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, Scientific Director of the Yale Comprehensive Cancer Center, and member of the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research. A National Academy of Sciences member, he isrenowned for discovering endosomes, their role in antigen presentation, and the function of dendritic cells in immunity and vaccine responses, buildingon his fellowship with Ralph Steinman at The Rockefeller University. At Genentech Roche, where he spent 17 years as VP of Research Oncology and Cancer 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 Richard Smalley Awards. Ira is currently the co-founder and CSO of Medici Therapeutics, 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
Keynote: Future Breakthroughs in Immuno-Oncology: New Targets, Modalities & Combinations
• Levi Garraway, Roche
Targeting the Tumor Microenvironment (TME) in Practice: Biomarkers & Combos
• Chair: Ira Mellman, Medici Therapeutics
• Dmitry Gabrilovich, AstraZeneca
• Jennifer Mataraza, Novartis
Immunotherapy with Personalized Cancer Vaccines: Who, When, How Fast?
• Chair: Suzanne Topalian, Johns Hopkins
• Tal Zaks, Orbimed
• Lelia Delamarre, Genentech
The Next Era: Neutralizing On-Target, Off-Tumor Effects by Turning Cancer Against Itself
• Cyriac Roeding, Earli
Fireside Chat: Immune Tolerance to Cure, A Conversation With...
• Lee Hood, Institute for Systems Biology
• Mary E. Brunkow, Institute for Systems Biology
ADCs in the Checkpoint Era: Who Benefits, What to Combine, What to Avoid
• Chair: Shreya Badhrinarayanan, Pfizer
• Gerold Meinhardt, 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
Future Breakthroughs in TME Reprogramming: New Modalities, Smarter Delivery & Overcoming Resistance
• David Kirn, ReIGNITE
Radiopharmaceutical Therapy: New Targets, Isotopes, and Challenges
• Chair: William Oh, Yale
• Munir Ghesani, United Theranostics
• Sandy Srinivas, Stanford
• Anna Karmann, AdvanCell
