John M. Kirkwood, MD, is devoted to researching immunotherapy in melanoma

John M. Kirkwood, MD, section editor of the HemOnc Today Editorial Board melanoma section, is a professor of medicine and dermatology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and has directed the Melanoma and Skin Cancer Program of the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute since 1986. Before receiving his medical degree from Yale University in 1973, he worked on tumor immunology at what was then the Sloan-Kettering Cancer Institute. He founded the Yale Melanoma Unit with Aaron Lerner, MD, PhD, and Stephen Ariyan, MD, in 1978, and led it until his recruitment to the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute in 1986 as professor and chief of the division of medical oncology at the medical school. In 1996, he was named the school’s vice chairman for clinical research.

Kirkwood, an avid dog lover, raises competitive German shepherds on his 40-acre woods north of Pittsburgh, where he enjoys cross-country skiing, cycling and trail running with his dogs.

What do you enjoy doing when you are not practicing medicine?

Taking care of a kennel of German shepherds and a spread of 40 acres, where we raise German shepherds for the sport of Schutzhund. This aspect occupies the early and late ends of the day. Previously, chamber music had been a focus of my avocational time, and in the future, I’m sure this will return to the schedule.

John M. Kirkwood

If you had not gone into hematology/oncology or medicine, what would you have done?

I considered pursuing basic immunology from my early undergraduate days in the laboratory of Lloyd Old, MD, but my interest in human pathophysiology and the problems of clinical medicine would likely have taken me into other areas of medicine, if not into medical oncology.

What would you consider one of your biggest successes in your specialty?

Developing the first effective adjuvant immunotherapy of melanoma has shaped all my subsequent work through the years since the mid-1980s. It has drawn me ever more into the disease process of melanoma, first in its more advanced phases, then in its regional involvement of the skin and nodal basins, and now in the setting of its precursors, where prevention of melanoma progression is becoming a goal, both at the primary site and in the regional lymph nodes — where we are beginning to understand the dialogue between this tumor and the host.

What is the best advice you have ever received?

Stay focused. Although it has not always been advice I have adhered to, it has been what has led to the progress we have seen in the past few years, and now are likely to see with the triumvirate of immunotherapies, targeted therapies and our prior backdrop of chemotherapy for this disease.

Who do you consider a mentor?

I have been fortunate to have been mentored by some of the giants of the field — among whom I’d count Lloyd Old, Richard Gershon, MD, and Lewis Thomas, MD, in my undergraduate, medical school and postgraduate training days. However, one never ceases to learn from one’s colleagues, and the team we have built during the past 24 years in Pittsburgh has given me enormous support and inspiration. Here, the list has ranged from Ron Herberman, MD, to our new cancer center director, Nancy Davidson, MD, also a HemOnc Today Editorial Board member.

John M. Kirkwood, MD, cycling in the company of his German sherpherds on his 40-acre property. Photo courtesy of JM Kirkwood, MD

What do you think will have the biggest influence on hematology/oncology in the next 10 years?

The dissection of the components of tumor progression, at the level of the tumor and at the level of the host immune system. This will serve as the basis for intelligent application of combinations of agents that have hitherto been impossible or have been only empiric.

What is the last book you read/art collection you saw/ CD you bought? Why, and what did you think of it?

The books I read are generally nonfiction and range from Civil War history to exploration accounts. I am currently reading Art Davidson’s Minus 148 Degrees, an account of the first winter ascent of Mount McKinley. I climbed Raineer with Vern Tejas, who did the first solo winter ascent of McKinley/Denali, and have dreamed about making that climb since treks up less formidable mountains. These and the Civil War histories are of interest because they illuminate the response human beings make to external and internal challenges that are not dissimilar, after all is said and done, to our challenge to conquer melanoma.

What kind of diet and exercise regimen do you have?

I try to keep my diet simple, and my exercise routine ranges from running my dogs in the woods each day to weekly cycling circuits of 20 to 60 miles in good weather, with a colleague and neurosurgeon Arlan Mintz, MD. In the winter, I ski cross-country on my 40-acre dog preserve, when the snow permits. I enjoy the company of my younger son, Gordon, and that of Arlan for my longer spins.

What is your favorite travel destination?

Italy or Germany. I took a sabbatical in each, and I learned more about myself from immersing myself in the language, art and music of each of these countries.

What is your favorite restaurant?

My favorite restaurant is small and quaint, a local institution called Girasole in Shadyside, Pa.