Ankyra is developing a novel approach for cancer treatment called Anchored Immunotherapy, promoting prolonged immune activation locally while limiting systemic toxicity.

Tillman Gerngross, Ph.D.

Bio

Dr. Gerngross is co-founder and Chairman of Ankyra. Dr. Gerngross is a founder, director and executive officer of numerous biotechnology companies. He is a co-founder of Adimab, LLC and has served as a Director since 2007.

Dr. Gerngross is currently a Venture Partner at SV Life Sciences Advisors, LLC, which he joined in 2006. Dr. Gerngross co-founded GlycoFi, Inc. and served as its Chief Scientific Officer from 2000 to 2006 until it was acquired by Merck & Company, Inc. Dr. Gerngross currently teaches at the Thayer School of Engineering, at Dartmouth College, where he has taught since 1998. Dr. Gerngross received a B.S. and M.S. in Chemical Engineering and a Ph.D. in Molecular Biology from Technical University of Vienna.

Karl Dane Wittrup, Ph.D.

Bio

Dr. Wittrup co-founded Ankyra in 2019 after conducting years of research in the field of molecular bioengineering. He is currently the C.P. Dubbs Professor of Chemical Engineering and Biological Engineering at MIT where his research has been responsible for many recent advances in the directed evolution of biopharmaceutical proteins as well as the display of libraries of antibodies and other binding reagents in yeast. Dr. Wittrup’s research interests primarily focus on cancer immunotherapy using engineered cytokines and antibodies. Dr. Wittrup is co-founder and Chairman of the SAB at Adimab, as well as co-founder of Eleven Biotherapeutics.

He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and previously served as an Associate Director at the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at MIT. His previous teaching experience includes his service as the J.W. Westwater Professor of Chemical Engineering, Biophysics, and Bioengineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He obtained both his PhD and an MS in Chemical Engineering from the California Institute of Technology and his BS in Chemical Engineering from the University of New Mexico.

Darrell Irvine, Ph.D.

Bio

Dr. Darrell Irvine co-founded Ankyra in 2019, following years of extensive research in the field of biomedical engineering. He is currently a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology as well as an Investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Additionally, he works as an Associate Director at the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at MIT and serves on the steering committee of the Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT, and Harvard. His research primarily focuses on the application of engineering tools to new and existing problems in cellular immunology, as well as seeking out the development of novel materials for vaccine administration and drug delivery.

Dr. Irvine has been the recipient of several awards, including a Beckman Young Investigator award, NSF CAREER award, selection for Technology Review’s ‘TR35’, and election as a Fellow of the Biomedical Engineering Society and the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering. Following completion of his PhD, he was a Damon Runyon-Walter Winchell postdoctoral fellow in immunology at the Beckman Center for Molecular and Genetic Medicine. He also holds an Honors Bachelor’s degree in Engineering Physics from the University of Pittsburgh and was a National Science Foundation graduate fellow.

Farzian Aminuddin, MBA

Bio

Mr. Aminuddin is the Sr. Director, Business Development, where he is responsible for identifying and evaluating new business opportunities, as well as alliance management. With more than ten years of business development experience in life sciences, Farzian was most recently at Virogin Biotech, where he led partnering activities in North America & Europe. Prior to that, he provided business development support for Canadian life sciences companies at CDRD (now known as adMare BioInnovations). Mr. Aminuddin received his Bachelors of Science (Honors in Biotechnology) from the University of British Columbia and a Master of Business Administration from Simon Fraser University.

Sailaja Battula, Ph.D.

Bio

Dr. Sailaja Battula is a Vice President, Research and Development at Ankyra, where she is responsible for bridging the pre-clinical and clinical development of the company’s novel immuno-oncology (IO) drugs to maximize their translation into the clinic.

Prior to Ankyra, she was a Director, IO at Immuneering Corporation where she led multiple projects across various stages of drug discovery. Before Immuneering, Dr. Battula was an Associate Director at Bicycle Therapeutics where she was a Project Lead for the BT7455 (a tumor targeted immune cell agonist) program, while also spearheading early discovery projects leading to the expansion of Bicycle’s IO pipeline. Dr. Battula also held roles of increasing responsibility at Forma Therapeutics with significant experience leading and contributing to various therapeutic programs through lead selection, lead optimization, IND-enabling studies, and IND submissions. Dr. Battula earned her PhD in Pharmacology from New York Medical College. She did her postdoctoral training at University of California, San Francisco where her research work focused on understanding the role of macrophages in mesothelioma chemoresistance.

