Michael J. Keating, M.B.,B.S. University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center

Dr. Michael J. Keating is a Professor of Medicine in Hematology at the M. D. Anderson Cancer Center. He has been a member of the faculty of MD Anderson Cancer Center since 1977 and works as a physician in the Leukemia Department. In the earlier phases of his career, the importance of cytogenetics in predicting probability of response to treatment and survival in acute leukemia were foremost in his research interest. Since mid-1980s chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) has been the major focus of his research. The development of a new drug for treatment of CLL, called fludarabine, has continued as a major source of clinical research as this drug is now established as the most important single agent in CLL, and a major component of treatment of patients with low grade lymphoma, acute myelogenous leukemia, and myelodysplastic syndrome. His career is marked by close collaboration with laboratory scientists but his major focus has been on delivery of effective, compassionate care to patients suffering from leukemia. In 1988, Dr. Keating won the Service to Mankind Award from the Leukemia Society of America and in 1996 was voted one of the best doctors in America by the American Health magazine. He was awarded in January 2002 the Charles A. LeMaistre Outstanding Achievement Award in Cancer and in March 2002, the Rai and Binet Award at the International Workshop on CLL. His major pursuits at the present time are developing new potentially curative therapies for CLL and developing rational combinations of new agents in the treatment of leukemia in general. He also serves as President and CEO of the CLL Global Research Foundation, a non-profit organization committed to the development of new tools for the treatment and control of chronic lymphocytic leukemia.