Human Oncology & Pathogenesis Program

The Vinod Balachandran Lab

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Research

Pictured: Dr. Vinod Balachandran
Vinod Balachandran, MD
Member, David. M Rubenstein Center for Pancreatic Cancer Research

Assistant Professor

Our goal is to discover new ways to stimulate the immune system to treat cancer through careful study of rare cancer patients with exceptional outcomes. We believe that deep study of these remarkable patients will identify fundamental mechanisms of how the immune system controls cancers, and accelerate the discovery of new effective drugs. We use this approach to study pancreatic cancer, a model deadly cancer that is refractory to all treatments including immunotherapy – and specifically focus on a rare subgroup of pancreatic cancer patients with exceptional long-term survival to discover new immunotherapeutic approaches. Our long-term vision is to use a similar approach of study of biological extremes to usher in the next generation of cancer immunotherapies.

The Vinod Balachandran Lab

Featured News

Getting closer to a vaccine for cancer

Scientists have worked for years to harness the power of the immune system. New approaches make researchers optimistic about success. MSK's Vinod Balac...
Sanjay Gupta explains how scientists are trying to 'outsmart cancer'

CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta reports on how scientists have found ways that mRNA vaccines may be helpful in cancer treatment. MSK's Vinod Balachandran&n...
Memorial Sloan Kettering physician-scientist Vinod Balachandran, who specializes in treating pancreatic cancer
Picking the Winners: Study Sheds Light on Possible Best Targets for Pancreatic Cancer Vaccine

Research confirms a sound strategy for designing a therapeutic vaccine for pancreatic cancer.

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Publications

Łuksza M, Sethna ZM, Rojas LA, Lihm J, Bravi B, Elhanati Y, Soares K, Amisaki M, Dobrin A, Hoyos D, Guasp P, Zebboudj A, Yu R, Chandra AK, Waters T, Odgerel Z, Leung J, Kappagantula R, Makohon-Moore A, Johns A, Gill A, Gigoux M, Wolchok J, Merghoub T, Sadelain M, Patterson E, Monasson R, Mora T, Walczak AM, Cocco S, Iacobuzio-Donahue C, Greenbaum BD, Balachandran VP. Neoantigen quality predicts immunoediting in survivors of pancreatic cancer. Nature. 2022 May 19. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-022-04735-9

Moral JA, Leung J, Rojas LA, Ruan J, Zhao J, Sethna Z, Ramnarain A, Gasmi B, Gururajan M, Redmond D, Askan G, Bhanot U, Elyada E, Park Y, Tuveson DA, Goen M, Leach SD, Wolchok JD, DeMatteo RP, Merghoub T & Balachandran VP. ILC2s amplify PD-1 blockade by activating tissue-specific cancer immunity. Nature. 2020 Feb 19. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-020-2015-4

Balachandran VP, Łuksza M, Zhao JN, Makarov V, Moral JA, Remark R, Herbst B, Askan G, Bhanot U, Senbabaoglu Y, Wells DK, Cary CIO, Grbovic-Huezo O, Attiyeh M, Medina B, Zhang J, Loo J, Saglimbeni J, Abu-Akeel M, Zappasodi R, Riaz N, Smoragiewicz M, Kelley ZL, Basturk O; Australian Pancreatic Cancer Genome Initiative; Gönen M, Levine AJ, Allen PJ, Fearon DT, Merad M, Gnjatic S, Iacobuzio-Donahue CA, Wolchok JD, DeMatteo RP, Chan TA, Greenbaum BD, Merghoub T, Leach SD. Identification of unique neoantigen qualities in long-term survivors of pancreatic cancer. Nature. 2017 Nov 8. doi: 10.1038/nature24462. [Epub ahead of print]. PMID: 29132146

Łuksza M, Riaz N, Makarov V, Balachandran VP, Hellmann MD, Solovyov A, Rizvi NA, Merghoub T, Levine AJ, Chan TA, Wolchok JD, Greenbaum BD. A neoantigen fitness model predicts tumour response to checkpoint blockade immunotherapy. Nature. 2017 Nov 8. doi: 10.1038/nature24473. [Epub ahead of print]. PMID: 29132144