Stephen Gorgol

Bio

Mr. Gorgol brings over 40 years of experience in financial-focused roles across several industries, including nearly 25 years in life sciences and biotechnology. He joins Ankyra from Replimune, where he served as the chief accounting officer and was responsible for financial, accounting, tax and human resources functions, and played a key role in the company’s successful 2018 initial public offering. Before Replimune, he served as vice president, finance and administration at uniQure. Prior to that, he served as the chief financial officer for BioVex, and earlier, as chief financial officer of Vista Medical Technologies. Before entering the biotechnology industry, he held a number of controller-focused roles. Mr. Gorgol received his B.S. in accounting from Plymouth State College in New Hampshire.

Gail Iodice, BSN RN

Bio

Ms. Gail Iodice serves as Vice President of Clinical Development, where she works with the Clinical Team to provide clinical guidance, translational direction, and executes on strategies to evaluate new drugs and clinical trials. She brings with her extensive clinical trials experience with expertise in immune-oncology, medical oncology, and neurological surgery. She has worked in major medical academic centers in both clinical and research positions as well as Industry. Most recently working in clinical development at Replimune, a small biotech company that is developing oncolytic viruses for solid tumors. Gail is a Registered Nurse and received her Bachelor’s in Nursing (BSN) from Pace University. She also received her BA in Psychology from St. John’s University.

Joseph Elassal M.D., MBA

Bio

Dr. Joseph Elassal serves as the Chief Medical Officer, where he is responsible for the strategy, direction, and execution of the company’s clinical development plans. Prior to joining Ankyra, Dr. Elassal most recently was Sr. Director in Oncology Medical Affairs for Regeneron Pharmaceuticals where he served as the non-melanoma skin cancer lead for cemiplimab. In addition, he has had several other roles at Regeneron in both Clinical Development as well as Medical Affairs in therapeutic areas ranging from Cardiovascular to Rare Disease.

Before joining Regeneron, Dr. Elassal was a Senior Medical Director at Replimune Group working on the early clinical development of their platform of intratumoral oncolytic viral therapies. He also served as Deputy Vice President of Science and Regulatory Advocacy at PhRMA where he was responsible for implementation of the Biosimilars User Fee Act (BsUFA II) and regulatory policy governing cell and gene therapies . Dr. Elassal has been an attending physician at Stamford Hospital in Stamford, CT for over 15 years and received his MBA at Columbia Business School and MD at Eastern Virginia Medical School. He earned his BS in Biology from the College of William and Mary.

Kanika Jain, Ph.D.

Bio

Dr. Kanika Jain is a Scientist at Ankyra where she is working to expand and advance the company’s pre-clinical pipeline of immunomodulatory agents. Prior to Ankyra, she was a Scientist at Moderna, working in discovery research as part of their Immuno-Oncology team. Dr. Jain earned her PhD in Cancer Biology from Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. For her thesis, she investigated novel mechanisms to transform immunologically cold sarcomas into hot through activation of Natural Killer cells. Dr. Jain also earned a Master’s Degree in Biotechnology from the University of Pennsylvania and a Bachelor’s degree in Biotechnology from Vellore Institute of Technology, India.

Howard L. Kaufman, M.D., FACS

Bio

Dr. Howard L. Kaufman has served as the President and Chief Executive Officer since March 2022. He joined the company in 2021 as the Chief Medical Officer. Dr. Kaufman is a leading authority on local tumor immunotherapy and oncolytic viruses. He led the successful phase III trial of Talimogene laherparepvec (T-VEC), the first oncolytic virus to be approved for cancer treatment. He also led the pivotal clinical trial of avelumab, an anti-PD-L1 monoclonal antibody, that was approved for treatment of patients with Merkel cell carcinoma. His industry experience includes roles as Chief Medical Officer at Compass Therapeutics and Replimune, Inc., and most recently he was Head of Research and Development at Immuneering Corporation. Dr. Kaufman received his MD from Loyola University, completed a residency in General Surgery at Boston University, and fellowship training in Tumor Immunology and Surgical Oncology at the National Cancer Institute.

