success of RIT therapy is that antibodies often form and neutralize the RIT preventing additional treatment cycles. Pastan has developed methods to make active RITs in which the major B cell and T cell epitopes have been identified and silenced. An RIT with reduced immunogenicity that targets mesothelin expressing cancers is being prepared for clinical trials to begin in 2014. Awards Van Meter Prize, 1971 G. Burroughs Mider Lectureship, National Institutes of Health, 1973 Membership, National Academy of Sciences, 1982 American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 1997 Fellow, American Academy of Microbiology, 1997 Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science, 1997 International Feltrinelli Prize for Medicine, 2009 Nathan Davis Award for Outstanding Government Service from the American Medical Association , 2010 Membership, Institute of Medicine of the National Academies, 2010 2020 Winner - Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medalist, Paul A. Volcker Career Achievement. References External links Center for Cancer Research - Pastan Website Ira Pastan at NIH Intramural Research Website American medical researchers American microbiologists 1931 births Living people People from Winthrop, Massachusetts Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences Members of the National Academy of Medicine