Sebastian Amigorena
Sebastian Amigorena, PhD, is “Directeur de Recherche de Classe Exceptionnelle” at CNRS (the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique). He also leads the Immunology Department "Immunity and Cancer" and the newly created Cancer Immunotherapy Center at Institut Curie (Paris, France). Sebastian Amigorena has made significant contributions to immunology and cell biology at every stage of his career. His findings have helped advance the understanding of antigen presentation and T cell priming by dendritic cells, with applications in the fields of cancer immunotherapy and vaccination. Sebastian Amigorena has received numerous national and international prizes and awards, including the prestigious senior European Research Council (ERC) award (2008 and 2014).
Aurélien Marabelle
Aurélien Marabelle, MD, PhD, is the Clinical Director of the Cancer Immunotherapy Program at Gustave Roussy Cancer Center in Villejuif, France. Dr Marabelle’s clinical practice is dedicated to early phase Clinical trials in Cancer Immunotherapy and his translational research is focused on mechanisms of action of immune checkpoint monoclonal antibodies. He works as a senior medical oncologist and an investigator in the Drug Development Department (DITEP). He is coordinating a team focused on cancer immunotherapy translational research projects at INSERM.
Ruslan Medzhitov
Ruslan Medzhitov, PhD, is a Sterling Professor at Yale University School of Medicine (New Haven, CT, USA) and an Investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. His research interests include biology of inflammation, biological bases of diseases and evolutionary design of biological systems. Ruslan Medzhitov is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Medicine, and European Molecular Biology Organization. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology and a foreign member of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
Miriam Merad
Miriam Merad, MD, PhD, is the Mount Sinai Chair professor in Cancer Immunology and the Director of the Precision Immunology Institute at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York (NY, USA). Dr. Merad’s laboratory studies the contribution of macrophages and dendritic cells to Cancer and Inflammatory diseases in mice and humans. She has shown that tissue macrophages have unique functional attributes that contribute to tumor outcome and response to treatment. Dr. Merad pioneered mapping the regulatory network of dendritic cells (DCs) resulting in the identification of a lineage of DC, the CD103+ DC, that is now considered to be a key target to improve antiviral and antitumor immunity. Dr. Merad receives generous funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for her research on innate immunity and their contribution to human disease and belongs to several NIH consortia.
Tanguy Seiwert
Tanguy Seiwert, MD, is Assistant Professor of Medicine, Section of Hematology and Oncology in the Department of Medicine at the University of Chicago (Chicago, IL, USA). Dr. Seiwert's research focuses on the biology of head and neck cancer and lung cancer. In the laboratory, he studies targeted therapies that disrupt specific pathways vital to cancer growth and metastasis. More specifically, he focuses on which novel drugs appear most promising, which individual tumors are more likely to respond to these treatments, and how to successfully combine therapies. Dr. Seiwert uses this preclinical knowledge to develop new treatments for use in clinical trials, and to ultimately improve patient care.
Mario Sznol
Mario Sznol, MD, is Professor of Medicine, Leader, Melanoma/RCC Disease-Associated Research Team, and co-leader, Cancer Immunology Program at the Yale Cancer Center (New Haven, CT, USA). Recently, he was appointed the incoming President of the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC). Dr. Sznol's interests include cancer immunotherapy, drug development for cancer, and treatment of patients with melanoma and renal cell carcinoma. After completing a fellowship in medical oncology at Mount Sinai College of Medicine in NYC in 1987, he joined the NCI as a Senior Investigator in the Investigational Drug Branch (IDB), Cancer Therapy Evaluation Program (CTEP). He was Head of the Biologics Evaluation Program, IDB, CTEP, from 1994-1999, and in 1999, was appointed Vice President of Clinical Development for Vion Pharmaceuticals in New Haven, CT. He joined the Yale faculty in medical oncology in 2004.