Salk Institute for Biological Studies
While studying how certain cancer-causing viruses alter cells, Dr. Tony Hunter uncovered a previously unknown cellular process, tyrosine phosphorylation.
His work provided the molecular blueprint for targeted cancer therapies, enabling the development of more than 50 FDA-approved tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) that have transformed cancer patients’ outcomes and forever changed how cancer is understood and treated. One of the first and most well-known therapies to emerge from this breakthrough was Gleevec, which revolutionized treatment for chronic myeloid leukemia and has saved hundreds of thousands of lives worldwide.
Dr. Hunter was awarded the prestigious 2025 Szent Györgyi Prize for Progress in Cancer Research by the National Foundation for Cancer Research.
