Birth. Life. Death. These are inspiration for Dr. Thomas E. Carey ’67’s work.  And the consequences of his work are no less than the ultimate quality of each human being’s existence.

Founder and director of the University of Michigan’s Laboratory of Head and Neck Cancer Biology, Carey is a pioneer in the application of biological techniques to the study of squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck. He is recognized internationally for proving that in vitro cultured cells consistently express the characteristics of the tumor from which they are established. He was the first scientist to establish cell lines for in vitro studies of this type of cancer. His identification of the first human melanoma antigen to trigger an immune response led to the development of cancer vaccines used today.

A biology major and honors student at St. Lawrence, where he played soccer and was an assistant in residential life, Dr. Carey’s contributions extend to education as well.  He has a lifelong commitment to teaching students from the high school to post-doctoral levels, believing that “the best successes come from sharing ideas” with everyone who cares about a subject. He has been recognized by the National Institutes of Health and has collaborated with scientists around the globe. For his contributions to humankind, St. Lawrence awarded Carey the Sol Feinstone Award for Humanitarian Service in 2003.