Shannon Turley

Shannon Turley
Born	Shannon Jennifer Turley
Alma mater	University of California, San Diego Yale University
Awards	Member of the National Academy of Sciences (2025)
Scientific career
Institutions	Genentech Harvard Medical School Joslin Diabetes Center Genentech
Thesis	Dynamics of the MHC class II pathway in developing dendritic cells  (1999)
Doctoral advisor	Ira Mellman
Website	www.gene.com/scientists/our-scientists/shannon-turley

Shannon Jennifer Turley is an American biologist who is an Immunology Fellow at Genentech. ^[1] She develops immunotherapies for inflammatory diseases and cancers. She was elected member of the National Academy of Sciences in 2025. ^[2]

Early life and education

Turley was born and raised in Chicago. ^[3] She spent a summer at the Shedd Aquarium, where she took part in a research cruise off the Florida Keys. She said that she fell in love with the idea of being a scientist. ^[3] Her journey into science began at the University of California, San Diego, where she specialized in human biology and completed a placement at Scripps Research working with Jonathan Sprent. ^[3] Whilst working as a technician at Scripps, Turley published her first paper on mouse ribosomal proteins at the age of 22. ^[4] She was a doctoral student at Yale University, where she worked on dendritic cells with Ira Mellman. ^{[5] [6]}

Research and career

Turley spent a year teaching at Bowdoin College, but despite enjoying teaching, missed basic research. ^[3] Turley joined the Joslin Diabetes Center for her postdoctoral research. ^[3] In 2004, Turley was appointed an Assistant Professor of Pathology at the Harvard Medical School. ^[7] She held a joint position with the Dana–Farber Cancer Institute, where she studied how immune responses were initiated. ^[7] She was promoted to Associate Professor in 2010, and specialized in stromal immunobiology. ^[8] She spent ten years at the Dana–Farber Cancer Institute before joining Genentech, having decided to develop immunotherapy that improves patient outcomes. ^[3] In 2017, she was awarded the Cancer Research Institute Frederick W. Alt Award. ^[9] Turley has described a new pathway to create tissue-specific tolerance by the presentation of ectopic antigens on lymph node stromal cells. ^[10]

At Genentech, Turley created a discovery program dedicated to the tumor microenvironment. She is particularly interested in the development of immunotherapies for patients with advanced cancers and inflammatory diseases. ^[8] Her research has transformed understanding of the cancer-immunity cycle, explaining the sequence through which tumors develop and exploring opportunities to develop targeted therapies. ^[3] The process begins with the release of cancer cell antigens due to cancer cell death. These antigens are then presented by dendritic cells or other antigen-presenting cells (APCs). This presentation leads to the priming and activation of APCs and T lymphocytes. Cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) travel to the tumor sites, where they infiltrate the tumours and surrounding stroma. The T lymphocytes then recognize the tumor cells and ultimately kill them through immune cell activity. The immunotypes of different tumors are critical in modulating the T cell response. She has investigated the function of podoplanin in cancer. ^[11]

Selected publications

• Sanjeev Mariathasan; Shannon J Turley; Dorothee Nickles; et al. (14 February 2018). "TGFβ attenuates tumour response to PD-L1 blockade by contributing to exclusion of T cells". Nature . 554 (7693): 544–548. doi:10.1038/NATURE25501. ISSN   1476-4687. PMC   6028240 . PMID   29443960. Wikidata   Q50001757.
• Mark S Anderson; Emily S Venanzi; Ludger Klein; et al. (15 November 2002). "Projection of an immunological self shadow within the thymus by the aire protein". Science . 298 (5597): 1395–401. doi:10.1126/SCIENCE.1075958. ISSN   0036-8075. PMID   12376594. Wikidata   Q28207164.
• Emmanuel L Gautier; Tal Shay; Jennifer Miller; et al. (30 September 2012). "Gene-expression profiles and transcriptional regulatory pathways that underlie the identity and diversity of mouse tissue macrophages". Nature Immunology . 13 (11): 1118–1128. doi:10.1038/NI.2419. ISSN   1529-2908. PMC   3558276 . PMID   23023392. Wikidata   Q29620142.

Awards and honors

Turley was awarded membership of the National Academy of Sciences in 2025. ^[2]

References

1. "Shannon Turley: VP Sr Fellow Immunology & OMNI Biomarker Discovery, Cancer Immunology, Research Biology". gene.com.
2. "National Academy of Sciences Elects Members and International Members - NAS". nasonline.org. Retrieved 2025-05-13.
3. Genentech. "Science with a Purpose". Genentech: Breakthrough science. One moment, one day, one person at a time. Retrieved 2025-05-14.
4. Turley, Shannon J.; Tan, Eng M.; Pollard, K. Michael (1993-10-19). "Molecular cloning and sequence analysis of U3 snoRNA-associated mouse fibrillarin" . Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - Gene Structure and Expression. 1216 (1): 119–122. doi:10.1016/0167-4781(93)90046-G. ISSN   0167-4781. PMID   8218401.
5. Turley, Shannon Jennifer (1999). Dynamics of the MHC class II pathway in developing dendritic cells. yale.edu (PhD thesis). hdl:10079/bibid/9842521. ISBN   9780599310148. OCLC   80752065.
6. "Student notes". medicine.yale.edu. Retrieved 2025-05-14.
7. "Shannon Turley, PhD - Dana-Farber Cancer Institute | Boston, MA". dana-farber.org. Retrieved 2025-05-14.
8. "Shannon Turley, PhD". irvingcancerimmunologysymposium.com. Arthur and Sandra Irving Cancer Immunology Symposium. 2019-11-13. Retrieved 2025-05-14.
9. "Frederick W. Alt Award". cancerresearch.org. Cancer Research Institute . Retrieved 2025-05-14.
10. Antigen Presentation by Lymph Node Stroma and Dendritic Cells. 2008-02-27. Retrieved 2025-05-14– via videocast.nih.gov.
11. Jillian L Astarita; Sophie E Acton; Shannon J Turley (2012). "Podoplanin: emerging functions in development, the immune system, and cancer". Frontiers in Immunology. 3: 283. doi: 10.3389/FIMMU.2012.00283 . ISSN   1664-3224. PMC   3439854 . PMID   22988448. Wikidata   Q28275310.