The Brown Center for Immunotherapy translates Indiana University research into clinical trials to treat patients in Indiana and far beyond.
Our scientists identify novel targets and optimize methods to activate the body’s own immune system to fight disease. These targets can be identified through basic research or analysis of patient samples before and after treatment.
Science flows through the immunotherapy pipeline from research scientists to patients. Research at the Brown Center focuses on multiple myeloma and triple negative breast cancer, two conditions notoriously resistant to standard treatments.
The opportunity we have here is completely different. This is about building an immunotherapy program that doesn’t just involve one discipline, but all tumors.
Huda Salman, MD — Executive Director, Brown Center for Immunotherapy
The internationally renowned faculty members of the Brown Center for Immunotherapy have expertise in fields such as triple negative breast cancer, multiple myeloma, Alzheimer’s disease, and more.
Immunotherapy represents one of the most promising advances in recent decades, if not in the entire history of medicine.
Jay L. Hess, MD, PhD, MHSA — Dean, IU School of Medicine
The Brown Center for Immunotherapy was established in December 2016 with a $30 million gift from Indianapolis entrepreneur and IU School of Medicine alumnus Don Brown.
Don is one of the most successful serial software entrepreneurs in the Midwest. His first company was acquired by EDS in 1986. He founded Software Artistry in 1988 which became the first software company in Indiana ever to go public and was later acquired by IBM for $200 million. Don then founded and served as CEO of Interactive Intelligence which went public in 1999 and was acquired by Genesys Telecommunications Laboratories in 2016 for $1.4 billion. He is also an active technology and business advisor, investor, and philanthropist.
Don received a bachelor’s in physics from Indiana University in 1978, a master’s in computer science from IU in 1982, an MD from the Indiana University School of Medicine in 1985, and a master’s in biotechnology from Johns Hopkins University in 2017.
Don is an avid outdoorsman who loves hiking, rock climbing, skiing, and snowshoeing with his eight children – especially in and around Park City, Utah. He was named Sagamore of the Wabash by Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels in 2012 and is author of the book Understanding Life.
Donor support is crucial to advancing discoveries that will have the most meaningful impact on life-changing immunotherapies.
