Dennis A. Carson

Dennis A. Carson begins the interview with a discussion about growing up in the Atomic Age, moving between the boroughs of New York City. After showing an early interest in chemistry, Carson attended Stuyvesant High School, a well-known school with a science-based curriculum. Upon graduating in 1962, Carson decided to attend Haverford College, a Quaker school outside of Philadelphia, hoping to balance his science background with a degree in the liberal arts. While there, he received a research grant from Smith, Kline, and French to study trichimonas and taught in Haverford's laboratories. He earned a B.A. in history and returned to New York City to attend Columbia University's medical school, where he worked in immunologist Elliott F. Osserman's lab experimenting with tissue cultures. After earning his M.D., Carson completed his internship and residency in California before joining the National Institutes of Health's (NIH) Associate Training Program to defer the Vietnam War draft. While at the NIH, Carson worked under Henry Metzger radiolabeling immunoglobulins and assigning affinity labels. In 1974, Carson left to work in Jay Seegmiller's lab at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD). There, his research centered around ADA deficiency's effect on the immune system. Carson continued this research as an assistant member of the Scripps Clinic and Research Foundation. He spent his time developing, synthesizing, manufacturing, and running trials for Leustatin, a drug for hairy cell leukemia that was approved in 1993. While at Scripps, Carson co-founded Vical a biotech company that develops DNA vaccines. Over the next decade, he founded other drug-development companies such as Triangle Pharmaceuticals, Dynamax Inc., and Salmedix. When Jay Seegmiller retired from UCSD's Sam and Rose Stein Institute for Research on Aging in 1990, Carson took his place as director—splitting his time between research and fund-raising. He left in 2003 to head Moores UCSD Cancer Research Center, where he has two drugs in development. Next, Carson describes the numerous awards and appointments he has received, including nomination to the National Academy of Sciences, a rare feat for a doctor. Carson concludes the interview by discussing San Diego's biotech community and his predictions and concerns for its future.

University of California, San Diego

1970 - 1972 Resident, Internal Medicine

University of California, San Diego

1974 - 1975 Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Medicine

University of California, San Diego

1988 - 1990 Adjunct Professor, Department of Medicine

University of California, San Diego

1990 - Present Professor of Medicine, Department of Medicine

University of California, San Diego

1990 - 2003 Director, The Sam and Rose Stein Institute for Research on Aging

National Institutes of Health

1972 - 1974 Clinical Associate, Section on Chemical Immunology, Arthritis and Rheumatism Branch, National Institute of Arthritis, Metabolism, and Digestive Disease

Scripps Clinic and Research Foundation

1976 - 1980 Assistant Member, Department of Clinical Research

Scripps Clinic and Research Foundation

1980 - 1986 Associate Member, Department of Basic and Clinical Research

Scripps Clinic and Research Foundation

1986 - 1990 Member, Department of Basic and Clinical Research

University of California, San Diego Medical Center

2003 - Present Director, Moores Cancer Center

University of California, San Diego Medical Center

2003 - Present Chugai Pharmaceutical Chair in Cancer

University of California, San Diego Medical Center

2003 - Present Associate Dean for Health Sciences

Ted Everson

Ted Everson, the director of clinical communications at Vital Issues in Medicine (VIM), a medical education company, earned a Ph.D. in history and philosophy of science and technology from the University of Toronto and an M.S. in medical genetics from the University of British Columbia. During his tenure at CHF he founded the biotechnology program, which included focused scholarship on industry development. He is the author of The Gene: A Historical Perspective (2007), "Genetic Engineering Methods" in The Encyclopedia of Twentieth Century Technology (2004), and "Genetics and Molecular Biology" in History of the Exact Sciences and Mathematics (2002).