Happy 2023! It is an honor to write my first monthly message as President of the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC). I have enjoyed the past two years as SITC’s Vice President, supporting
Patrick Hwu, MD, during his tenure as leader of our society. I look forward to carrying that momentum forward into my own term as your President.
We are coming off quite an amazing year for SITC. 2022 was chock-full of successful initiatives and
record-breaking achievements. Included in this issue is the society’s
Year in Review, which celebrates SITC’s many milestones and achievements last year. I encourage you to take time to read these pages, including Dr. Hwu’s final message to the membership.
Looking ahead to my first presidential year, I am eager to expand exceptional initiatives designed to grow our community of diverse global stakeholders. The SITC
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Task Force has big plans for the year ahead, including hosting another virtual listening session focused on the Hispanic and Latin communities, organizing the second undergraduate URM in STEM program, and continuing the conversation with our corporate partners about strategies for promoting and achieving diversity in clinical trials. I am also committed to building on the momentum generated by SITC’s Summit on the
Crisis in Clinical Research, which provided a broad overview of the current challenges of conducting the clinical trials required to bring new and more effective immunotherapies to patients. This year we will convene key stakeholders for a strategic discussion about how to make the drug development process more efficient for all.
Additionally, I look forward to implementing activities developed by the newly formed
Cell Therapy Committee, co-chaired by
Marco Ruella, MD and
Shari Pilon-Thomas, PhD. This group is charged with addressing four key hurdles in the implementation of cell-based therapies for cancer: developing regulatory consensus and efficiencies, characterizing and enhancing product efficacy, applying cell therapy to solid tumors, and identifying host factors that impact the efficacy of cell therapy.
If you haven’t already, I hope you’ll consider
joining or renewing your SITC membership in 2023 to enjoy a variety of
member benefits, including discounts on article processing charges for the
Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer as well as SITC’s education programs. Mark your calendars now for the largest meeting dedicated to cancer immunotherapy – the
38th Annual Meeting and Pre-Conference Programs will be held Nov. 1–5, 2023, in San Diego, CA. You also won’t want to miss our inaugural
SITC Spring Scientific coming up on March 15–17 in Denver, CO.
SITC has many exciting programs and initiatives slated for the next 12 months, all of which seek to improve cancer patient outcomes by advancing the science, development and application of cancer immunotherapy. I am eager to work with you to continue the growth and success of the society, and look forward to what 2023 will bring us!