Scientific Advisory Council

Jill O’Donnell-Tormey, PhD

Chief Executive Officer and Director of Scientific Affairs

Dr. Jill O’Donnell-Tormey leads the Cancer Research Institute (CRI), a global nonprofit organization dedicated to investing in the most promising areas of cancer immunotherapy research to harness the power of the immune system to conquer and cure all cancers.

Dr. O’Donnell-Tormey joined the organization in 1987 as director of scientific affairs and began serving as its chief executive in 1993. During her tenure at CRI, she has helped to create catalytic and novel research programs that span the laboratory and the clinic. She has guided over $400 million in funding to these programs, which has enabled the research and scientific discoveries to change the course of cancer treatment today.

She sits on the boards of The Staten Island Foundation, where she serves as secretary; The City University of New York (CUNY); Richmond University Medical Center; and Coherus BioSciences, Inc., where she serves on the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee. She also serves on the Cancer Immunotherapy Advisory Board of the Focused Ultrasound Foundation and the Editorial Advisory Board of Immuno-Oncology Insights.

In 1998, Dr. O’Donnell-Tormey was named one of Irish America magazine’s “Top 100” Irish Americans. She is the recipient of the 2002 Fairleigh Dickinson University Pinnacle Award, the highest honor bestowed on its alumni; the 2013 CRI-Frederick W. Alt Award for New Discoveries in Immunology; and the 2020 Tara Withington Public Service Award from the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC).

Dr. O’Donnell-Tormey received a BS in chemistry, summa cum laude, from Fairleigh Dickinson University, and a PhD in cell biology from the SUNY Downstate Medical Center.

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