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{{Short description|American biochemist (born 1945)}}
'''Joseph Schlessinger''', Ph.D. is Chair of the ] Department at ] School of Medicine in ], ]. His area of research is signaling through ] ] which is important in many areas of cellular regulation, especially growth control and ]. Schlessinger is best known for his pioneering studies that have led to an understanding of the mechanism of transmembrane signaling by receptor tyrosine kinases and how the resulting signals are transmitted within the cell.
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2020}}
{{Infobox scientist
|name = Joseph Schlessinger
|image =
|birth_name = Josip Schlessinger
|birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1945|03|26|df=yes}}
|birth_place = ], (present-day ])
|death_date =
|death_place =
|nationality = Israel<br />United States
|field = ]
|prizes = ] (1995)] (2006)<br />
}}


'''Joseph Schlessinger''' (born Josip Schlessinger; 26 March 1945) is a ]-born ]-] ] and biophysician. He is chair of the ] Department at ] School of Medicine in ], Connecticut, as well as the founding director of the school's new Cancer Biology Institute.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://opac.yale.edu/news/article.aspx?id=8095 |title=Schlessinger Appointed Director of New Cancer Biology Institute at Yale – Yale Office of Public Affairs & Communication |publisher=Opac.yale.edu |date=13 December 2010 |access-date=16 January 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110724185448/http://opac.yale.edu/news/article.aspx?id=8095 |archive-date=24 July 2011 }}</ref> His area of research is signaling through ] ], which is important in many areas of cellular regulation, especially growth control and cancer. Schlessinger's work has led to an understanding of the mechanism of transmembrane signaling by receptor ]s<ref name=LemmonSchlessinger2010>{{cite journal|last1=Lemmon|first1=Mark Andrew|author-link1=Mark A. Lemmon|last2=Schlessinger|first2=Joseph|title=Cell Signaling by Receptor Tyrosine Kinases|journal=Cell|volume=141|issue=7|year=2010|pages=1117–1134|doi=10.1016/j.cell.2010.06.011|pmid=20602996|pmc=2914105}}</ref> and how the resulting signals control cell growth and differentiation.
==Academic Positions==
Joseph Schlessinger has been the ] Professor and Chairman of the Department of ] at ] since 2001. He was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 2000, and to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2001. He is a member of the Editorial Boards of numerous prestigious journals, including Cell and ] Schlessinger has also been the recipient of numerous prizes, including the Michael Landau Prize (1973), the Sara Leady Prize (1980), the Hestrin Prize (1983), the Levinson Prize (1984), a Ciba-Drew Award (1995), the Antoine Lacassagne Prize (1995), the Taylor Prize (2000), and the ] (2006).<ref></ref><ref></ref> In 2002, he was granted an Honorary Doctorate of Philosophy from the University of Haifa,<ref></ref> and has given a long list of named lectures at many top institutions.<ref></ref>


==Biography==
Prior to joining Yale University Joseph Schlessinger was the Director of the ] for ] Medicine at ] (NYU) Medical Center from 1998–2001 and the Milton and Helen Kimmelman Professor and Chairman of the Department of ] at NYU Medical School from 1990–2001. He was a member of the faculty of the ] from 1978–1991, and was the Ruth and Leonard Simon Professor of Cancer Research in the Department of Immunology at the ] from 1985–1991.<ref></ref>
Josip Schlessinger was born in ] to Jewish parents. His father ] came from ], ], ], since 1920 ]; Imre's first wife and child had been deported to ]. Schlessinger's mother Rivka was from ]; her first husband had been murdered by the ]. Imre and Rivka met in a ] in 1943 and joined a group of Jewish ].


When Schlessinger was born on 26 March 1945 he was wrapped in a ] parachute. He was named for his grandfather. After World War II the family moved to ], where another son, Darko David, was born. Imre Schlessinger once made a joke at the expense of ] and was sentenced to several months in jail.<ref name=jl>{{cite news|url=http://www.jutarnji.hr/joseph-schlessinger--borio-sam-se-za-izrael--izumio-sutent--sad-mogu-natrag-u-svoju-hrvatsku/309456 |title=Joseph Schlessinger: Borio sam se za Izrael, izumio Sutent. Sad mogu natrag u svoju Hrvatsku |publisher=] |work=jutarnji.hr |language=Croatian |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121016130543/http://www.jutarnji.hr/joseph-schlessinger--borio-sam-se-za-izrael--izumio-sutent--sad-mogu-natrag-u-svoju-hrvatsku/309456/ |archive-date=16 October 2012 }}</ref><ref name="hakol">Ha-Kol (Glasilo Židovske zajednice u Hrvatskoj); Joseph Schlessinger odlikovan visokim Hrvatskim odličjem; stranica 54; broj 111, listopad/rujan 2009.{{in lang|hr}}</ref>
==Education and Training==
Joseph Schlessinger received his B.Sc. degree in Chemistry and Physics in 1968 (magna cum laude), plus an M.Sc. degree in chemistry (also magna cum laude) in 1970 from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. <ref></ref> He obtained his Ph.D. degree in biophysics from the Weizmann Institute of Science in 1974. From 1974–1976, he was a postdoctoral fellow in the Departments of Chemistry and Applied Physics at Cornell University, in Ithaca, New York (working with Elliot Elson and Watt Webb). From 1977–1978, Schlessinger was a visiting fellow in the immunology branch of the National Cancer Institute of NIH.<ref></ref>


