(Washington, DC) – Today, Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher announced that Dr. Jim Allison will accompany her as her guest to next week’s State of the Union address.  The recipient of the 2018 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, Dr. Allison is the Chair of Immunology and Executive Director of the Immunotherapy platform at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and a resident of Texas’ Seventh Congressional District.

“I am honored and proud to represent Dr. Allison in Congress and pleased he will join me for the State of the Union address.  In his work and his engagement, he represents the very best of our innovative, creative, engaged community,” said Congresswoman Fletcher.  “At a time when Americans are rightly concerned about the future of health care in our country, Dr. Allison’s groundbreaking research and effective advocacy for supporting research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is a model and inspiration for us all.”

Dr. Allison met with members of Congress last September to discuss the importance of cancer research funding and emphasizing support for the National Institutes of Health (NIH).  Dr. Allison serves on the advisory board of Advancing Cures Today (ACT) for the NIH, a national push to secure significant funding increases for the NIH to enhance life-saving medical research.  The NIH is the country’s medical research agency and largest funder of biomedical research in the world.  Scientific discoveries led by the NIH help advance the treatment of many of the world’s diseases.

Dr. Allison won the 2018 Nobel Prize for his work pioneering a new way to treat cancer by targeting the immune system rather than the tumor.  Dr. Allison is the first MD Anderson scientist to receive the Nobel Prize in the fields of life sciences and medicines.

The State of the Union will be held next Tuesday, February 4th.