The Stanford Cancer Institute Breakthroughs in Cancer seminar series provides a platform for eminent leaders in oncology to share their insights with the Stanford community. Seminars highlight innovations across basic, translational, clinical, and population cancer science. 

Join us Tuesday, June 9, 4-5 p.m., at Munzer Auditorium, Beckman Center, or Zoom for a presentation by Vinod Balachandran, MD, director of the Olayan Center for Cancer Vaccines at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.

Dr. Balachandran is a surgeon-scientist who discovered that rare long-term pancreatic cancer survivors have immune-active tumors densely infiltrated with T cells that recognize mutation-derived proteins found on cancer cells. He led the first clinical trial evaluating personalized mRNA vaccines for pancreatic cancer, which demonstrated that the approach can induce robust, durable T-cell responses and improve survival. He has received numerous honors for his pioneering work, including the 2023 Trailblazer Prize for Clinician-Scientists from the Foundation for the NIH, and was named one of the most influential people in health in 2025 by Time Magazine and The Washington Post.

The event is open to Stanford faculty, trainees, students, and staff.

Registration is encouraged.