View source for Suzanne L. Topalian

{{short description|American physician}}
{{Infobox academic
| name          =Suzanne Topalian
| image          =
| image_size    = 230px
| caption       =
| birth_date    ={{birth year and age|1954}}
| birth_place   = [[Alpine, New Jersey]]
| death_date    =
| alma_mater    =BA, English, [[Wellesley College]] <br> MD, 1979, [[Tufts University School of Medicine]]
| thesis_title   =
| thesis_year     =
| spouse        ={{married|[[Drew Pardoll]]|1993}}
| children      =
| awards        = [[Nature's 10]] (2014)
| workplaces    =[[Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine]] <br> [[National Cancer Institute]]
}}
'''Suzanne Louise Topalian''' (born 1954) is an American surgical [[oncologist]]. She is the Bloomberg-Kimmel Professor of Cancer Immunotherapy in the Bloomberg-Kimmel Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy at [[Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine]]. In this role, she studies human anti-tumor immunity.
==Early life and education==
Topalian was born to father Malcolm F. Topalian in [[Alpine, New Jersey]]. Her father was the president of the Topalian Trading Company, a rug concern in New York.<ref name="wedding">{{cite news |title=WEDDINGS; Suzanne Topalian and Drew Pardoll |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/06/20/style/weddings-suzanne-topalian-and-drew-pardoll.html |access-date=May 16, 2021 |work=The New York Times |date=June 20, 1993 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120606042412/https://www.nytimes.com/1993/06/20/style/weddings-suzanne-topalian-and-drew-pardoll.html |archive-date=June 6, 2012}}</ref> She played piano growing up and won first prize in a Tri-State competition.<ref>{{cite news |title=Wins music prize |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/77771406/wins-music-prize/ |access-date=May 16, 2021 |publisher=The Record |date=March 26, 1966|via=newspapers.com}}</ref> Upon graduating from high school, Topalian received her undergraduate degree from [[Wellesley College]] and her medical degree from [[Tufts University School of Medicine]] in 1979.<ref name="experts">{{cite web |title=Melanoma Research Experts |url=https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/kimmel_cancer_center/cancers_we_treat/melanoma/meet_our_team/research_team.html#topalian |website=hopkinsmedicine.org |access-date=May 16, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200813090411/https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/kimmel_cancer_center/cancers_we_treat/melanoma/meet_our_team/research_team.html|archive-date=August 13, 2020}}</ref> She then completed her residency in general surgery at the [[Thomas Jefferson University Hospital]] in Philadelphia under the guidance of Surgical Residency Director Herbert Cohn.<ref name="Piana">{{cite web |last1=Piana |first1=Ronald |title=Surgical Oncologist Suzanne L. Topalian, MD, Shines at the Forefront of Groundbreaking Research in Cancer Immunotherapy |url=https://ascopost.com/issues/june-3-2016-narratives-special-issue/surgical-oncologist-suzanne-l-topalian-md-shines-at-the-forefront-of-groundbreaking-research-in-cancer-immunotherapy/ |website=ascopost.com |access-date=May 16, 2021 |date=June 3, 2016}}</ref> Following this, she held two fellowships at both the [[Children's Hospital of Philadelphia]] and [[National Cancer Institute]] (NCI).<ref name="experts"/>
==Career==
Upon completing her fellowship at NCI in 1989, Topalian intended to leave but was persuaded to stay and work with tumor immunologist Steven Rosenberg.<ref name="nature">{{cite journal |title=365 days: Nature's 10 |url=https://www.nature.com/news/365-days-nature-s-10-1.16562#/topalian |journal=Nature |access-date=May 16, 2021 |date=December 17, 2014|volume=516 |issue=7531 |pages=311–319 |doi=10.1038/516311a |pmid=25519114 |bibcode=2014Natur.516..311. }}</ref><ref name="Piana"/> She remained at the institute's Surgery Branch for 21 years before joining the faculty at [[Johns Hopkins University]] to lead the Melanoma Program in the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center.<ref name="experts"/> Her work with the program led to a landmark publication in 2012 showing that nivolumab (Opdivo) produced dramatic responses in people with advanced melanoma and in those with lung cancer.<ref name="Pollack">{{cite news |last1=Pollack |first1=Andrew |title=Drug Helps Defense System Fight Cancer |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/02/business/drug-helps-immune-system-fight-cancer.html |access-date=May 16, 2021 |work=The New York Times |date=June 1, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120602130809/https://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/02/business/drug-helps-immune-system-fight-cancer.html |archive-date=June 2, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Topalian |first1=Suzanne L. |title=Safety, Activity, and Immune Correlates of Anti–PD-1 Antibody in Cancer |journal=[[The New England Journal of Medicine]] |date=June 28, 2012 |volume=366 |issue=26 |pages=2443–54 |doi=10.1056/NEJMoa1200690 |pmid=22658127 |pmc=3544539 }}</ref> Following this study, Topalian also found that the drug Opdivo caused some patients to have lasting responses that continued even after stopping the drug.