Dr Peter Jones

Last Updated on Friday, 13 November 2009 12:55 Written by Administrator Tuesday, 10 November 2009 09:26

Dr Peter Jones, professor of urology, biochemistry and molecular biology at the University of Southern California, has pioneered a new form of cancer treatment called epigenetic therapy. Dr Jones was born in South Africa, and begain his groundbreaking research at the Stellenbosch Medical School in the 1970s.

Dr Jones is partnering with Dr Stephen Baylin at Johns Hopkins University in the Dream Team Project, which aims to bring epigenetic therapy to clinical practice. The project has been funded to the tune of R73 million, and is focussing on breast, colon and lung cancers, as well as on leukaemia.

In addition to his stint at Stellenbosch, Dr Jones has studied, worked and conducted research at University College of Rhodesia, the University of London, and was a postdoctoral research fellow at the Children’s Hospital in Los Angeles, California.

His work has changed the way that cancer is viewed, and has already resulted in significant improvements in cancer diagnosis and therapy.

Dr Jones has won these awards and accolades, among others:

• The AG Oettle Prize in 2008, from CANSA.
• The prize for basic cancer research from the American Assocation for Cancer Research and the Kirk and Dorothy Landon Foundation.
• He serves as senior editor of the Cancer Research journal.
• He has received the Outstanding Investigator Grant from the National Cancer Institute in the USA.
• He holds the H Leslie Hoffman and Elaine S Hoffman chair in Cancer Resarch at the Keck School.
• He is the author of more than 250 journal articles and book chapters.
• He serves on several national and international committees, panels and editorial boards.