PubMed
  1. Basse P, Herberman RB, Nannmark U, Johansson BR, Hokland M, Wasserman K, Goldfarb RH. Accumulation of adoptively transferred adherent, lymphokine-activated killer cells in murine metastases. J Exp Med. 1991 Aug 1;174(2):479-88. doi: 10.1084/jem.174.2.479. PMID: 1856630; PMCID: PMC2118902.
  2. Yang Q, Hokland ME, Bryant JL, Zhang Y, Nannmark U, Watkins SC, Goldfarb RH, Herberman RB, Basse PH. Tumor-localization by adoptively transferred, interleukin-2-activated NK cells leads to destruction of well-established lung metastases. Int J Cancer. 2003 Jul 1;105(4):512-9. doi: 10.1002/ijc.11119. PMID: 12712443.
  3. Goding S, Yang Q, Mi Z, Robbins PD, Basse PH. Targeting of products of genes to tumor sites using adoptively transferred A-NK and T-LAK cells. Cancer Gene Ther. 2007 May;14(5):441-50. doi: 10.1038/sj.cgt.7701019. Epub 2007 Feb 2. PMID: 17273184.
  4. Yang Q, Larsen SK, Mi Z, Robbins PD, Basse PH. PTD-mediated loading of tumor-seeking lymphocytes with prodrug-activating enzymes. AAPS J. 2008 Dec;10(4):614-21. doi: 10.1208/s12248-008-9066-z. Epub 2008 Dec 23. PMID: 19104945; PMCID: PMC2628208.
  5. Goding SR, Yu S, Bailey LM, Lotze MT, Basse PH. Adoptive transfer of natural killer cells promotes the anti-tumor efficacy of T cells. Clin Immunol. 2017 Apr;177:76-86. doi: 10.1016/j.clim.2016.06.013. Epub 2016 Jul 1. PMID: 27377534; PMCID: PMC5203973.