Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) is pleased to announce TIME has named two MSK physician-scientists, Andrea Cercek, MD, and Vinod Balachandran, MD, to the 2025 TIME100 Health, a list of the 100 most influential individuals in health. Dr. Cercek is recognized for her groundbreaking work addressing cancer in young people, including studies demonstrating how immunotherapy can help some people with cancer preserve quality of life and avoid surgery, chemotherapy, or radiation. Dr. Balachandran is recognized for his pioneering research advancing messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines to treat pancreatic cancer, a deadly cancer with no effective treatments.
Dr. Cercek and co-author Luis Diaz Jr., MD, recently published results from a clinical trial showing that immunotherapy alone can enable patients with mismatch repair deficient (MMRd) cancers to avoid surgery and maintain their quality of life. Published in the New England Journal of Medicine, the study revealed that 80% of patients did not require surgery, radiation, or chemotherapy after six months of immunotherapy treatment.
As Co-Director of MSK’s Center for Young Onset Colorectal and Gastrointestinal Cancer, Dr. Cercek is also leading pivotal work to understand why cancer is becoming more prevalent in a younger generation, identifying who is at risk, and how to improve treatment. This is Dr. Cercek’s second year in a row being named to the TIME100 Health.
Research led by Dr. Balachandran has revealed a promising new approach to treating pancreatic cancer using an mRNA-based therapeutic cancer vaccines. Results recently published in Nature from the phase-1 clinical trial continue to show that these vaccines stimulate a long-lasting immune response that potentially reduces the risk of the disease returning after surgery in a small patient group. These findings have sparked global interest in mRNA vaccines as a possible breakthrough treatment for cancer.
As Director of The Olayan Center for Cancer Vaccines at MSK, Dr. Balachandran is at the forefront of vaccine science and innovation, positioning MSK as a leader in the next generation of immune-based cancer treatments. Earlier this year, Dr. Balachandran was named to the Post 50, the Washington Post’s list of individuals shaping society in 2025 and beyond.