He previously held appointments as Chief of the Division of Surgical Oncology and Associate Director of the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center at Columbia University, Director of the Rush University Cancer Center, and Associate Director for Clinical Sciences at the Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey. Dr. Kaufman has maintained a funded laboratory in tumor immunology for 20+ years and has published over 500 peer-reviewed scientific papers, books, review articles and scientific abstracts. He serves on the editorial board of the Journal for Immunotherapy of Cancer and Journal of Translational Medicine, and is a member of numerous professional societies, including his service as President of the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer from 2014-2016. Dr. Kaufman was the recipient of several awards including the Daland Prize, MRF Humanitarian Award and UIC Distinguished Alumnus Award and he has been appointed to the Board of Directors of several professional, academic and industry organizations. He maintains an academic appointment at Harvard Medical School and is a Clinical Associate at Massachusetts General Hospital where he continues to see patients with cutaneous malignancies.

Cheryl K. Kent, MA

Bio

Ms. Cheryl Kent (she/her) serves as Senior Director, Clinical Operations, where she manages the overall strategy and execution of Ankyra’s clinical programs. With over 20 years of experience in global clinical trial operations, Cheryl brings extensive expertise in project oversight, operational efficiency, and clinical compliance. Her therapeutic area experience includes immuno-oncology and medical oncology across multiple indications. Prior to joining Ankyra, Cheryl was Director of Operational Process at Replimune. Cheryl has a Master of Arts in Applied Psychology from New York University and a BA in Psychology from Brandeis University.

Donna Kiely

Bio

Donna Kiely serves as the Vice President of Quality Assurance where she leads the overall strategy and execution of Ankyra’s GxP Quality and Compliance system activities. With over 25 years of experience, Donna is known for leadership in all aspects of clinical, preclinical, and commercial quality successfully leading FDA and international regulatory inspections. This includes establishing robust quality systems supporting drug candidates through the life cycle process of development, approval and product launch. Prior to Ankyra, she was the Executive Director, QA and Compliance at MannKind Corporation. Donna received her Bachelor’s of Science in microbiology and chemistry from Northern Arizona University.

Lynn Nicole

Bio

Ms. Nicole serves as the interim Vice President, Regulatory Affairs, where she works with internal stakeholders as well as external vendors to review project regulatory documentation and ensures compliance with applicable regulatory regulations and guidelines. She brings over 25 years of experience to the Ankyra team where she has worked with companies ranging from preclinical stage through commercialization. Lynn earned her Bachelor’s degree at University of California, Davis.

Robert Tighe

Bio

Robert Tighe has served as the Chief Scientific Officer since July 2023. Mr. Tighe has extensive experience in immuno-oncology (IO) drug discovery & development. He has broad scientific, technical and managerial expertise that spans early discovery (target validation, candidate screening) to IND-enablement (toxicology, DMPK, preclinical efficacy, mechanism-of-action) through early clinical development (IND preparation/authorship, regulatory affairs, clinical CRO selection, biomarker assays).

With over 27 years of research experience (17 years of them in IO), Mr. Tighe has a proven track record of success in moving novel immunotherapies into the clinic as a major contributor to 5 successful INDs including the NHS-IL12 immunocytokine, the approved anti-PD-L1 antibody Bavencio™, M7824 (anti-PD-L1-TGFb-Trap), CTX-471 (novel, differentiated CD137 agonist), and TC-510 (mesothelin-targeted autologous TRuC T cell therapy enhanced by a PD-1xCD28 chimeric switch receptor). Mr. Tighe completed his undergraduate training at Salem State College and has attended the Harvard University Extension School, the International Management Program at Merck, KGaA, and has a certificate in executive leadership from Cornell University.

Lance Weed

Bio

Mr. Weed has more than 36 years of extensive experience in the design, construction, process development, manufacturing and establishment of operations for biopharmaceutical facilities including drug substance and drug product lines where no prior manufacturing capability was established. This includes uniQure’s multiproduct gene therapy facility utilizing 100% disposable process systems for drug substance and drug product. Lance also built BioVex’s oncolytic virus production facility which is currently the commercial production facility for Imlygic under Amgen’s ownership. Lance has a degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of New Hampshire.

