Dr. Nina Bhardwaj, MD, PhD, is a distinguished Professor of Medicine specializing in Hematology, Medical Oncology, and Urology. She holds pivotal roles as the Director of Immunotherapy, Medical Director of the Vaccine and Cell Therapy Laboratory, and Co-Director of the Cancer Immunology Program at The Tisch Cancer Institute. Additionally, she is a faculty member at the Icahn Genomics Institute and occupies the Ward Coleman Chair in Cancer Research.
Renowned for her pioneering work in human dendritic cell biology, Dr. Bhardwaj's contributions span isolation, subset discovery, immunobiology, antigen presenting function, and vaccine adjuvant utilization. She has developed groundbreaking Toll-Like Receptor agonist-and dendritic cell-based vaccines for cancer and infection treatments through investigator-initiated studies. A leader in neoantigen vaccine research at The Tisch Cancer Institute, she adeptly translates scientific progress into meaningful patient trials.
Dr. Bhardwaj's accolades include recognition as one of Scientific American's Top 50 Researchers, with the Award for Medical Research in 2004. Notably, she received the Fred W. Alt Award in 2015 from the Cancer Research Institute for novel Immunology discoveries. Her standing is further affirmed through honors like the Berson-Yallow Society Lectureship and the Jacobi Medallion Award, both from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.
Acknowledged for significant contributions to cancer research, she received the 2022 Lifetime Achievement in Cancer Research award from the American Association of Indian Scientists in Cancer Research (AAISCR). Her excellence extends to the European Society for Medical Oncology's (ESMO) Award for Immuno-Oncology in 2022, an honor bestowed upon exceptional contributions in the field.
Beyond her research, she is a senior editor for esteemed journals like Cancer Immunology Research and Frontiers in Immunology. Her influence resonates in her involvement with National Institutes of Health Study Sections and advisory councils, and she chairs the Cancer Immunology Steering Committee of the American Association for Cancer Research while serving on its Board of Directors.
Her expertise in securing federal and foundation grants is evident, complemented by her authorship of over 250 publications. Dr. Nina Bhardwaj's impact is indelible, spanning from pioneering research to clinical translation and leadership in the oncology landscape.