Immuno-Oncology Program

The Vinod Balachandran Lab

Research

Vinod Balachandran
Vinod Balachandran, MD
Associate Attending Physician; Associate Member; Director, The Olayan Center for Cancer Vaccines

Our goal is to discover new ways to stimulate the immune system to treat cancer. We study pancreatic cancer, a model deadly cancer that is refractory to all immunotherapies, as well as nearly all other treatments. We use reverse translation to uncover the biological basis of exceptional response in rare survivors of pancreatic cancer, discover underlying mechanisms in model systems, and accelerate insights to new immunotherapies for patients.

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Balachandran Lab 2025

Featured News

TIME Names Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center Physician-Scientists, Andrea Cercek, MD and Vinod Balachandran, MD, to the 2025 TIME100 Health
TIME Names Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center Physician-Scientists, Andrea Cercek, MD and Vinod Balachandran, MD, to the 2025 TIME100 Health
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.
MSK physician-scientist Vinod Balachandran.
In Early-Phase Pancreatic Cancer Clinical Trial, Investigational mRNA Vaccine Induces Sustained Immune Activity in Small Patient Group
Learn how MSK researchers are deploying mRNA vaccines against pancreatic cancer.
Woman holding child, both wearing hero capes, at a fundraising event with stationary bikes.
Cancer Vaccine Could Prevent Neuroblastoma From Returning After Antibody Treatment
Learn about a new vaccine at MSK that could prevent neuroblastoma from returning after treatment.

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Publications Highlights

2025 Sethna ZM, Guasp P, Reiche C, Milighetti M, Ceglia N, Patterson E, Lihm J, Payne G, Lyudovyk O, Rojas LA, Pang N, Ohmoto A, Amisaki M, Zebboudj A, Odgerel Z, Bruno EM, Zhang SL, Cheng C, Elhanati Y, Derhovanessian E, Manning L, Müller F, Rhee I, Yadav M… Balachandran VP. RNA neoantigen vaccines prime long-lived CD8+ T cells in pancreatic cancer. Nature. 2025. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-08508-4

2025 Amisaki M, Zebboudj A, Yano H, Zhang SL, Payne G, Chandra AK, Yu R, Guasp P, Sethna ZM, Ohmoto A, Rojas LA, Cheng C, Waters T, Solovyov A, Martis S, Doane AS, Reiche C, Bruno EM, Milighetti M, Soares K, Odgerel Z, Moral JA, Zhao JN, Gönen M, Gardner R, Tumanov AV, Khan AG, Vergnolle O, Nyakatura EK, Lorenz IC, Baca M, Patterson E, Greenbaum B, Artis D, Merghoub T, Balachandran VP. IL-33-activated ILC2s induce tertiary lymphoid structures in pancreatic cancer. Nature. 2025. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-08426-5

2023 Rojas LA, Sethna ZM, Soares K, Olcese C, Pang N, Patterson E, Lihm J, Ceglia N, Guasp P, Chu A, Yu R, Chandra AK, Waters T, Ruan J, Amisaki M, Zebboudj A, Odgerel Z, George Payne, Derhovanessian E, Rhee I, Yadav M, Dobrin A, Sadelain M, … Balachandran VP. Personalized RNA neoantigen vaccines stimulate T cells in pancreatic cancer. Nature. 2023 May 10. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-06063-y

2022 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

2020 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

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People

Vinod Balachandran

Vinod Balachandran, MD

Associate Attending Physician; Associate Member; Director, The Olayan Center for Cancer Vaccines

  • 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

Asier Antonana
Asier Antoñana Vildosola
Research Scholar
Emmanuel M. Bruno
GSK PhD student
Patricia Coo
Research Technician
Zhiru Liu
Zhiru Liu
Postdoctoral Research Scholar
Laura Lorenzo Sanz
Research Associate
Martina Milighetti
Research Fellow
Zagaa Odgerel
Zagaa Odgerel
Lab Manager
Charlotte Reiche
Research Fellow
Dan Fu Ruan
Research Scholar
Ella Serrano-Wu
Ella Serrano- Wu
GSK Graduate Student
Zachary Sethna, PhD
Zachary Sethna
Senior Research Scientist
Theodora Smith
Research Technician
AS
Ashley Sullivan
GSK Graduate Student
Linsey Zhang
GSK Graduate Student
Masataka Amisaki
Research Scholar
Pablo Guasp Baratech
Pablo Guasp Baratech
Research Associate
Christian Brodala
Administrative Assistant
Adrienne Chandra
Adrienne Chandra
Research Technician
Charlotte Cheng
Charlotte Cheng
Research Technician
Joanne Leung, Ph.D.
Joanne Leung
Postdoctoral Research Scholar
John Alec Moral
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Karina Ng
Karina Ng
Summer Student 2018
Akihiro Ohmoto
Akihiro Ohmoto
Research Associate
George Payne
George Payne
Research Technician
Luis A. Rojas
Research Fellow
Jenni Ruan
Research Technician
Theresa Waters
Theresa Waters
Research Technician
Rebecca Yu
Research Technician
Abderezak Zebboudj
Abderezak Zebboudj
Senior Research Scientist
Julia Nanyi Zhao
Research Technician

Achievements

  • FNIH Trailblazer Prize for Clinical-Scientists (2023)
  • 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)
  • 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

Open Positions

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Disclosures

Members of the MSK Community 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. These activities outside of MSK further our mission, provide productive collaborations, and promote the practical application of scientific discoveries.

MSK requires doctors, faculty members, and leaders 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. Not all disclosed interests and relationships present conflicts of interest. MSK reviews all disclosed interests and relationships to assess whether a conflict of interest exists and whether formal COI management is needed.

Vinod Balachandran discloses the following relationships and financial interests:

  • AbbVie
    Professional Services and Activities
  • Genentech
    Professional Services and Activities
  • Merck Sharp & Dohme
    Professional Services and Activities
  • Pfizer, Inc.
    Professional Services and Activities

The information published here is a complement to other publicly reported data and 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, 2024 through disclosure submission in spring 2025). 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 ecoi@mskcc.org.


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