- Robert Peter Gale
Robert Peter Gale MD, PhD, DSc (hon), FACP
Biography
Robert Peter Gale was born in
New York in 1945.Leukemia and otherbone marrow disorders (such asaplastic anemia ) are the central theme of Dr. Gale’s basic scientific andclinical research for over 35 years.Education
Dr. Gale received his A.B. degree with high honors in biology and chemistry from Hobart College in 1966 and his
M.D. degree from theState University of New York at Buffalo in 1970 (with Evan Caukins, Robin Bannerman and John Edwards). His postgraduate medical training (internal medicine ,hematology andoncology ) was at theUniversity of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) from 1970-1973 (with William Valentine and David Solomon). In 1976 he received aPh.D. inmicrobiology andimmunology from the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) following doctoral work focusing oncancer immunology (with John Fahey). His postdoctoral studies at UCLA were funded by theU.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) and theLeukemia Society of America , where he was the Bogart Fellow and Scholar.Career
From 1973-1993, Dr. Gale was on the faculty of the UCLA School of Medicine in the Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology & Oncology where he focused on the molecular biology, immunology and treatment of leukemia (with
Martin Cline and David Golde). He also developed the bone marrow transplant program supported by the NIH. At UCLA, he was active in the Department of Psychology (with John Liebeskind), where he and his colleagues studied interactions between stress, immunity and cancer.
From 1980-1997, Dr. Gale was Chairman of the Scientific Advisory Committee of theCenter for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research (CIBMTR), an organization of more than 400 transplant centers in over 60 countries working together to analyze and advance knowledge about blood cell and bone marrow transplants (with Mortimer Bortin and Mary Horowitz). Since 1989, Dr. Gale is a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Autologous Blood and Marrow Transplant Registry (ABMTR). In 1989-2003 Dr. Gale chaired the Scientific Advisory Board of the Center for Advanced Studies in Leukemia, a charity funding innovation leukemia research.
From 1986-1993, Dr. Gale was President of theArmand Hammer Center for Advanced Studies in Nuclear Energy and Health, a foundation supporting research on medical aspects of nuclear issues.
From 1993-1999, Dr. Gale was Senior Physician and Corporate Director of Bone Marrow and Stem Cell Transplantation at Salick Health Care (SHC), Inc. in Los Angeles (now Aptium Oncology), a subsidiary ofAstra Zeneca . Dr. Gale was also responsible for developing cancer treatment guidelines (in collaboration with colleagues atRAND and Value Health Sciences) and for studying medical aspects of managed cancer care.
From 2000-2004 he was Senior Vice-President for Medical Affairs atAntigenics Inc. , in New York where he was responsible for design, implementation and analysis ofclinical trials ofcancer vaccines . He was also a Senior Medical Consultant to Oxford Health Plans in areas of advanced medical technologies. From 2004 to 2007, Dr. Gale was Senior Vice-President of Research for ZIOPHARM Oncology, Inc. in Charlestown, MA and New York, NY which he co-founded with Jonathan Lewis. His focus was on developing and testing new cancer therapies. In 2007 Dr. Gale joinedCelgene (Summit, NJ ) where he is Executive Director of Clinical Research, Hematology and Oncology. His activities include development and execution ofclinical trials in blood and bone marrow cancers, transplantation andimmune disorders .Bone Marrow Transplantation
Dr. Gale has contributed greatly to basic science and clinical research in
bone marrow transplantation where he made central contributions to understanding the immune-mediated anti-leukemia effects of transplants (graft-versus-leukemia [GvL] ; with Mortimer Bortin and Mary Horowitz). He has also advanced understanding other complex immune effects of transplants in humans, likegraft-versus-host disease and posttransplantimmune deficiency . He has worked extensively on alternate sources ofhematopoietic stem cells including fetal liver transplants (with Richard Champlin).Publications
Dr. Gale has published over 800 scientific articles and more than 20 books, mostly on leukemia (biology and treatment), transplantation (biology, immunology and treatment),
cancer immunology andradiation (biological effects and accident response). He has written on medical topics,nuclear energy and weapons and politics of US-Soviet relations in articles forThe New York Times ,Los Angeles Times ,Washington Post ,USA Today andWall Street Journal . In addition to his academic publications, Dr Gale has written popular books onChernobyl and US nuclear energy policy. He has written parts of screenplays for and/or appeared in several movies including Final Warning (withJon Voight ),Fat Man and Little Boy (withPaul Newman ) andCity of Joy (withPatrick Swazye ).Awards
Awards for his scientific achievements include the Presidential Award,
New York Academy of Sciences , Scientist of Distinction Award,Weizmann Institute of Science , Distinguished Alumni Award from Hobart College and Intra-Science Research Foundation Award. He holds honorary degrees includingD.Sc. fromAlbany Medical College ,L.H.D. from Hobart College and D.P.S fromMacMurray College . He received anEmmy award for his work on a60 Minutes special report about Chernobyl.Humanitarian Activities
In 1986, he was asked by the government
Soviet Union to coordinate medical relief efforts for victims of theChernobyl disaster . In 1987, he was asked by the government ofBrazil to coordinate medical relief efforts for theGoiania accident . In 1988, he was part of the U.S. medical emergency team sent in the aftermath of the earthquake inArmenia . In 1999 he was asked by the government of Japan to help treat victims of theTokaimura nuclear accident . He has also been a neutral war observer for the governments ofCroatia and Armenia and a medical consultant to the government ofTartarstan . Dr. Gale has received several awards for his humanitarian activities including the Olender Peace Prize, City of Los Angeles Humanitarian Award andMyasthenia Gravis Foundation Humanitarian Award.Personal life
Dr. Gale lives in Los Angeles,
New York andBig Sky, MT with his wife Laura. They have 6 children between them in diverse sites and professions. Dr. Gale is active in marathon running, hiking, swimming, skiing, snowshoeing, mountain biking and rock-climbing.
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