Balachandran VP, Cavnar MJ, Zeng S, Bamboat ZM, Ocuin LM, Obaid H, Sorenson EC, Popow R, Ariyan C, Rossi F, Besmer P, Guo T, Antonescu CR, Taguchi T, Yuan J, Wolchok JD, Allison JP, DeMatteo RP. Imatinib potentiates antitumor T cell responses in gastrointestinal stromal tumor through the inhibition of Ido. Nature Medicine. 2011 Aug 28;17(9):1094-100. doi: 10.1038/nm.2438. PMID: 21873989

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People

Pictured: Dr. Vinod Balachandran

Vinod Balachandran, MD

Member, David. M Rubenstein Center for Pancreatic Cancer Research

Assistant Professor

  • Surgeon scientist Vinod Balachandran develops novel immunotherapies for pancreatic cancer.
  • MD, State University of New York at Stony Brook
212-639-5785
Office Phone
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Physician profile

Members

Masataka Amisaki

Research Scholar

Pablo Guasp Baratech
Pablo Guasp Baratech

Research Fellow

Adrienne Chandra
Adrienne Chandra

Research Technician

Zagaa Odgerel
Zagaa Odgerel

Lab Manager

Luis A. Rojas

Research Fellow

Zachary Sethna, PhD
Zachary Sethna

Research Associate

Theresa Waters
Theresa Waters

Research Technician

Abderezak Zebboudj
Abderezak Zebboudj

Research Fellow

Lab Alumni
Christian Brodala

Administrative Assistant

Joanne Leung, Ph.D.
Joanne Leung

Postdoctoral Research Scholar

John Alec Moral

Postdoctoral Research Fellow

Karina Ng
Karina Ng

Summer Student 2018

Jenni Ruan

Research Technician

Rebecca Yu

Research Technician

Julia Nanyi Zhao

Research Technician

Lab Affiliations

Achievements

  • Louise and Allston Boyer Young Investigator Award (2021)
  • Pershing Square Sohn Prize (2020)
  • Society of Immunotherapy for Cancer Presidential Award (2017)
  • National Cancer Institute Cancer Moonshot Award (2017)
  • Damon Runyon Clinical Investigator Award (2017)
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  • AACR/Pancreatic Cancer Action Network Career Development Award (2017)
  • NCI Paul Calabresi Career Development Award (2016)
  • Society of Surgical Oncology Harvey Barker Award (2015)
  • David and Monica Gorin Fellow Award (2013)
  • Memorial Sloan Kettering Chairman’s Award for Best Basic Science Research (2010)
  • Society of University Surgeons Research Fellowship Award (2009)
  • Alpha Omega Alpha

Lab News & Events

Open Positions

To learn more about available postdoctoral opportunities, please visit our Career Center

Postdoctoral Fellow

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Disclosures

Doctors and faculty members often work with pharmaceutical, device, biotechnology, and life sciences companies, and other organizations outside of MSK, to find safe and effective cancer treatments, to improve patient care, and to educate the health care community.

MSK requires doctors and faculty members to report (“disclose”) the relationships and financial interests they have with external entities. As a commitment to transparency with our community, we make that information available to the public.

Vinod Balachandran discloses the following relationships and financial interests:

  • Genentech
    Provision of Services

The information published here is for a specific annual disclosure period. There may be differences between information on this and other public sites as a result of different reporting periods and/or the various ways relationships and financial interests are categorized by organizations that publish such data.

This page and data include information for a specific MSK annual disclosure period (January 1, 2021 through disclosure submission in spring 2022). This data reflects interests that may or may not still exist. This data is updated annually.

Learn more about MSK’s COI policies here. For questions regarding MSK’s COI-related policies and procedures, email MSK’s Compliance Office at [email protected].


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