The family moved to Israel in 1948.<ref name="The long war">{{cite web|url=http://info.med.yale.edu/pharm/faculty/index.php?bioID=13|title=The long war|publisher=Info.med.yale.edu |date=28 September 2010|access-date=16 January 2012}}</ref> Schlessinger served his compulsory military service with the ] and was commissioned an officer. As part of his reserve duty he participated in the ] and the ].{{citation needed|date=February 2016}}
==Publications and Research==

According to ], Joseph Schlessinger has authored over 400 scientific original and review articles in the area of pharmacology, molecular biology, biochemistry, and structural biology. Joseph Schlessinger is an expert in the area of ] signaling. ] signaling plays a critical role in the control of many cellular processes including ], ], ], as well as cell survival and ].<ref></ref>. Tyrosine kinases play a particularly important role in ], and several agents that block their activity are now used as anti-cancer drugs, such as ]. In 2001, Schlessinger was ranked by the ISI as one of the world's top 30 most cited scientists (across all fields) in the 1990s. <ref></ref>. His papers have been cited a total of 72,216 times<ref></ref>. A September 2003 article in the UK newspaper 'The Guardian' listed Schlessinger as number 14 in the "Giants of Science"<ref></ref>.
Schlessinger received his BSc degree in ] and ] in 1968 (magna cum laude), and an MSc degree in chemistry (also magna cum laude) in 1970 from the ].<ref name="Schlessinger Lab: Biography">{{cite web|url=http://www.med.yale.edu/pharm/chairman/biography.htm|title=Schlessinger Lab: Biography|publisher=Med.yale.edu|access-date=16 January 2012}}</ref>

He obtained his PhD degree in ] from the ] in 1974. From 1974 to 1976, he was a postdoctoral fellow in the Departments of Chemistry and Applied Physics at ] in ], working with ], among others. From 1977 to 1978, he was a visiting fellow in the immunology branch of the ].<ref name="Schlessinger Lab: Biography"/>


==Personal life== ==Personal life==
He is married to Irit Lax, also a professor in the pharmacology department at Yale. They each have two children by previous marriages.<ref name="The long war"/> In a 2009 interview with a Croatian daily newspaper '']'', he said, "Basically I am atheist. I grew up Jewish and I truly belong to the Jewish culture, but I'm not a follower of any world religion. Religion does not interest me at all."<ref name=jl/>
Joseph Schlessinger was born March 26, 1945, in the village of ] in ].<ref></ref> Schlessinger is married to ] who was recently promoted to Associate Research Scientist in the Pharmacology Department at Yale. She was previously an Assistant Professor in the Pharmacology Department at NYU Medical Center. The focus of her research is on the fibroblast growth factor (FGF) receptor, an area in which ] searches show that she has authored approximately 130 publications, many of them in collaboration with Joseph Schlessinger. Lax has been working for Joseph Schlessinger since she was a graduate student in ] in the early 1980s. They are married and each has two children from a previous marriage.<ref></ref>


==Academic career==
==Sugen==
Schlessinger was a member of the faculty of the Weizmann Institute from 1978 to 1991 and was the Ruth and Leonard Simon Professor of Cancer Research in the department of ] from 1985 to 1991. In addition, he was a research director for Rorer Biotechnology in ], from 1985 to 1990. In 1990, he was appointed as the Milton and Helen Kimmelman Professor and chairman of the department of ] at the ]. He served as director of ]'s Skirball Institute for Biomolecular Medicine, from 1998 to 2001.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://info.med.yale.edu/pharm/faculty/index.php?bioID=1|title=Schlessinger's Departmental website at Yale University|publisher=Info.med.yale.edu |date=28 September 2010|access-date=16 January 2012}}</ref>
Joseph Schlessinger co-founded (with Axel Ullrich and Steven Evans-Freke) the biotechnology company ] in 1991, with the idea of developing anti-cancer therapeutics. In particular, the focus was on ATP-like molecules that would compete with ATP for binding to the catalytic site of receptor tyrosine kinases. This concept has led to the development of an important small-molecule tyrosine kinase inhibitor called ]. This drug is marketed by Pfizer as Sutent <ref></ref>. After a priority review, Sutent was FDA approved in 2006 (in less than 6 months) for use in treating renal cell carcinoma (RCC) and imatinib-resistant gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST). The FDA approval of Sutent marked the first time that the agency had ever approved a new oncology product for two indications simultaneously <ref></ref>. Sugen was acquired by Pharmacia in 1999, which merged with a part of Monsanto in 2000, and was finally acquired by Pfizer in 2003.


