Dr. Jill O’Donnell-Tormey on the State of Cancer Immunotherapy and the Contributions CRI Continues to Make to the Field 

Recently, the Cancer Research Institute’s (CRI) CEO and Director of Scientific Affairs Jill O’Donnell-Tormey, PhD, participated in an interview with OncologyTube to discuss recent advancements in immunotherapy. In a wide-ranging interview, Dr. O’Donnell-Tormey discussed CRI’s work to help advance immunotherapy research, FDA approvals for immunotherapies during the past year, mRNA’s role in activating the immune system in cancer vaccines, and much more. She also specifically highlighted multiple CRI grant programs, such as the Clinical Innovator and Informatics Fellowship initiatives, and how they can meet unmet needs in immunotherapy. 

Dr. O’Donnell-Tormey also provided some specifics for ongoing research projects CRI is funding and their potential to drive further innovations. She mentions the influx of research about how the gut’s microbiome can impact a patient’s cancer diagnosis. Another cutting-edge area that CRI is funding is CRISPR, the gene-editing technology that allows scientists to cut out but also replace genes, which holds the potential to help augment the immune system’s ability to hunt down and eliminate developing cancers. Dr. O’Donnell-Tormey concludes the interview by highlighting how CRI’s Scientific Advisory Council is comprised of immunotherapy titans who select the scientists and projects that the organization funds. In her view, CRI’s Scientific Advisory Council’s judgement and actions have the potential to further bolster the field of cancer immunotherapy research and its outcomes. 

This interview originally was published on OncologyTube.