Speaker Profile
Ph.D., Founder, Medici Tx
Biography
Ira Mellman (FAACR, FAIO) began his career at Yale School of Medicine,serving as Sterling Professor of Cell Biology and Immunobiology, ScientificDirector of the Yale Comprehensive Cancer Center, and member of the LudwigInstitute for Cancer Research. A National Academy of Sciences member, he isrenowned for discovering endosomes, their role in antigen presentation, andthe function of dendritic cells in immunity and vaccine responses, buildingon his fellowship with Ralph Steinman at The Rockefeller University.At GenentechRoche, where he spent 17 years as VP of Research Oncology andCancer Immunology, Ira established the cancer immunotherapy franchiseresponsible for Tecentriq and Lunsumio. He also led efforts inpersonalized cancer vaccines (with BioNTech), cellcytokine therapies, andtumor microenvironment research. He introduced the Cancer Immunity Cycle(Mellman et al., Nature 2011, 2023), now a foundational concept inimmune-oncology.He has served on the boards of the American Cancer Society and the Societyfor the Immunotherapy of Cancer, receiving their Lloyd J. Old and RichardSmalley Awards. Ira is currently the co-founder and CSO of MediciTherapeutics, a next-generation immunotherapy company.Aded to jot form
Session Abstract – PMWC 2026 Silicon Valley
Track Chair:
Ira Mellman, Medici Therapeutics
PMWC Award Ceremony
• Jedd D. Wolchok, Weill Cornell Medicine
• Suzanne Topalian, Johns Hopkins
• Levi Garraway, Roche
Targeting the Tumor Microenvironment (TME) in Practice: Biomarkers & Combos
• Chair: Ira Mellman, Medici Therapeutics
• Dmitry Gabrilovich, AstraZeneca
• Shannon Turley, Amgen
Immunotherapy with Personalized Cancer Vaccines: Who, When, How Fast?
• Chair: Suzanne Topalian, Johns Hopkins
• Tal Zaks, Orbimed
• Lelia Delamarre, Genentech
Fireside Chat: Immune Tolerance to Cure, A Conversation With...
• Mary E. Brunkow, Institute for Systems Biology
• Lee Hood, Institute for Systems Biology
ADCs in the Checkpoint Era: Who Benefits, What to Combine, What to Avoid
• Chair: Shreya Badhrinarayanan, Pfizer
• S. Peter Kang, Daiichi Sankyo
• Vadim Koshkin, UCSF
Strategic IP Management in Cell and Gene Therapy: Navigating Legal and Practical Challenges
• Janet Xiao, Morrison & Foerster LLP
Checkpoint 2.0 in Practice: PD-1+VEGF Wins, Resistance Salvage & Biomarker Gates
• Chair: Anne Kasmar, Parexel
• Jedd D. Wolchok, Weill Cornell Medicine
• Roy S. Herbst, Yale
Radiopharmaceutical Therapy: New Targets, Isotopes, and Challenges
• Chair: William Oh, Yale
• Munir Ghesanim, United Theranostics
• Sandy Srinivas, Stanford
• Anna Karmann, AdvanCell
Future Breakthroughs in Immuno-Oncology: New Targets, Modalities & Combinations
• Chair: Levi Garraway, Roche
