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 is renowned for discovering endosomes, their role in antigen presentation, and the function of dendritic cells in immunity and vaccine responses, building on 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 franchise responsible for Tecentriq® and Lunsumio®. He also led efforts in personalized cancer vaccines (with BioNTech), cell/cytokine therapies, and tumor microenvironment research. He introduced the Cancer Immunity Cycle (Mellman et al., Nature 2011, 2023), now a foundational concept in immune-oncology.
He has served on the boards of the American Cancer Society and the Society for 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 2025 Silicon Valley
Track Chair: Maryland Franklin, Labcorp
- Cross-Application of Oncology Drugs in Rare Diseases
- Razelle Kurzrock, Medical College of Wisconsin
- PMWC 2025 Award Ceremony
Luminary Honoree: David R. Liu, Broad Institute & Crystal Mackal, Stanford University
Pioneer Honoree: Drew Weissman, Penn Medicine
- Breakthroughs in Cancer Immunotherapy: mRNA Vaccines and CAR T-Cell Advances (PANEL)
Chair: Ira Mellman, Medici Therapeutics
- Drew Weissman, Penn Medicine
- Crystal Mackal, Stanford University - Next-Generation ADCs: Challenges and Innovations in Immunotherapy Combinations (PANEL)
Chair: Sandhya Girish, Gilead
- Bin Liu, UCSF
- Hanspeter Gerber, Sutro Bioscience
- Amrita Kamath, Genentech
- Stephen Eck, MacroGenics - Strategic IP Management in Cell and Gene Therapy: Navigating Legal and Practical Challenges
- Janet Xiao, Morrison & Foerster LLP
- Keynote: Base Editing, Prime Editing, and Targeted Gene Integration: Precision Therapeutic Genome Editingn
- David R. Liu, Broad Institute
- Advances in Allogeneic Cell Therapies: Overcoming Hurdles and Expanding Applications (PANEL)
Chair: Elliot Norry, Adaptimmune
- Larry Lamb, IN8bio
- Indu Ramachandran, Century Therapeutics - Bottlenecks in Manufacturing of Cell Therapies
- Fabian Gerlinghaus, Cellares
- Transforming Cancer Treatment: Stem Cell and Gene Therapy Breakthroughs
Chair: Catriona Jamieson, UCSD Health
- Irv Weisman, Stanford
- Collaborations Advancing Genetics-based Diagnostic Testing for Cell and Gene Therapy
Chair: Maryland Franklin, Labcorp
- Data-Driven Innovations in Oncology Cell Therapy Trials
- Prabhu Snehit, Stanford
- Advancements and Future Directions in Therapeutic Ultrasound for Precision Medicine
Chair: Masha Stromme, EXACT Therapeutics
- John de Groot, UCSF
- Bhaskar Ramamurthy, Cordance Medical
- Raag Airan, Stanford