He has been the ] Professor and chairman of the department of ] at ] since 2001. He was elected to the ] in 2000, to the ] in 2001, and to the ] in 2005.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www8.nationalacademies.org/onpinews/newsitem.aspx?RecordID=10242005|title=News release from Institute of Medicine|publisher=.nationalacademies.org|date=24 October 2005|access-date=16 January 2012}}</ref>
Sutent/] (formerly SU11248) is a small-molecule tyrosine kinase inhibitor that inhibits several receptor tyrosine kinases including the platelet derived growth factor receptor (PDGFR), vascular endothelial growth factor receptors (VEGF-R), c-Kit (the receptor for stem cell factor), and others. Its mechanism of action in cancer treatment involves simultaneous inhibition of angiogenesis and tumor cell proliferation, reducing tumor vascularization and promoting cell death.


He is a member of the editorial boards of several journals, including '']'',<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cell.com/misc/page?page=contact|title=Cell masthead link|publisher=Cell.com|access-date=16 January 2012}}</ref> '']'',<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.molecule.org/misc/page?page=contact |title=Molecular Cell masthead link |publisher=Molecule.org |access-date=16 January 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080416040635/http://www.molecule.org/misc/page?page=contact |archive-date=16 April 2008 }}</ref> the '']'',<ref></ref> and the '']'' magazine ''Science Signaling''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://stke.sciencemag.org/about/edboard|title=AAAS/Science STKE Editorial Board page|publisher=Stke.sciencemag.org|access-date=16 January 2012}}</ref>
==Plexxikon==
Following his involvement in Sugen, Joseph Schlessinger co-founded Plexxikon with Professor ] of the University of California, Berkeley. Plexxikon was founded in 2001, and uses a pioneering structural biology-based platform to drive the rapid discovery of novel drugs for several different targets <ref></ref>. One of the most advanced drugs under development at Plexxikon is an inhibitor of an activated form of the B-Raf kinase. A V600E mutant of the B-Raf kinase is found in approximately 70% of malignant melanomas, a large percentage of colorectal and thyroid cancers and many other tumor types. PLX4032 selectively inhibits this form of the kinase, and is currently in clinical trials. Plexxikon has entered into a partnership with Roche Pharmaceuticals to develop PLX4032 as a targeted anti-cancer therapeutic <ref></ref>. Plexxikon is also collaborating with Wyeth Pharmaceuticals on several products (centered on PPAR inhibitors) for use in type II diabetes and other metabolic disorders <ref></ref>. The most advanced of these agents is PLX204, which is currently in Phase 2 clinical trials for type II diabetes <ref></ref>.


==Awards and recognition==
==Yeda/Aventis/Imclone Patent Controversy and Trial==
Schlessinger is the recipient of numerous prizes, including the Michael Landau Prize (1973),<ref name="Schlessinger Lab: Biography"/> the Sara Leady Prize (1980),<ref name="Schlessinger Lab: Biography"/><ref name="CV on ISI Website"/> the Hestrin Prize (1983),<ref name="Schlessinger Lab: Biography"/><ref name="CV on ISI Website">{{cite web|url=http://hcr3.isiknowledge.com/author.cgi?&link1=Results&id=255 |title=CV on ISI Website |publisher=Hcr3.isiknowledge.com |date=31 December 2011 |access-date=16 January 2012}}</ref> the Levinson Prize (1984),<ref name="CV on ISI Website"/> a ] (1995),<ref name="CV on ISI Website"/> the Antoine Lacassagne Prize (1995),<ref name="CV on ISI Website"/> the Taylor Prize (2000),<ref name="CV on ISI Website"/><ref>{{Dead link|date=February 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> and the ] (2006).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dandavidprize.org/index.php/laureates/laureates-2006/61-future-2006-cancer-therapy/87-future-2006-cancer-therapy.html |title=Joseph Schlessinger profile |publisher=Dan David Prize |access-date=16 January 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120129053721/http://www.dandavidprize.org/index.php/laureates/laureates-2006/61-future-2006-cancer-therapy/87-future-2006-cancer-therapy.html |archive-date=29 January 2012 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2006-05/tu-ddp052406.php|title=Dan David announcement|publisher=Eurekalert.org|date=24 May 2006|access-date=16 January 2012}}</ref>
Yeda Research and Development Co, Ltd, a company set up to commercialize and market the products of research at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel<ref></ref>, have recently challenged the Aventis-owned patent, licensed by Imclone, for the use of anti-] antibodies in combination with chemotherapy, to slow the growth of certain tumors. This is the so-called '866' patent<ref></ref> which was filed in 1989 by Rhone-Poulenc-Rorer, on which Joseph Schlessinger is listed as first-named inventor, although he receives no royalties from Imclone or Aventis <ref></ref>.


