I am a medical oncologist and immunologist with a research focus on cell therapy for cancer. I initially trained in general surgery and surgical oncology. Recognizing the limitations of existing cancer treatments in the advanced disease setting, I began research through a fellowship at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) in the laboratory of Nicholas P. Restifo, M.D. I unexpectedly lost an eye to an ocular melanoma and decided to retrain in internal medicine and medical oncology. My medical oncology fellowship at NCI included research in the laboratory of Steven A. Rosenberg, M.D., Ph.D. I was selected for an Assistant Clinical Investigator position in the NCI Center for Cancer Research Clinical Investigator Development Program, and then for a tenure-track Investigator position as a NIH Lasker Clinical Research Scholar (Si2 grant). The short-term aim of my research is to investigate principles of cellular therapy in epithelial cancer using HPV-associated cancers as a disease model. The long-term aim of my research is to discover and develop cellular therapy for HPV-associated cancers and other malignancies. Research my laboratory includes the discovery of tumor-infiltrating T cell therapy for HPV-associated cancers, gene-engineered TCR-T cell therapy for HPV-associated cancers, and new TCR and cytokine technologies for a range of malignancies. It has also included translational research that has elucidated key mechanisms of tumor response and resistance to cell therapy and immunotherapy. I received tenure at the NIH in 2020 and began as chief of the cancer immunotherapy section and co-director of the Cancer Immunology and Metabolism Center of Excellence at Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey in 2021.
