Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: A) today announced that Professor Antoni Ribas has received an Agilent Thought Leader Award in support of his genomics and immunotherapy research. A renowned oncologist, Dr. Ribas is implementing next-generation genomics solutions to identify mechanisms and biomarkers associated with resistance and response to immunotherapy in patients with melanoma.

Dr. Ribas is a professor of medicine and surgery as well as molecular and medical pharmacology at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA). He also directs the Tumor Immunology Program at UCLA’s Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center and the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy (PICI) Center at UCLA.

“I’m very honored to receive this award and be given the opportunity to further my research on the deadliest form of skin cancer,” said Dr. Ribas. “By partnering with Agilent, my laboratory will be able to intensify our research efforts in developing new treatment strategies for the many patients who still do not respond to current therapies.”

“Agilent is pleased to partner with leading researchers such as Dr. Ribas to help advance our understanding of patient response to immunotherapies,” said Kamni Vijay, Agilent vice president, and general manager of the company’s Genomics Division. “Within the growing immuno-oncology field, we hope that the discovery of new resistance and response mechanisms will lead to additional biomarker discovery and ultimately to better treatment options for patients.”

Vijay noted that such biomarkers can further impact the process of patient selection for immunotherapeutic treatment and could help scientists identify new alternative drugs targets.

The Agilent Thought Leader Program promotes fundamental scientific advances by contributing financial support, products, and expertise to the research of influential thought leaders in the life sciences, diagnostics, and chemical analysis space. Further information is available on Agilent’s Thought Leader Program web page.