OCTOBER 23, 2025
The James P. Allison Institute at MD Anderson Cancer Center is pleased to
invite you to a free screening of the new documentary
Cracking the Code: Phil Sharp and the Biotech Revolution
Brought to you by the producers of Jim Allison: Breakthrough, Cracking the Code is an inspiring story of vision, perseverance, and the power of science to change the world. Phil Sharp’s journey from a Kentucky farm boy to Nobel laureate embodies the American Dream and the triumph of entrepreneurial spirit. His 1977 groundbreaking discovery of RNA splicing rewrote the rules of molecular biology and ignited a life-saving scientific revolution, laying the foundation for an industry that has become a cornerstone of global innovation and economic growth – and transformed the health of billions of patients worldwide.
October 23, 2025
4:30pm – Doors open
5:00pm – Screening
followed by a discussion with
Dr. Phil Sharp and Dr. Jim Allison
Moderated by Alice Park, TIME Magazine
​
The James P. Allison Institute
TMC
7255 Helix Park Ave, Houston, TX 77030
3
This event is free but RSVPs are required.
HOSTED BY
ABOUT PHIL SHARP
Phillip A. Sharp, PhD, an Institute Professor emeritus at MIT, is a member of the Department of Biology and the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research. His work studying the molecular biology of gene expression relevant to cancer and the mechanisms of RNA splicing earned Sharp the 1993 Nobel Prize in Physiology for Medicine. Sharp is past President of AAAS, serves on the boards of directors of the Broad Institute, Stand Up 2 Cancer, and the Gairdner Foundation. He is a co-founder of Biogen and of Alnylam Pharmaceuticals and serves on the Scientific Advisory Boards of F-Prime Capital, Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Danaher, Dewpoint Therapeutics, and Skyhawk Therapeutics, He is also advisor to Longwood and Polaris Venture Funds.
ABOUT JIM ALLISON
Dr. James Allison is Regental Professor and Chair of the Department of Immunology, the Olga Keith Wiess Distinguished University Chair for Cancer Research, Director of the Parker Institute for Cancer Research, Executive Director of the Immunotherapy Platform, and Director of the James P. Allison Institute at MD Anderson Cancer Center. Dr. Allison received the 2018 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine, has spent a distinguished career studying the regulation of T cell responses and pioneering new strategies for cancer immunotherapy. Among his most notable discoveries are the determination of the T cell receptor structure and that CD28 is the major costimulatory molecule that allows full activation of naïve T cells and prevents anergy in T cell clones.
ABOUT THE MODERATOR
Alice Park is a senior writer at TIME. Since 1993, she has reported on the breaking frontiers of health and medicine in articles covering issues such as AIDS, anxiety and Alzheimer's disease. Park has received two CASE media fellowships — the first in 2000 to Harvard Medical School, where she designed a program focused on the latest understanding of AIDS, and the second in 2003 to UCLA's Medical School, where she researched the growing number of clinical applications of genomic research. In addition, Park's work has been recognized with awards of excellence from the National Arthritis Foundation as well as the National Headache Foundation.
ABOUT THE DIRECTOR
Bill Haney is a filmmaker, inventor, and entrepreneur. His most recent film projects include Cracking the Code: Phil Sharp and the Biotech Revolution, and Jim Allison: Breakthrough. He has started more than a dozen companies and is currently the Co-founder and CEO of Dragonfly Therapeutics, a clinical stage biotech focused on novel NK-cell based immune engagers, and Co-founder & Chairman of Skyhawk Therapeutics, a clinical stage biotech focused on small molecule RNA splicing modifiers. Bill is a graduate of Harvard College and served as a Fellow of Harvard's Kennedy School.​