In 2002, he was granted an ] from the ].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://research.haifa.ac.il/~focus/2002-summer/03honors.html|title=University of Haifa|publisher=Research.haifa.ac.il|access-date=16 January 2012}}</ref> He has lectured at many institutions,<ref name="Schlessinger Lab: Biography"/> including the Harvey Society (in the 1993–1994 Harvey Lectures series)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?Db=pubmed&Cmd=ShowDetailView&TermToSearch=7622357&ordinalpos=23&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_RVDocSum|title=NCBI Pubmed Citation of Harvey Lecture by J. Schlessinger|publisher=Ncbi.nlm.nih.gov|date=3 October 2011|access-date=16 January 2012}}</ref> and the 2006 Keith R. Porter Lecture of the American Society for Cell Biology.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ascb.org/index.cfm?navid=4&id=1726&tcode=nws3 |title=Porter lecture laureates |publisher=Ascb.org |access-date=16 January 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070715210851/https://www.ascb.org/index.cfm?navid=4&id=1726&tcode=nws3 |archive-date=15 July 2007 }}</ref>
Joseph Schlessinger's former colleagues at the ] in ], in particular Michael Sela, claimed to have come up with this concept alongside Joseph Schlessinger when he worked there years ago, and challenged the Aventis patent at ] in the ]. Joseph Schlessinger gave testimony in court that stated the idea of the drug was his idea alone. However, scientists at the ] provided extensive scientific documentation and ] that they had also been developing the idea for years prior. Joseph Schlessinger claims to have had the idea but had not documented his research and ideas as thoroughly, leaving him forced to rely on his recollections of the patent filing some 17 years before Yeda mounted their challenge.<ref></ref>


In 2009, he was elected as a Member of the ].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://info.hazu.hr/corresponding_members|title=List of Corresponding Members of Croatian Academy or Science and Arts|publisher=Info.hazu.hr|access-date=16 January 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100225034825/http://info.hazu.hr/corresponding_members|archive-date=25 February 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://info.hazu.hr/jschlessinger_biography_en|title=Personal Page for Schlessinger at Croatian Academy of Science and Arts|publisher=Info.hazu.hr|access-date=16 January 2012}}</ref>
According to a ] article, Judge ], the presiding federal judge in this case, dismissed Joseph Schlessinger's ] as "'not credible,' 'contorted,' 'incredible' and 'wholly unsubstantiated by any contemporaneous records.'" <ref></ref>. The article continued on to quote Judge Buchwald as stating that "The Weizmann scientists have presented documentary evidence substantiating each step of the inventive process, in stark contrast to the dearth of evidence supporting the named inventors' version of events." She went on to describe the ] corroborating evidence as "overwhelming," and of "extraordinary breadth." "...Schlessinger's explanation... can most generously be described as strained," Judge Buchwald wrote in her opinion.<ref></ref>.


In 2012, the '''Hope Funds for Cancer Research''' selected Schlessinger to receive its Award of Excellence for Clinical Development. In 2009, Schlessinger was given an award by then-President of Croatia ] for outstanding service in promoting Croatia in the international scientific community and for the contribution within Croatian biomedical sciences.<ref name="hakol"/>
] filed a countersuit in 2006<ref></ref>, claiming that the '866' patent is invalid due to the removal by Yeda of the originally named inventors. Imclone is vigorously pursuing their appeal.

In September 2003, '']'' listed him as number 14 in the "Giants of Science".<ref>{{cite news|author=Ian Sample|url=http://education.guardian.co.uk/higher/sciences/story/0,,1048716,00.html|title=Guardian article, The Giants of Science|publisher=Education.guardian.co.uk|access-date=16 January 2012|location=London, UK|date=25 September 2003}}</ref> He received, along with ] and ], the 2014 ] in the Biomedicine category for "carving out the path that led to the development of a new class of successful cancer drugs."{{citation needed|date=February 2016}}

==Publications and research==
{{BLP sources section|date=December 2016}}
According to ], Schlessinger has authored over 450 scientific original and review articles in the areas of pharmacology, molecular biology, biochemistry, and structural biology, mostly on ] signaling. Tyrosine kinase signaling plays a critical role in the control of many cellular processes including ], ], ], as well as cell survival and ].<ref name="Schlessinger Lab: Biography"/>

Tyrosine kinases play a particularly important role in cancer, and several agents that block their activity are now used as anti-cancer drugs, such as ] or ]. Among his contributions are the findings that cell surface receptors with tyrosine kinase activity signal across membrane by forming dimers when they bind to their growth factor activators. He discovered this in studies of the ] (EGFR). He was also instrumental in understanding how the ] controls tyrosine kinase signaling by binding to phosphorylated tyrosines in activated receptors. One of the seminal findings in this work was his laboratory's cloning of ] and other ]s.

