In Memoriam of George Klein, MD, PhD

(7/28/1925 - 12/10/2016)

George Klein, MD, PhD, professor emeritus of tumor biology at the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, died on December 10, 2016, at the age of 91.

Dr. Klein, who collaborated with his wife, Eva Klein, MD, PhD, FAACR, for most of his long and notable career, was at the forefront of advances in tumor biology and immunology. Among Klein’s many accomplishments was the discovery that neoplasms including Burkitt’s lymphoma and nasopharyngeal carcinoma have a common origin in the Epstein-Barr virus. Another landmark discovery was the role of chromosomal translocations in the activation of proto-oncogenes.

Since 1981, Concern Foundation has provided 188 cancer research scientists funding from an annual award that is matched by Cancer Research Institute in New York.  This International group of men and women under the direction of Dr. Klein are developing new and novel approaches in four specific areas of cancer research: Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV) and Kaposi Sarcoma Herpesvirus (HHV-8), Oncogenes and Tumor Suppressor Genes, Tumor Immunology and Cytotoxic Drug Sensitivity. 

To date, 47 research scientists have attained major research positions throughout the world and today lead their own research laboratories.  This year, an additional 58 cancer research “fellows” have successfully defended their thesis work and achieved a higher scientific degree (Doctor of Medical Sciences) as a direct result of their fellowship work under the Concern Foundation grant.
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Born July 28, 1925, Dr. Klein spent most of his childhood in Budapest, Hungary. During the Holocaust, many of his relatives and friends were sent to Auschwitz under the guise of “resettlement”. He had read a report about the atrocities, and although he was slated to be sent to the concentration camp in 1944, he fled.

In 1947, Dr. Klein settled in Sweden, where he completed his medical degree and PhD. He received a personal professorship in tumor biology at the Karolinska Institutet, launching a lifetime of service to science. From his “retirement” in 1993 until his death, he was a research team leader at the Department of Microbiology, Tumor and Cell Biology, MTC, at Karolinska Institutet.
Dr. Klein was known outside of the scientific community as an author. He wrote several books on topics encompassing philosophy and science. His final book, titled Resistance, was published in 2015.

Dr. Klein received numerous honors throughout his career, including the 1979 Alfred P. Sloan, Jr., Prize of the General Motors Cancer Research Foundation for his pioneering work on the interrelation of cancer and the immune system.  He was a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, the Karolinska Institutet’s Nobel Assembly (1957-1993), and the U.S. National Academy of Sciences.  He was also an active member of the Concern Foundation Scientific Review Committee at the time of his passing.