Oncology Advisory Board

Scott Dessain, MD, PhD
Lankenau Institute for Medical Research

Scott Dessain, MD, PhD, is the Chair of the Scientific Advisory Board and co-founder of Immunome.  He is the Joseph and Ray Gordon Chair of Clinical Oncology and Research at Lankenau Institute for Medical Research (LIMR) and serves as the Director, Center for Human Antibody Technology (CHAT) at LIMR. He received MD and PhD degrees from Yale University in 1994. He pursued post-graduate medical training in Internal Medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, followed by a fellowship in Medical Oncology at Dana Farber/Partners Cancer Care in Boston, MA. He studied with Dr. Robert Weinberg at the Whitehead Institute in Cambridge, MA, at which time he devised novel techniques to efficiently clone native human antibodies. Following his fellowship, Scott practiced at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, specializing in bone marrow transplantation and then joined the Cardeza Foundation for Hematologic Research at the Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia. He has contributed to dozens of published scientific articles and multiple patents and is co-author (with Scott Fishman) of the book: Preserving the Promise: Improving the Culture of Biotech Investment (2016; Academic Press, Cambridge, MA).  He is Board-Certified in Medical Oncology and attends at the Lankenau Hospital.

George C. Prendergast, PhD
Lankenau Institute for Medical Research

George Prendergast, PhD, is the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Lankenau Institute for Medical Research (LIMR). He also holds the rank of Professor in the Department of Pathology, Anatomy, and Cell Biology at the Sidney Kimmel College of Medicine, Thomas Jefferson University. Before moving to LIMR he held positions as Senior Director of the Cancer Research Group at The DuPont Pharmaceutical Company and Associate Professor at The Wistar Institute. Dr. Prendergast and his colleagues pioneered the preclinical discovery and validation of indoximod and the first structural classes of true enzymatic small molecule inhibitors of IDO1, a therapeutic target now being explored worldwide in oncology clinical trials. Dr. Prendergast is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania where he received his BA in Biochemistry. He received his MS in Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry from Yale University and his Ph.D. in Molecular Biology from Princeton University. He served as the Editor-in-Chief of Cancer Research from 2010 – 2017 and is co-editor of the textbook, Cancer Immunology: Immune Suppression and Tumor Growth (2013; Academic Press, Waltham, MA).

William Strohl, PhD
BiStro Biotech Consulting

Dr. Bill Strohl has over 35 years of experience in academic and biopharmaceutical research. Prior to starting BiStro Biotech Consulting in 2016, Dr. Strohl was VP and Head, Janssen BioTherapeutics, Janssen R&D. In that role he oversaw biologics discovery, early development, and technology development for the organization and served as a member of the Janssen R&D Senior Leadership Team. Prior to joining Centocor in 2008, Bill led Biologics Discovery efforts for Merck and Co., and was involved in the acquisition of two biotechnology companies and multiple licenses to improve discovery capabilities.  Bill now has roles on two Scientific Advisory Boards and one Board of Directors of biotechnology companies.

Anthony Tolcher, MD
NEXT Oncology

Dr. Anthony Tolcher is a medical oncologist and key opinion leader in the field of developing and running early-stage clinical trials for oncology indications. He is a co-founder of NEXT Oncology and was previously a co-founder of South Texas Accelerated Research Therapeutics (START), both of which are clinical research organizations focused on first-in-human clinical trials. He is dedicated to the development of new anti-cancer agents for patients for whom current cancer therapies are no longer working.

Louis M. Weiner, MD
Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center

Dr. Louis Weiner is the Director of the NCI-designated Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center. He holds the Francis L. and Charlotte G. Gragnani Chair and is professor of oncology and chair of the Department of Oncology at Georgetown University Medical Center. He is responsible for the operation and development of the cancer center, including its research, clinical and educational missions. Dr. Weiner is recognized for his laboratory and clinical research focusing on new therapeutic approaches that mobilize the patient’s immune system to fight cancer using monoclonal antibodies and other modalities of therapy. He was the recipient of the 2019 American Association Cancer Research (AACR) Distinguished Public Service Award. His current research focuses on identifying and therapeutically exploiting mechanisms employed by malignant cells to combat immune destruction.