Another is the lab's cloning of ], which is critical for signaling by the ]. In 2001, he was ranked by the ] as one of the world's top 30 most cited scientists (across all fields) in the 1990s.<ref>{{cite web |author=Nancy Imelda Schafer, ISI |url=http://www.in-cites.com/scientists/dr-joseph-schlessinger.html |title=ISI InCites Interview |publisher=In-cites.com |date=18 October 2004 |access-date=16 January 2012 |archive-date=13 February 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090213043548/http://www.in-cites.com/scientists/dr-joseph-schlessinger.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> According to ISI, his papers have been cited a total of 76,699 times.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://isihighlycited.com/ |title=ISI Highly Cited Scientists Database|publisher=Isihighlycited.com |date=31 December 2011|access-date=16 January 2012}}</ref>
=== Select publications ===

* {{Cite Q|Q27860624}}
* {{Cite Q|Q24598357}}
* {{Cite Q|Q24597152}}

==Controversy==
In 2006, a ] lawsuit was initiated against Yale University by Schlessinger's former secretary, Mary Beth Garceau, who alleged numerous episodes of harassment during her employment at Yale<ref>{{Dead link|date=February 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, hartford.edu; accessed 28 February 2016.</ref><ref>, accessmylibrary.com, 1 January 2007.</ref><ref>, ''Chronicle of Higher Education''], 2 December 2006.</ref><ref>, Yale Daily News, 1 Dec. 2006</ref> and claimed ] failed to act upon her frequent complaints, causing her to resign. The case was settled out of court in mid-2007 and the terms of the settlement were not publicly disclosed.<ref> {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071008214902/http://www.yalealumnimagazine.com/issues/2007_07/l_v.html |date=8 October 2007 }}, ''Yale Alumni Magazine'', July 2007.</ref>

==SUGEN==
In 1991, Schlessinger co-founded (with ] and Steven Evans-Freke) the biotechnology company ] to develop ATP-like molecules that would compete with ATP for binding to the catalytic site of receptor tyrosine kinases in cancer treatment. In 1999, Sugen was acquired by Pharmacia & Upjohn for $650 million<ref>, 16 June 1999.</ref> and in 2003, ] was acquired by ].<ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130319002846/http://www.pfizer.com/about/history/pfizer_pharmacia.jsp |date=19 March 2013 }}; retrieved 29 September 2015.</ref> One of the pipeline products (SU11248) was ultimately developed by Pfizer as Sutent (]),<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sutent.com|title=Sutent website|publisher=Sutent.com|access-date=16 January 2012}}</ref> approved by the FDA for treating gastrointestinal stromal tumors and renal cell carcinoma.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/2006/ucm108583.htm|title=FDA news announcement on Sutent|publisher=Fda.gov|date=26 January 2006|access-date=16 January 2012}}</ref>

==Plexxikon==
In 2001, Schlessinger co-founded ] with ] (]). Plexxikon, uses a pioneering structural biology-based platform for drug discovery.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.plexxikon.com|title=Plexxikon web site|publisher=Plexxikon.com |access-date=16 January 2012}}</ref> In April 2011, Plexxikon was acquired by the Japanese pharmaceutical company ] for $805 million and an additional $130 m in potential milestone payments.<ref>{{cite web|title=Daiichi Sankyo to Acquire Plexxikon|url=http://www.plexxikon.com/view.cfm/88/Press-Releases|access-date=28 February 2016}}</ref>


==Kolltan Pharmaceuticals==
==Sexual Harassment Lawsuit==
In 2007, Schlessinger co-founded Kolltan Pharmaceuticals with ] Kolltan Pharmaceuticals is an early-stage biotech that develops antibodies to treat solid tumors.<ref>, nasdaq.com, 12 September 2014.</ref><ref>, 12 September 2014.</ref><ref>Pablo Robles, , hartfordbusiness.com, 13 January 2014.</ref><ref>{{Dead link|date=February 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, chicagotribune.com, 27 December 2015.</ref>
The complaint, initiated by Joseph Schlessinger's former secretary, (Mary Beth Garceau v. ]) alleged Joseph Schlessinger initiated numerous conversations with her about sex, bragged to her about the number of women he had slept with, claiming the number came to 46, told jokes about penis size and commented on the size of her breasts and style of her underwear.<ref></ref><ref>"Yale Professor Faces Sexual Harassment Suit" WCBS 880 New York as cited in </ref><ref></ref><ref></ref>