 Joshua Allen

Bio

Mr. Allen is a Staff Accountant working with the entire Ankyra team on various accounting activities, is the primary contact of our Accounts Payable Department, and plays a large role in handling our ERP functions. He comes to us from Frontera Therapeutics where he worked as AP Specialist/Staff Accountant handling day to day AP activities, assisting in the month end close process, and ERP implementation. Prior to Frontera he worked at Replimune as an AP Specialist. Before his career in the biotechnology industry, he worked For TJX Companies as a Freight Payment Coordinator in their logistic department. Mr. Allen received his B.S and M.S.A from The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth- Charlton College of Business.

Cheryl Beer

Bio

Ms. Cheryl Beer is an Executive Assistant to the CEO & President. She brings extensive project management, operational and administrative support to the team. Before joining Ankyra, she worked at Regeneron Pharmaceuticals for 17 years and held several positions within Medical Affairs. Prior to Regeneron, Cheryl worked in the pharmaceutical industry for 8 years in various roles within the Human Resources function. She also owed and operated her own event planning company for several years.

Ms. Beer holds a Bachelor’s of Science in Educational Psychology from Emerson College. Additionally, she completed a Human Resources certification program at Cornell University and received PHR certification from Pace University. Ms. Beer also holds certificates of completion as a PMP and completed training to become CMP certified.

Brendan Horton

Bio

Dr. Brendan Horton is a Scientist II at Ankyra, where he is working to expand and advance Ankyra’s preclinical pipeline of immune agonist agents by designing and executing in vitro and in vivo strategies.

Prior to joining Ankyra, he worked in MIT’s Kock Institute for Integrative Cancer Research working on non-small cell lung cancers. Dr. Horton earned his PhD in Cancer Biology from the University of Chicago, and he earned his BA in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from Boston University.

Gregory Zarbis-Papastoitsis, Ph.D.

Bio

Dr. Gregory Zarbis-Papastoitsis is the Chief Process and Manufacturing Officer at Ankyra, where he is responsible for all CMC and related regulatory activities. Prior to joining Ankyra, Dr. Papastoitsis was the EVP of Process and Manufacturing at Compass Therapeutics where he oversaw all CMC activities for a CD137 agonist, which is currently in Phase 1 clinical studies. Previously he was the SVP of development and manufacturing at Eleven Biotherapeutics. There, he worked on an IL-1 inhibitor, which reached pivotal clinical studies for Dry Eye Disease and Allergic Conjunctivitis, and an anti-IL6 antibody (successfully filed an IND), for treating Macular Edema. Prior to Eleven, he was the Senior Director of Purification and Analytical Development at PERCIVIA, LLC, developing platform processes with the PER.C6® human cell line. Previously, he was Associate Director of Process and Analytical Development at Syntonix Pharmaceuticals, where he was responsible for the early clinical development of a long-lasting Factor IX (ALPROLIX®).

Before Syntonix, Dr. Zarbis-Papastoitsis worked on the commercial manufacturing process of HUMIRA® (Abbott/Abbvie), and on the purification process of ONTAK®, an IL2-diphtheria toxin fusion protein (Seragen). Prior to that, at Millennium Pharmaceuticals, he was responsible for the early development of an antibody-toxin conjugate (anti-PSMA-DM1) that reached Phase I clinical trials for prostate cancer, and was a key contributor in the process development of an anti-CCR2 antibody that was in Phase II clinical trials for autoimmune diseases. He received his PhD in Biology at Binghamton University followed by 3 years of post-doctoral studies at Boston University School of Medicine investigating proteases in Alzheimer disease. 

Howard L. Kaufman, M.D., FACS

Bio

Dr. Howard L. Kaufman has served as the President and Chief Executive Officer since March 2022. He joined the company in 2021 as the Chief Medical Officer. Dr. Kaufman is a leading authority on local tumor immunotherapy and oncolytic viruses. He led the successful phase III trial of Talimogene laherparepvec (T-VEC), the first oncolytic virus to be approved for cancer treatment. He also led the pivotal clinical trial of avelumab, an anti-PD-L1 monoclonal antibody, that was approved for treatment of patients with Merkel cell carcinoma. His industry experience includes roles as Chief Medical Officer at Compass Therapeutics and Replimune, Inc., and most recently he was Head of Research and Development at Immuneering Corporation. Dr. Kaufman received his MD from Loyola University, completed a residency in General Surgery at Boston University, and fellowship training in Tumor Immunology and Surgical Oncology at the National Cancer Institute.