<ref name="Reinberg">{{cite web |last1=Reinberg |first1=Steven |title=Drug Seems to Extend Survival for Advanced Melanoma Patients |url=https://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=195018 |website=medicinenet.con |access-date=May 16, 2021 |date=April 18, 2016}}</ref> She was later named one of [[Nature's 10]] in 2014 for her ability to establish immunotherapy as an important treatment modality in cancer.<ref name="nature"/>
As the Director of the Melanoma Program, Topalian researches modulating immune checkpoints such as PD-1 and PD-L1 in cancer therapy, and discovering biomarkers predicting clinical outcomes following treatment.<ref name="experts"/> In 2015, she was the recipient of the David Karnofsky Memorial Award for her contributions to the research of cancer.<ref>{{cite web |title=Dr. Topalian Named David Karnofsky Memorial Award Recipient for her contributions to the research of cancer |url=https://horizonweekly.ca/en/68555-2/ |website=horizonweekly.ca |access-date=May 16, 2021 |date=June 11, 2015}}</ref> The following year, Topalian returned to her original research on Opdivo and found that over one-third of advanced melanoma patients were still alive five years after starting therapy with the cancer drug.<ref name="Reinberg"/> While continuing to study human anti-tumor immunity, Topalian was elected to the [[American Association of Physicians]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Johns Hopkins Physicians Elected to And Honored by Association of American Physicians and American Society for Clinical Investigation |url=https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/news/Media/releases/johns_hopkins_physicians_elected_to_and_honored_by_association_of_american_physicians_and_american_society_for_clinical_investigation |website=hopkinsmedicine.org |access-date=May 16, 2021 |date=April 26, 2016}}</ref> and named the co-recipient of the Taubman Prize Awarded for Ground-Breaking Work in Cancer Immunotherapy.<ref>{{cite web |title=Taubman Prize Jointly Awarded to Suzanne L. Topalian, MD, and Jedd D. Wolchok, MD, PhD, for Groundbreaking Work in Cancer Immunotherapy |url=https://ascopost.com/issues/june-25-2016/taubman-prize-jointly-awarded-to-suzanne-l-topalian-md-and-jedd-d-wolchok-md-phd-for-groundbreaking-work-in-cancer-immunotherapy/ |website=ascopost.com |access-date=May 16, 2021 |date=June 25, 2016}}</ref> In October 2017, Topalian was elected to the [[National Academy of Medicine]] as someone who has "made major contributions to the advancement of the medical sciences, health care and public health."<ref>{{cite web |title=Seven Faculty Members Among New Electees to National Academy of Medicine |url=https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/news/media/releases/seven_faculty_members_among_new_electees_to_national_academy_of_medicine |website=hopkinsmedicine.org |access-date=May 16, 2021 |date=October 16, 2017}}</ref>
In 2018, Topalian was appointed the Bloomberg-Kimmel Professor of Cancer Immunotherapy in the Bloomberg-Kimmel Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy.<ref>{{cite web |title=Faculty appointments and promotions: June 2018 |url=https://hub.jhu.edu/at-work/2018/06/20/faculty-appointments-and-promotions-june-2018/ |website=hub.jhu.edu |access-date=May 16, 2021 |date=June 20, 2018}}</ref> She was also elected to serve on Dragonfly Therapeutics, Inc.'s Scientific Advisory Board.<ref>{{cite web |title=Dragonfly Therapeutics Adds World-Leading Cancer Immunotherapy Experts to its Scientific Advisory Board |url=https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/dragonfly-therapeutics-adds-world-leading-cancer-immunotherapy-experts-to-its-scientific-advisory-board-695913621.html |website=newswire.ca |access-date=May 16, 2021 |date=October 8, 2018}}</ref>
==Personal life==
Topalian married [[Drew Pardoll]] in 1993.<ref name="wedding"/>
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==External links==
*{{Google Scholar id|v_PKPswAAAAJ}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Topalian, Suzanne L.}}
[[Category:1954 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Physicians from New Jersey]]
[[Category:American oncologists]]
[[Category:American women oncologists]]
[[Category:Wellesley College alumni]]
[[Category:Tufts University School of Medicine alumni]]
[[Category:Johns Hopkins University faculty]]
[[Category:Members of the National Academy of Medicine]]
[[Category:People from Alpine, New Jersey]]