In April 2014, Kolltan received $60 million in equity financing.<ref>J.R. Reed , yaledailynews.com, 4 April 2014.</ref> In September 2014, Kolltan filed for an ] and in January 2015, they withdrew the IPO.<ref>, nasdaq.com, 28 January 2015.</ref> In November 2016, ] acquired Kolltan for $235 million.<ref> 2 November 2016</ref>


==References==
{{Reflist}}


==External links==
The complaint also stated that on one occasion, Joseph Schlessinger called Garceau into his office and showed her a photo of a naked woman without a head who Joseph Schlessinger claimed was his wife. While he was showing Mary Beth Garceau the photo, according to the account, Irit Lax walked in and started yelling at her husband. <ref></ref>
*{{Official website|http://www.med.yale.edu/pharm/chairman/biography.htm}}
*


{{Authority control}}
Garceau claims that ] did nothing to stop the ] despite her frequent complaints, forcing her to resign because of the situation. A spokesperson for ] initially told the ] in an interview that "they'll fight the suit in court."<ref></ref> Several months later on however, the case was settled out of court for an undisclosed dollar amount, without any admission of guilt. <ref></ref><ref></ref>


{{DEFAULTSORT:Schlessinger, Joseph}}
==References==
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*, M2 Presswire, 05-JUN-01.
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*http://www.med.yale.edu/pharm/chairman/biography.htm
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Latest revision as of 14:20, 4 December 2024

American biochemist (born 1945)

Joseph Schlessinger
BornJosip Schlessinger
(1945-03-26) 26 March 1945 (age 79)
Topusko, (present-day Republic of Croatia)
NationalityIsrael
United States
AwardsCiba-Drew Award (1995)Dan David Prize (2006)
Scientific career
FieldsPharmacology

Joseph Schlessinger (born Josip Schlessinger; 26 March 1945) is a Yugoslav-born Israeli-American biochemist and biophysician. He is chair of the Pharmacology Department at Yale University School of Medicine in New Haven, Connecticut, as well as the founding director of the school's new Cancer Biology Institute. His area of research is signaling through tyrosine phosphorylation, which is important in many areas of cellular regulation, especially growth control and cancer. Schlessinger's work has led to an understanding of the mechanism of transmembrane signaling by receptor tyrosine kinases and how the resulting signals control cell growth and differentiation.

Biography

Josip Schlessinger was born in Topusko to Jewish parents. His father Imre came from Szalatnok, Kingdom of Hungary, Kingdom of Hungary, since 1920 Slatina; Imre's first wife and child had been deported to Auschwitz. Schlessinger's mother Rivka was from Bugojno; her first husband had been murdered by the Ustaše. Imre and Rivka met in a labor camp on the Adriatic island of Rab in 1943 and joined a group of Jewish Partisans.

When Schlessinger was born on 26 March 1945 he was wrapped in a British military parachute. He was named for his grandfather. After World War II the family moved to Osijek, where another son, Darko David, was born. Imre Schlessinger once made a joke at the expense of Tito and was sentenced to several months in jail.

The family moved to Israel in 1948. Schlessinger served his compulsory military service with the Golani Brigade and was commissioned an officer. As part of his reserve duty he participated in the Six-Day War and the Yom Kippur War.

Schlessinger received his BSc degree in Chemistry and Physics in 1968 (magna cum laude), and an MSc degree in chemistry (also magna cum laude) in 1970 from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

He obtained his PhD degree in biophysics from the Weizmann Institute of Science in 1974. From 1974 to 1976, he was a postdoctoral fellow in the Departments of Chemistry and Applied Physics at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, working with Watt W. Webb, among others. From 1977 to 1978, he was a visiting fellow in the immunology branch of the National Cancer Institute.

Personal life

He is married to Irit Lax, also a professor in the pharmacology department at Yale. They each have two children by previous marriages. In a 2009 interview with a Croatian daily newspaper Jutarnji list, he said, "Basically I am atheist. I grew up Jewish and I truly belong to the Jewish culture, but I'm not a follower of any world religion. Religion does not interest me at all."

Academic career

Schlessinger was a member of the faculty of the Weizmann Institute from 1978 to 1991 and was the Ruth and Leonard Simon Professor of Cancer Research in the department of immunology from 1985 to 1991. In addition, he was a research director for Rorer Biotechnology in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, from 1985 to 1990. In 1990, he was appointed as the Milton and Helen Kimmelman Professor and chairman of the department of pharmacology at the New York University School of Medicine. He served as director of NYU Medical Center's Skirball Institute for Biomolecular Medicine, from 1998 to 2001.

He has been the William H. Prusoff Professor and chairman of the department of pharmacology at Yale School of Medicine since 2001. He was elected to the United States National Academy of Sciences in 2000, to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2001, and to the Institute of Medicine in 2005.

He is a member of the editorial boards of several journals, including Cell, Molecular Cell, the Journal of Cell Biology, and the Science magazine Science Signaling.