He previously held appointments as Chief of the Division of Surgical Oncology and Associate Director of the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center at Columbia University, Director of the Rush University Cancer Center, and Associate Director for Clinical Sciences at the Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey. Dr. Kaufman has maintained a funded laboratory in tumor immunology for 20+ years and has published over 500 peer-reviewed scientific papers, books, review articles and scientific abstracts. He serves on the editorial board of the Journal for Immunotherapy of Cancer and Journal of Translational Medicine, and is a member of numerous professional societies, including his service as President of the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer from 2014-2016. Dr. Kaufman was the recipient of several awards including the Daland Prize, MRF Humanitarian Award and UIC Distinguished Alumnus Award and he has been appointed to the Board of Directors of several professional, academic and industry organizations. He maintains an academic appointment at Harvard Medical School and is a Clinical Associate at Massachusetts General Hospital where he continues to see patients with cutaneous malignancies.

Tillman Gerngross, Ph.D.

Bio

Dr. Gerngross is co-founder and Chairman of Ankyra. Dr. Gerngross is a founder, director and executive officer of numerous biotechnology companies. He is a co-founder of Adimab, LLC and has served as a Director since 2007.

Dr. Gerngross is currently a Venture Partner at SV Life Sciences Advisors, LLC, which he joined in 2006. Dr. Gerngross co-founded GlycoFi, Inc. and served as its Chief Scientific Officer from 2000 to 2006 until it was acquired by Merck & Company, Inc. Dr. Gerngross currently teaches at the Thayer School of Engineering, at Dartmouth College, where he has taught since 1998. Dr. Gerngross received a B.S. and M.S. in Chemical Engineering and a Ph.D. in Molecular Biology from Technical University of Vienna.

Terry McGuire

Bio

• Founding Partner, Polaris Partners

Ajay Royan

Bio

• Founder and Managing General Partner, Mithril Capital Management
• Board Member, Adagio Therapeutics (Nasdaq: ADGI)
• Board Member of 16 additional companies

Phil Ferneau

Bio

• Co-Founder and Managing Partner, Borealis Ventures
• Board Member, Amagma Therapeutics
• Board Member, Compass Therapeutics

Dr. Genevieve Boland, M.D., Ph.D.

Bio

Genevieve M. Boland, MD, PhD, FACS is an Associate Professor of Surgery at Harvard Medical School, Section Head of Melanoma/Sarcoma Surgery, and Surgical Director of the Termeer Center for Targeted Therapies at the Massachusetts General Hospital. Her primary clinical focus is on melanoma and cutaneous oncology.

She undertook combined MD/PhD training, completing a PhD in Cell and Tissue Engineering at the National Institutes of Health focusing on signaling pathways in adult, human mesenchymal stem cells. She graduated cum laude from Thomas Jefferson University as a member of the Alpha Omega Alpha medical honor society and completed her general surgical training at Massachusetts General Hospital. Following this, she completed a clinical fellowship in Complex General Surgical Oncology and a combined research fellowship at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. She is focused on the clinical management of skin cancer patients. She is board certified in General Surgery and Complex General Surgical Oncology, and she is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons.

Dr. Boland has received research support from many groups including the American Surgical Association Foundation Fellowship, the Association of Women Surgeons Research Fellowship, the Harvard Catalyst Medical Research Investigator Training Award, the Karin Grunebaum Cancer Foundation Fellowship, the Society of Surgical Oncology, the Melanoma Research Foundation Breakthrough Consortium, the National Institutes of Health, and the Department of Defense. She is Director of the Surgical Oncology Research Laboratories and Director of the Therapeutic Intralesional Program where she is building a portfolio of direct-to-tumor therapies across multiple tumor types. She is also an Associate Member of the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. Her laboratory is currently focused on molecular profiling of melanoma, characterization of molecular and immunological changes that occur during immunotherapy, and the identification of circulating biomarkers of cancer.

Dr. John M. Kirkwood, M.D.

Bio

John M. Kirkwood, MD, is a professor of medicine, dermatology, and clinical and translational science at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and the Clinical and Translational Science Institute at the University of Pittsburgh. Dr. Kirkwood directs the Melanoma Center at UPMC Hillman Cancer Center and specializes in melanoma research and the prevention and early detection of melanoma, as well as the treatment of advanced disease and adjuvant therapy of resectable disease.

