Treasurer: 2025-2028
Michael A. Caligiuri, MD, FAACR, is a professor in the Department of Hematology and Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation at the City of Hope National Medical Center and Beckman Research Institute. Caligiuri served as Treasurer-Elect from 2022 to 2025 and President of the AACR from 2017 to 2018.
A quintessential figure in the cancer research community, Dr. Caligiuri is world renowned for his groundbreaking research dedicated to understanding the immune system to treat various cancers. While the sites and pathways for human T cell and B cell development have been known for decades, Dr. Caligiuri discovered the site, developmental stages, and soluble factors responsible for human natural killer (NK) cell development. He was the first to show that human hematopoietic stem cells migrate from the bone marrow to secondary lymphoid tissue where they undergo NK cell development in stages he identified. He discovered the critical role of IL-15 in human NK cell development, survival and activation. In human disease he elucidated the role of IL-15 in the genesis of NK cell leukemia and cutaneous T cell lymphoma. Dr. Caligiuri co-discovered human innate-lymphoid cells and first identified the specific human precursors for both NK cells and innate lymphoid cells. He discovered a fundamental mechanism of immune surveillance, demonstrating how Fc receptor-bearing innate immune cells recognize viral and bacterial pathogens. Over 1,500 patients with cancer have been treated on clinical protocols designed by Dr. Caligiuri.
Dr. Caligiuri has also demonstrated a relentless passion and commitment to advocating for increased efforts to address cancer health disparities and to mentoring the next generation of cancer scientists. As AACR President he devised and implemented “Project 2020 by 2020” to accrue thousands of African American cancer patient genomes and clinical data to national registries. He also co-founded the Oncology Research Information Exchange Network (ORIEN) that collects cancer clinical samples and tracks clinical, epidemiological, and molecular patient data to guide screening, treatment, and surveillance protocols. Concordantly, Dr. Caligiuri co-founded the grassroots bike tour, Pelotonia, which has generated over $150 million for cancer research in nine years and has provided over 400 scholarships for students pursuing cancer research.
AACR Officers