Dr. Christopher Stephen Lange

Educated at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Oxford University, Dr. Lange is a Professor of Radiation Oncology and of Molecular and Cell Biology at the State University of New York (SUNY) - Downstate Medical Center. He is also currently the Director of Radiation Research and Associate Director of the Residency Program of the Radiation Oncology Department. As one of the largest colleges of medicine in New York, the SUNY Downstate Medical Center — together with the Colleges of Medicine, Nursing, Heath Related Professions and Schools of Graduate Studies and of Public Health — is the only academic medical center combining medical education, research and patient care services to the residents of Brooklyn. An esteemed teacher and researcher, Dr. Lange began his medical science career in 1962 as a ReAsearch Officer in the British National Health Service. He returned to the United States to serve his appointments at the University of Rochester - School of Medicine and Dentistry and Departments of Radiology and Radiation Biology and Biophysics (the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission Project for peaceful uses of atomic energy). He subsequently returned to New York City as Professor of Radiation Oncology and Molecular and Cell Biology at SUNY Downstate Medical Center, where he has been working for over 30 years. Dr. Lange’s major research contributions have changed paradigms. They have been: the explanation of organismal radiation lethality (or organ failure) in terms of the survival, number, and repopulation ability of its underlying stem cells; a theory of why animals age; a demonstration that doublestrand breaks in the hereditary material are reparable and that irradiated cell survival can be understood in terms of the kinetics of their repair; the mechanism of tissue polarity control; the higher order structure of mammalian chromosomes (clustered loop model); and development of a patented assay for the response of individual patient cancer stem cells to proposed treatments, the Hybrid Spheroid Assay. The first of these forms the basis of our current understanding of the acute responses of tissues to radiation therapy; the last makes possible the individualization of cancer treatments. Presently, Dr. Lange’s main research focus lies in determining if his Hybrid Spheroid Assay, which measures the sensitivity of individual patient cancer stem cells (CSCs) to proposed treatments, correctly predicts who will fail the center’s standard of care treatments. Since the CSCs are the cells responsible for the long-term growth of cancers and from which the cancers recur, they must be eliminated to achieve a cure. If this assay’s predictions are accurate, patients can be offered alternative treatments more effective for them. A testament to his success and determination, Dr. Lange holds a U.S. Patent on his Hybrid Spheroid Assay (Methods of Assaying Sensitivity of Cancer Stem Cells to Therapeutic Modalities) which promises to allow the individualization of cancer treatment selection for optimal results for each patient. Amongst his international honors, Dr. Lange received the Knight’s Cross, Order of Merit from the President of Poland; a lifetime Honorary Consultantship from the Holy Cross Oncology Center in Kielce, Poland; a Visiting Professorship at Chengdu Oncology Center from the government of China; and a Certificate of Gratitude from the president of the University of Hirosaki, Japan, for his scientific contributions. For more information, please visit www.downstate.edu.v