Anton Wellstein is a Professor and Associate Director for Basic Research at the Lombardi Cancer Center at Georgetown University. He trained as an MD/PhD in Germany and then joined the NIH to study growth factor signaling in cancer in the Medicine Branch of the NCI with Dr. Marc Lippman. He has a major interest in growth factor and cytokine signaling. He has a strong background in pharmacology, and the ultimate aim of his research is to find targets amenable to therapy. He discovered that the receptor for pleiotrophin was ALK and has been working on therapeutic antibodies to interrupt that pathway. He also identified and defined the role of secreted binding proteins for FGF and their function in angiogenesis, cancer, and development. During the past decade, his research has continued to focus on tumor/stromal interaction, with a particular emphasis on the immune system. His major interest is in molecular mechanisms of cancer progression to invasive and metastatic disease and the evasion of the immune system. His lab studies molecular biology mechanisms in cultured cells and mouse models and by using samples from patients in clinical trials. His collaborations are international and include colleagues with expertise in physiology and bioinformatics as well as physician scientists in medicine, radiation oncology, and surgery. The lab has been funded continuously by the NIH.
