# Gordon J. Freeman

Source: https://onco.cc/people/gordon-freeman/  
OnCo record `gordon-freeman` (Person). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

Showed that PD-L1 is the ligand for PD-1 and that the pair switches T cells off, the foundation of checkpoint immunotherapy.

## Summary

Gordon Freeman, with Arlene Sharpe and Tasuku Honjo, identified PD-L1 and PD-L2 as the ligands of PD-1 in 2000 and 2001 and showed that engagement inhibits T-cell activation, defining the pathway that pembrolizumab, nivolumab and atezolizumab block. He holds foundational patents on PD-1 pathway blockade and shared the Warren Alpert Prize; his laboratory continues to study checkpoint mechanisms.

## Fields

- Kind: Person
- Last checked: 2026-09-10
- Tags: immunotherapy; discovery; pd-1
- Role: Professor of Medicine, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School
- Specialisms: PD-1/PD-L1 pathway; T-cell costimulation; Immune checkpoint biology

## Sources

- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gordon_J._Freeman
- PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=Freeman%20GJ%5BAuthor%5D%20PD-L1

## Connected records

- technologies: [Immune checkpoint inhibitors](https://onco.cc/technologies/checkpoint-inhibitor/)
- targets: [PD-1](https://onco.cc/targets/pd1/), [PD-L1](https://onco.cc/targets/pdl1/)
- institutions: [Dana-Farber Brigham Cancer Center](https://onco.cc/institutions/dana-farber/)
- key papers: [Topalian 2012: the first large trial of a PD-1 antibody shows durable responses across melanoma, lung and kidney cancer](https://onco.cc/key-papers/paper-topalian-anti-pd1-nejm-2012/)

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