Dr. Kirkwood is board-certified in internal medicine and medical oncology. He received his medical degree from Yale University School of Medicine, where he also was an intern and resident in internal medicine. He subspecialized in medical oncology and did his fellowship in this field at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School. Dr. Kirkwood did his early research in tumor immunology at Memorial Sloan Kettering and his postdoctoral fellowship work in tumor immunology at Harvard University.

Dr. Kirkwood is a member of the New York Academy of Sciences, the American Society for Clinical Oncology, the American Association for Cancer Research, the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group, the National Cancer Foundation, the International Society for Interferon and Cytokine Research, the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer, the Society for Melanoma Research, the Clinical Immunology Society, and the Society of Natural Immunity.

Dr. James J. Mulé, M.D.

Bio

Dr. Mulé is the Associate Center Director for Translational Science, Interim Associate Center Director for Basic Science, the Michael McGillicuddy Endowed Chair for Melanoma Research and Treatment, and Scientific Director of Cell Based Therapies at the Moffitt Cancer Center. Dr. Mulé’s role as Associate Center Director, Translational Science is, in part, to oversee Moffitt’s four, transdisciplinary Centers of Excellence, the Cell Therapies Facility, as well as the Office of Innovation and Industry Alliances. He acts as a facilitator to translate laboratory-based research into viable treatments for cancer patient benefit. He is adept at fostering a collaborative environment that weaves laboratory scientists and clinicians together into a singular effort to develop new or improved prevention and treatment interventions across the cancer care continuum, which is evident even in his own research efforts.

As Interim Associate Center Director for the Division of Basic Science, Dr. Mulé is responsible for overseeing research and administrative operations in the division, which is made up of five research departments: Cancer Physiology, Drug Discovery, Immunology, Molecular Oncology, and Tumor Biology. Basic science research at Moffitt Cancer Center involves lab work that addresses the genome, cells, and biology of cancers, as well as the surrounding tissues, which can impact the nature of the cancer and its potential to spread. Basic science focuses understanding of the mechanisms and causes of cancer at a biological and molecular level.

Dr. Mulé, who was designated a “Master of Immunology” by the American Association for Cancer Research’s journal Cancer Immunology Research, is recognized for his research and clinical trial contributions to cancer immunotherapy, particularly in solid tumors. His clinical research group is involved in developing and validating genomic signatures of immunotherapy response, as well as vaccine strategies (e.g., with dendritic cells) and other approaches (e.g., with adoptive T cells) to recognize and destroy tumors. The translational work in these areas has helped to develop new treatments for advanced cancer patients.

Dr. Mulé serves on Advisory Boards of numerous biotechnology companies and publicly held companies. He remains a long-standing special government employee to the FDA (CBER) and the NCI. He is a member of NCI Subcommittee A – Cancer Centers. He was Chair of the Cellular, Tissue, and Gene Therapy Advisory Committee of CBER, FDA. He currently serves on the advisory boards of several NCI-designated Cancer Centers and was a member of the NCI Director’s Board of Scientific Counselors (BSC-A). Dr. Mulé also serves on the Editorial Boards of several peer-reviewed journals, including Scientific Reports (nature.com), Journal of Immunotherapy, and Cancer Immunology Research (AACR). He has published nearly 200 articles in the areas of cancer vaccines and adoptive immunotherapy, and is a continuously funded investigator for nearly 25 years.

Dr. Mulé received a special individual Ph.D. (IPh.D.) degree in Tumor Immunology from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and the University of Washington, Seattle, Washington. He then received his formal post-graduate training at the Surgery Branch, Division of Cancer Treatment, National Cancer Institute, NIH, Bethesda, Maryland, where he became a Senior Investigator with tenure. Dr. Mulé moved to Palo Alto, CA, where he helped to launch and scientifically direct two biotechnology companies. He then moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan to become the Director of the Tumor Immunology and Immunotherapy Program at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center, the Maude T. Lane Endowed Professor of Surgery with tenure, Department of Surgery, Inaugural Director of the Rackham Graduate School’s Graduate Program in Immunology, and Professor in the Department of Internal Medicine.