Awards and recognition

Schlessinger is the recipient of numerous prizes, including the Michael Landau Prize (1973), the Sara Leady Prize (1980), the Hestrin Prize (1983), the Levinson Prize (1984), a Ciba-Drew Award (1995), the Antoine Lacassagne Prize (1995), the Taylor Prize (2000), and the Dan David Prize (2006).

In 2002, he was granted an honorary doctorate from the University of Haifa. He has lectured at many institutions, including the Harvey Society (in the 1993–1994 Harvey Lectures series) and the 2006 Keith R. Porter Lecture of the American Society for Cell Biology.

In 2009, he was elected as a Member of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts.

In 2012, the Hope Funds for Cancer Research selected Schlessinger to receive its Award of Excellence for Clinical Development. In 2009, Schlessinger was given an award by then-President of Croatia Stjepan Mesić for outstanding service in promoting Croatia in the international scientific community and for the contribution within Croatian biomedical sciences.

In September 2003, The Guardian listed him as number 14 in the "Giants of Science". He received, along with Charles Sawyers and Tony Hunter, the 2014 BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award in the Biomedicine category for "carving out the path that led to the development of a new class of successful cancer drugs."

Publications and research

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According to PubMed, Schlessinger has authored over 450 scientific original and review articles in the areas of pharmacology, molecular biology, biochemistry, and structural biology, mostly on tyrosine kinase signaling. Tyrosine kinase signaling plays a critical role in the control of many cellular processes including cell proliferation, differentiation, metabolism, as well as cell survival and migration.

Tyrosine kinases play a particularly important role in cancer, and several agents that block their activity are now used as anti-cancer drugs, such as Imatinib or Gleevec. Among his contributions are the findings that cell surface receptors with tyrosine kinase activity signal across membrane by forming dimers when they bind to their growth factor activators. He discovered this in studies of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). He was also instrumental in understanding how the SH2 domain controls tyrosine kinase signaling by binding to phosphorylated tyrosines in activated receptors. One of the seminal findings in this work was his laboratory's cloning of Grb2 and other Adaptor proteins.

Another is the lab's cloning of FRS2, which is critical for signaling by the Fibroblast growth factor receptor. In 2001, he was ranked by the ISI Highly Cited as one of the world's top 30 most cited scientists (across all fields) in the 1990s. According to ISI, his papers have been cited a total of 76,699 times.

Select publications

Controversy

In 2006, a sexual harassment lawsuit was initiated against Yale University by Schlessinger's former secretary, Mary Beth Garceau, who alleged numerous episodes of harassment during her employment at Yale and claimed Yale University failed to act upon her frequent complaints, causing her to resign. The case was settled out of court in mid-2007 and the terms of the settlement were not publicly disclosed.

SUGEN

In 1991, Schlessinger co-founded (with Axel Ullrich and Steven Evans-Freke) the biotechnology company SUGEN to develop ATP-like molecules that would compete with ATP for binding to the catalytic site of receptor tyrosine kinases in cancer treatment. In 1999, Sugen was acquired by Pharmacia & Upjohn for $650 million and in 2003, Pharmacia was acquired by Pfizer. One of the pipeline products (SU11248) was ultimately developed by Pfizer as Sutent (Sunitinib), approved by the FDA for treating gastrointestinal stromal tumors and renal cell carcinoma.

Plexxikon

In 2001, Schlessinger co-founded Plexxikon with Sung-Hou Kim (University of California, Berkeley). Plexxikon, uses a pioneering structural biology-based platform for drug discovery. In April 2011, Plexxikon was acquired by the Japanese pharmaceutical company Daiichi Sankyo for $805 million and an additional $130 m in potential milestone payments.

Kolltan Pharmaceuticals

In 2007, Schlessinger co-founded Kolltan Pharmaceuticals with Arthur Altschul Jr. Kolltan Pharmaceuticals is an early-stage biotech that develops antibodies to treat solid tumors.

In April 2014, Kolltan received $60 million in equity financing. In September 2014, Kolltan filed for an IPO and in January 2015, they withdrew the IPO. In November 2016, Celldex Therapeutics acquired Kolltan for $235 million.

