Scott A. Armstrong

{{Short description|American pediatric oncologist}}

{{Infobox academic

| name = Scott A. Armstrong

| image =

| image_size = 230px

| caption =

| birth_date =

| birth_place = Lawton, Oklahoma, US

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| education = BSc, chemistry, 1989, University of Oklahoma
MD, PhD, 1994, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center

| thesis_title = Molecular and biochemical characterization of Rab geranylgeranyl transferase

| thesis_year = 1994

| spouse =

| awards =

| website = {{URL|armstronglab.org}}

| workplaces = Dana–Farber Cancer Institute
Boston Children's Hospital
Harvard Medical School
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Weill Cornell Medical College

}}

Scott Allen Armstrong is an American pediatric oncologist and cancer biologist focused on chromatin-based control of gene expression in cancer and therapeutic discovery. Armstrong and his team were the first to isolate rare leukemia stem cells in a mouse model of leukemia.

Early life and education

Armstrong was raised in Lawton, Oklahoma and Duncan, Oklahoma and attended Duncan High School. As a student, he was encouraged to apply for the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation's Sir Alexander Fleming Scholar Program which he described as having a "huge impact on my life."{{cite news |last1=Stevens |first1=Courtney |title=Offering a chance to change the world |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/78463893/offering-a-chance-to-change-the-world/ |access-date=May 28, 2021 |publisher=The Daily Oklahoman |date=January 16, 2010|via=newspapers.com}}

Following high school, Armstrong majored in chemistry at the University of Oklahoma and completed a dual medical degree/PhD program at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center where he studied with Nobel Laureates Michael S. Brown and Joseph L. Goldstein.{{cite news |title=Armstrong completes M.D./Ph.D degrees |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/78463865/armstrong-completes-mdphd-degrees/ |access-date=May 28, 2021 |publisher=Okmulgee Daily Times |date=June 16, 1996|via=newspapers.com}} Following this, Armstrong was the recipient of the 2000 American Society of Hematology Scholar Award Fellowship.{{cite web |title=Scott Armstrong, MD, PhD: 2000 ASH Scholar |url=https://www.hematology.org/awards/career-enhancement-and-training/scholar-award/scott-armstrong |website=hematology.org |access-date=May 28, 2021}}

Career

As an instructor in pediatric oncology at the Dana–Farber Cancer Institute, Armstrong's scientific focus was on the genetic abnormalities that are common in childhood leukemias. In 2001, he was the lead investigator on a study researching gene expression patterns to treat cancer.{{cite news |title=Diagnosis by database shows promise |url=https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2001/12/diagnosis-by-database-shows-promise/ |access-date=May 28, 2021 |publisher=Harvard Gazette |date=December 14, 2001}}{{cite news |title=Scientists using gene chips identify unique form of leukemia |url=https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2001/12/scientists-using-gene-chips-identify-unique-form-of-leukemia/ |access-date=May 28, 2021 |publisher=Harvard Gazette |date=December 3, 2001}} The following year, Armstrong published a landmark study in Nature Genetics which demonstrated that mixed-lineage leukemia (MLLs) exhibited a unique expression signature. A few years later, he also showed how the FMS-like tyrosine kinase-3 was highly expressed and often mutated in MLLs.{{cite web |title=ASH honors Scott Armstrong, M.D., Ph.D., with 2014 William Dameshek Prize |url=https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2014-07/asoh-ahs072214.php |website=eurekalert.org |publisher=Eurekalert |access-date=May 28, 2021 |date=July 22, 2014}} Armstrong and his team also became the first to isolate rare leukemia stem cells in a mouse model of leukemia.

As a result of his genome-wide technologies to characterize the molecular pathways responsible for leukemia development, Armstrong was elected a member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation{{cite web |title=Scott A. Armstrong, MD, PhD |url=https://www.the-asci.org/controllers/asci/AsciProfileController.php?pid=500750 |website=the-asci.org |access-date=May 28, 2021}} and was the recipient of the 2011 Paul Marks Prize for Cancer Research.{{cite web |title=Three Young Investigators Named Winners of Paul Marks Prize for Cancer Research |url=https://www.mskcc.org/news-releases/three-young-investigators-named-winners-paul-marks-prize-research |website=mskcc.org |access-date=May 28, 2021 |date=September 20, 2011}} Later that year, his research team collaborated with a biotechnology company to develop a drug that could deactivate cancer-promoting genes and halt the growth of cancer.{{cite web |title=Epigenetic pathway and new drug show promise in reversing a hard-to-treat childhood cancer |url=https://www.dana-farber.org/newsroom/news-releases/2011/epigenetic-pathway-and-new-drug-show-promise-in-reversing-a-hard-to-treat-childhood-cancer/ |website=dana-farber.org |access-date=May 28, 2021 |date=July 11, 2011}} The following year, Armstrong was named the incumbent of the Grayer Family Chair at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK).{{cite web |title=Scott Armstrong and Kitai Kim Named to Endowed Chairs |url=https://www.mskcc.org/news/scott-armstrong-and-kitai-kim-named-endowed-chairs |website=mskcc.org |access-date=May 28, 2021 |date=November 1, 2012}} By 2014, Armstrong became the Director of the Leukemia Center at MSK, where he also serves as Vice-Chair for Basic and Translational Research in Pediatrics and as a full member of the MSK Cancer Biology and Genetics Program. As a result of his "exceptional work in leukemia research and cancer stem cell biology," Armstrong was the recipient of the 2014 American Society of Hematology William Dameshek Prize.

Armstrong eventually left MSK in 2016 to become the Chair of the Department of Pediatric Oncology at the Dana–Farber Cancer Institute, and the David G. Nathan Professor of Pediatrics at the Dana–Farber Cancer Institute, Boston Children's Hospital, and Harvard Medical School. He also served as Associate Chief of the Division of Hematology and Oncology at Boston Children's Hospital.{{cite web |title=Scott A. Armstrong to lead Department of Pediatric Oncology at Dana–Farber Cancer Institute |url=https://www.newswise.com/articles/scott-a-armstrong-to-lead-department-of-pediatric-oncology-at-dana-farber-cancer-institute |website=newswise.com |access-date=May 28, 2021 |date=March 29, 2016}} While serving in these roles, Armstrong was elected a member of the National Academy of Medicine{{cite web |title=Three Dana-Farber faculty members elected to National Academy of Medicine |url=https://www.dana-farber.org/newsroom/news-releases/2017/three-dana-farber-faculty-members-elected-to-national-academy-of-medicine/ |website=dana-farber.org |access-date=May 28, 2021 |date=October 16, 2017}} and awarded the 2019 Tobias Award Lecture from the International Society for Stem Cell Research.{{cite web |title=ISSCR Announces 2019 Award Recipients |url=https://www.isscr.org/news-publicationsss/isscr-news-articles/article-detail/2019/02/08/isscr-announces-2019-award-recipients |website=isscr.org |access-date=May 28, 2021 |date=February 8, 2019}}

References