Research
In a collaboration with Natalie Artzi at MIT/Harvard, bioengineered, 3D printed and manufactured biomaterial ‘designer’ lymph node platforms are being developed that function as therapeutic devices to deliver, stimulate and expand immune lymphocytes (e.g., TILs) and/or DCs. In addition, the inert nature of bio-materials also allows for the implementation of microparticle or nanoparticle constructs for controlled release of soluble factors (i.e. chemokines, growth factors). Such platforms should provide sustained environmental queues to augment antigen-presenting cell or lymphocyte longevity, maturation, and activation. The resulting benefit from these ‘designer’ lymph nodes is that they will be utilized by the host to provide an enhanced, unified or diversified immune system to fight cancer, directly, or in combination with immunotherapeutics to enhance their potency and efficacy.

Agents that activate the immune system in advanced melanoma have significantly improved outcomes, and many patients have long-term responses following immunotherapy treatment. However there remains a subset of melanoma patients treated with immune-based therapies who do not achieve clinical benefit. Dr. Mulé’s research program is focused on understanding the mechanisms underlying both successful and failed immune responses which may help improve immunotherapeutic approaches, with an emphasis on identifying the factors that contribute to tumor cell recognition by immune cells. By conducting a series of mechanistic studies, Dr. Mulé’s laboratory has discovered that loss of STING signaling in melanoma is one of the mechanisms that protect tumor cells from immune cell recognition. The STING pathway is known to contribute to the activation of the immune system by stimulating the production of protein messengers called interferons. Current priorities in the lab include the development of strategies that target the STING pathway in tumor cells to improve the efficacy of adoptive cell therapy and other immunotherapies in patients who do not currently benefit from these interventions.

Dr. Jeffrey Schlom, Ph.D

Bio

As Chief of the Laboratory of Tumor Immunology and Biology, Dr. Schlom directs a translational research program in cancer immunology and immunotherapy. He has pioneered the use of novel immunotherapeutics, both as monotherapy and in combination therapies, for a range of human cancers. His studies involve the translation of hypothesis-driven preclinical studies to science-driven clinical trials. Dr. Schlom has a joint appointment in the Genitourinary Malignancies Branch (GMB), Dr. James Gulley, Chief, and works closely with clinicians in the LTIB, GMB, multiple other Branches of the NCI, and extramural Cancer Centers.

Dr. Schlom also works closely with investigators in multiple Biotech and Pharma companies via Cooperative Research and Development Agreements to rapidly translate preclinical findings into agents for clinical studies. Dr. Schlom’s studies involve the design and development of novel therapeutic cancer vaccines, immunocytokines, checkpoint inhibitor monoclonal antibodies, inhibitors of immune suppressive entities, as well as agents and strategies to modify the tumor microenvironment to render tumor cells more susceptible to immune-mediated therapy.

Stefani Spranger, Ph.D.

Bio

Stefani Spranger is an Assistant Professor of Biology at MIT. She received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the Ludwig-Maximilians University in Munich. She received her PhD in 2011 from the Helmholtz-Zentrum Munich, Institute for Molecular Immunology, where she conducted her doctoral work under the supervision of Professor Dolores J. Schendel. Spranger completed her postdoctoral training at the University of Chicago in the laboratory of Professor Thomas F. Gajewski. During this period, she was supported by a German Research Foundation postdoctoral fellowship and subsequently received the Cancer Research Institute’s Irvington Postdoctoral Fellowship.

Dr. Spranger is a Scholar of the William Guy Forbeck Research Foundation, holds the Howard S. and Linda B. Stern Career Development Professorship, and is a Pew-Stewart Scholar for Cancer Research. She was elected to the Board of Directors of the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer in 2019 and received the Young investigator award from the Society for Melanoma Research in 2020. Dr. Spranger is a co-founder of Danger Bio. She is a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of Arcus Biosciences, Danger Bio, and Venn Therapeutics. In addition, she acts as advisor to Dragonfly, Merck, Ribon and Takeda. Her group receives research funding from Leap Therapeutics.

Dr. James L. Gulley, M.D., Ph.D.

Bio

Dr. Gulley is an internationally recognized expert in cancer immunotherapy with a strong interest in prostate cancer. Since 1998 he has authored and run a variety of clinical trials at the National Cancer Institute. These innovative, investigator-initiated studies involve the use of cancer immunotherapy to (a) initiate immune responses, (b) expand immune responses and/or (c) allow the immune responses to be effective within the tumor microenvironment.

In addition to his role as Branch Chief, Dr. James L. Gulley is also Director of the Medical Oncology Service.