References

  1. "Schlessinger Appointed Director of New Cancer Biology Institute at Yale – Yale Office of Public Affairs & Communication". Opac.yale.edu. 13 December 2010. Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 16 January 2012.
  2. Lemmon, Mark Andrew; Schlessinger, Joseph (2010). "Cell Signaling by Receptor Tyrosine Kinases". Cell. 141 (7): 1117–1134. doi:10.1016/j.cell.2010.06.011. PMC 2914105. PMID 20602996.
  3. ^ "Joseph Schlessinger: Borio sam se za Izrael, izumio Sutent. Sad mogu natrag u svoju Hrvatsku". jutarnji.hr (in Croatian). Jutarnji list. Archived from the original on 16 October 2012.
  4. ^ Ha-Kol (Glasilo Židovske zajednice u Hrvatskoj); Joseph Schlessinger odlikovan visokim Hrvatskim odličjem; stranica 54; broj 111, listopad/rujan 2009.(in Croatian)
  5. ^ "The long war". Info.med.yale.edu. 28 September 2010. Retrieved 16 January 2012.
  6. ^ "Schlessinger Lab: Biography". Med.yale.edu. Retrieved 16 January 2012.
  7. "Schlessinger's Departmental website at Yale University". Info.med.yale.edu. 28 September 2010. Retrieved 16 January 2012.
  8. "News release from Institute of Medicine". .nationalacademies.org. 24 October 2005. Retrieved 16 January 2012.
  9. "Cell masthead link". Cell.com. Retrieved 16 January 2012.
  10. "Molecular Cell masthead link". Molecule.org. Archived from the original on 16 April 2008. Retrieved 16 January 2012.
  11. J. Cell Biol. Masthead site
  12. "AAAS/Science STKE Editorial Board page". Stke.sciencemag.org. Retrieved 16 January 2012.
  13. ^ "CV on ISI Website". Hcr3.isiknowledge.com. 31 December 2011. Retrieved 16 January 2012.
  14. Taylor Prize announcement
  15. "Joseph Schlessinger profile". Dan David Prize. Archived from the original on 29 January 2012. Retrieved 16 January 2012.
  16. "Dan David announcement". Eurekalert.org. 24 May 2006. Retrieved 16 January 2012.
  17. "University of Haifa". Research.haifa.ac.il. Retrieved 16 January 2012.
  18. "NCBI Pubmed Citation of Harvey Lecture by J. Schlessinger". Ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. 3 October 2011. Retrieved 16 January 2012.
  19. "Porter lecture laureates". Ascb.org. Archived from the original on 15 July 2007. Retrieved 16 January 2012.
  20. "List of Corresponding Members of Croatian Academy or Science and Arts". Info.hazu.hr. Archived from the original on 25 February 2010. Retrieved 16 January 2012.
  21. "Personal Page for Schlessinger at Croatian Academy of Science and Arts". Info.hazu.hr. Retrieved 16 January 2012.
  22. Ian Sample (25 September 2003). "Guardian article, The Giants of Science". London, UK: Education.guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 16 January 2012.
  23. Nancy Imelda Schafer, ISI (18 October 2004). "ISI InCites Interview". In-cites.com. Archived from the original on 13 February 2009. Retrieved 16 January 2012.
  24. "ISI Highly Cited Scientists Database". Isihighlycited.com. 31 December 2011. Retrieved 16 January 2012.
  25. University of Hartford Media Watch (27 November - 4 December 2006), hartford.edu; accessed 28 February 2016.
  26. Yale ex-secretary sues for sex harassment From publication: "Women in Higher Education", accessmylibrary.com, 1 January 2007.
  27. "Alleged Harassment by Renowned Researcher Prompts Suit Against Yale", Chronicle of Higher Education], 2 December 2006.
  28. "Univ. faces harassment lawsuit", Yale Daily News, 1 Dec. 2006
  29. "Another Lawsuit Against the University" Archived 8 October 2007 at the Wayback Machine, Yale Alumni Magazine, July 2007.
  30. Los Angeles Times: "Pharmacia to Buy Sugen for $650 Million", 16 June 1999.
  31. Pfizer corporate website: "2003:Pfizer and Pharmacia Merger" Archived 19 March 2013 at the Wayback Machine; retrieved 29 September 2015.
  32. "Sutent website". Sutent.com. Retrieved 16 January 2012.
  33. "FDA news announcement on Sutent". Fda.gov. 26 January 2006. Retrieved 16 January 2012.
  34. "Plexxikon web site". Plexxikon.com. Retrieved 16 January 2012.
  35. "Daiichi Sankyo to Acquire Plexxikon". Retrieved 28 February 2016.
  36. "Cancer biotech Kolltan Pharmaceuticals files for an $86 million IPO", nasdaq.com, 12 September 2014.
  37. UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION - FORM S-1- REGISTRATION STATEMENT KOLLTAN PHARMACEUTICALS, INC (filing), 12 September 2014.
  38. Pablo Robles, "Startup's cancer therapy preps for 2014 clinical trials", hartfordbusiness.com, 13 January 2014.
  39. "What is the history of Arthur G. Altschul Jr and the latest information about Arthur G. Altschul Jr?", chicagotribune.com, 27 December 2015.
  40. J.R. Reed "With $60 million, cancer drug develops", yaledailynews.com, 4 April 2014.
  41. "Cancer biotech Kolltan Pharmaceuticals withdraws $86 million IPO", nasdaq.com, 28 January 2015.
  42. Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology News: "Celldex to Acquire Kolltan for Up to $235M" 2 November 2016

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