Patrick Hwu: Saddened to Hear of the Passing of a Giant in Immunology - Dr. Zelig Eshhar / cancer, CAR T cell research, immunology, National Cancer Institute,

Zelig Eshhar, PhD, one of the foundational figures in cancer immunotherapy and the scientist behind the concept of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy, passed away on July 3, 2025, at the a...

Research by Weizmann Institute scientist and Israel Prize winner saved 'countless lives,' was basis for technology sold for $12 billion in 2017

Dr. Zelig Eshhar, a professor of immunology at the Weizmann Institute of Science and head of immunology research at the Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, passed away on July 3, 2025, at the age of 84. Zelig was best known as the pioneer of chimeric antigen receptor T cell (CAR-T) therapy, which he dubbed the “T-body approach” in the late 1980s. He devoted decades of animal model research to optimizing and generalizing the approach. In the past decade, he has lived to see the technology evolve to become a transformative and life-saving cancer immunotherapy.

YouTube video by Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer

Zelig Eshhar, PhD, one of the foundational figures in cancer immunotherapy and the scientist behind the concept of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy, passed away on July 3, 2025, at the a...

YouTube video by Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer

Eshhar, Z., Waks, T., Gross, G. & Schindler, D. G. Specific activation and targeting of cytotoxic lymphocytes through chimeric single chains consisting of antibody-binding domains and the gamma or zeta subunits of the immunoglobulin and T-cell receptors. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 90, 720–724 (1993). Porter, D. L., Levine, B. L., Kalos, M., Bagg, A. & June, C. H. Chimeric antigen receptor-modified T cells in chronic lymphoid leukemia. N. Engl. J. Med. 365, 725–733 (2011). Roddie, C. et al. Obecabtagene autoleucel in adults with B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia. N. Engl. J. Med. 391, 2219–2230 (2024). Wang, X. et al. Allogeneic CD19-targeted CAR-T therapy in patients with severe myositis and systemic sclerosis. Cell 187, 4890–4904.e9 (2024). Guerra, E., Di Pietro, R., Basile, M., Trerotola, M. & Alberti, S. Cancer-homing CAR-T cells and endogenous immune population dynamics. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 23, 405 (2021). Si, X. et al. Mitochondrial isocitrate dehydrogenase impedes CAR T cell function by restraining antioxidant metabolism and histone acetylation. Cell Metab. 36, 176–192.e10 (2024). Hamieh, M. et al. CAR T cell trogocytosis and cooperative killing regulate tumour antigen escape. Nature 568, 112–116 (2019). Peng, L., Sferruzza, G., Yang, L., Zhou, L. & Chen, S. CAR-T and CAR-NK as...

Research by Weizmann Institute scientist and Israel Prize winner saved 'countless lives,' was basis for technology sold for $12 billion in 2017