Providence Cancer Institute reposted this
Executive Medical Director, Providence Cancer Institute; Director, Earle A. Chiles Research Institute; Walter J. Urba Chair for Cancer Research. Surgeon focused on immunotherapy & relentlessly working to #FinishCancer
Friday October 26, 2025 was a bittersweet day for the Earle A. Chiles Research Institute: It marked the last lab meeting lecture from our esteemed colleague and friend, Michael Gough; and served as a prelude to his and Dr. Marka Crittenden's planned retirement later this year. Together, they have been a cornerstone of Providence Cancer Institute for almost 20 years. Michael and Marka built much of today's conceptual framework for radiation and immunotherapy combinations through their joint leadership of the Integrated Therapies Laboratory, a hub for translational cancer research that bridges preclinical models with clinical applications. Supported by continuous funding from The National Institutes of Health, their work has advanced understanding of how cytotoxic therapies, such as radiation, reshape immune cell profiles and pioneered strategies to enhance immunotherapy responses before and after radiation and surgery. Studies from their lab were amongst the first to show that tumor cure with radiation + checkpoint blockade depends on pre-existing immunity, explaining heterogeneous abscopal-like outcomes and why “cold” tumors underperform; and they articulated the “paradox of radiation and T cells”: that radiation needs T cells for efficacy, enriches tumor-specific T cells in-field, yet kills lymphocytes—clarifying why dose, field, and fractionation matter for combination clinical trial design. More recently, they became interested in the dynamic effect of radiation on CD8 T cell recirculation. Using the Kaede mouse model to photoconvert tumor-infiltrating cells and monitor their movement out of the field of radiation, they demonstrated the important role for dendritic cells in activating new and existing T cell responses in draining lymph nodes; and that RT transiently impairs systemic T cell recirculation from the treatment site to the draining lymph node and distant untreated tumors, supporting the hypothesis that intact draining lymphatics are essential for effective immunotherapy. Michael and Marka's scientific accomplishments are remarkable for their originality and significance. But while erudition, competency, and scholarly activity are all necessary attributes of a successful scientist or clinician, those attributes fall flat without the requisite interpersonal and political maturity. They are known and beloved for their generosity and integrity; they yield respect in a room of administrators, clinicians and scientists; they are loved by their students and colleagues and respected by peers. Their self-confidence and humility put others at ease and their affable nature transcends the politics that, at times, sully academic institutions and medical centers. They are simply two of the finest individuals with whom I have had the privilege of working and they will be missed. As they move to Michael's native Wales, "O na byddai’n haf o hyd”, and on behalf of the entire institute, “Pob hwyl a phob bendith.” #FinishCancer Providence