Jen Wargo’s career commitment has always been to advance the understanding and treatment of disease through science. After completing her medical degree, she entered surgical residency training at the Massachusetts General Hospital where she became interested in the biology and treatment of cancer. During her training, she completed two fellowships in surgical oncology with a focus on cancer immunotherapy.

She was recruited to MGH in 2008 to join the faculty in the Division of Surgical Oncology and established a translational research laboratory focusing on better understanding response and resistance to treatment for melanoma, pancreatic cancer, and other cancers. During that time, her laboratory demonstrated that treatment with molecularly targeted therapy could sensitize tumor cells to treatment with immunotherapy, providing the rationale for combined targeted therapy and immunotherapy combinations. She also began studies on the tumor microbiome in pancreatic and other cancers while at Harvard.

Jen was recruited to the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in 2013 to help lead the Melanoma Moonshot efforts - and also continued important translational research work on targeted therapy, immunotherapy, and the impact of the gut and tumor microbiome in cancer. Jen is currently a Professor of Surgical Oncology and Genomic Medicine, and the leader of the Platform for Innovative Microbiome and Translational Research (PRIME-TR) at MD Anderson. Importantly, Jen is deeply invested in working with investigators across the institution and across the world to find better ways to treat, intercept, and ultimately prevent cancer.

Ira Mellman, PhD, is President of Research at the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy (PICI). A pioneering force in cancer immunology, he brings decades of experience translating fundamental discoveries into transformative therapies. At PICI, Dr. Mellman is focused on advancing scientific strategy, amplifying cross-institutional collaboration and accelerating the development of immune-based treatments that change outcomes for patients.

Dr. Mellman joined PICI after more than 15 years at Genentech, where he most recently served as Vice President of Cancer Immunology. There, he led groundbreaking research that helped bring forward Tecentriq® (atezolizumab), anti-TIGIT therapies, and patient-specific neoantigen cancer vaccines as well as multiple other first-in-class immunotherapies. Earlier in his career, he spent two decades at Yale University School of Medicine, where he served as Chair of Cell Biology, Scientific Director of the Yale Cancer Center and Sterling Professor. He is also the co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer of Medici Therapeutics.

A world leader in immuno-oncology and cell biology, Dr. Mellman’s scientific contributions span the discovery of endosomes, the elucidation of how dendritic cells initiate immunity or tolerance and the development of the cancer immunity cycle framework. His work has fundamentally shaped our understanding of immune checkpoint biology and the design of next-generation cancer vaccines.

Dr. Mellman is an elected member of the National Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, and the European Molecular Biology Organization. He has served on the editorial boards of Cell, Journal of Experimental Medicine and as Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Cell Biology. His honors include the AACR Lloyd J. Old Award for Cancer Immunology, Yale’s Wilbur Cross Medal and SITC’s Richard Smalley Award.

He holds a PhD in genetics from Yale University and an AB from Oberlin College & Conservatory, and completed postdoctoral work at The Rockefeller University.