MSK Employee Spotlight | @dana_peer, Chair of the Computational and Systems Biology Program the Sloan Kettering institute (SKI) at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK), was recently elected to the National Academy of Medicine (NAM), one of the most respected distinctions in science and medicine. Dr. Pe’er is a preeminent computational biologist whose work has transformed how scientists use large-scale genomic data to understand complex biological systems. Her lab has pioneered widely used machine-learning and AI approaches to reveal how cells take on certain states, communicate with one another, and organize into tissues. She applies these approaches to fundamental questions in organismal development and in cancer, with a focus on cellular plasticity, metastasis, and how cancer cells shape — and are shaped by — their tissue ecosystems during progression and therapy. Currently, Dr. Pe’er is the Chair of Computational and Systems Biology and Scientific Director of SKI’s Single-cell Analytics Innovation Lab, as well as a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator. She holds the Alan and Sandra Gerry Endowed Chair. Join us in congratulating Dr. Pe'er in the comments below!

MSK Employee Spotlight | Dr. Ross Levine, Chief Scientific Officer (CSO) at MSK, was recently elected to the @theNAMedicine (NAM), one of the most respected distinctions in science and medicine. Dr. Levine’s research focuses on the genetic changes that drive myeloid malignancies, including myeloproliferative neoplasms and acute myeloid leukemia, and translating these discoveries into more effective treatments. As MSK’s CSO, he leads basic and translational research strategy, overseeing programs, centers, technology cores, and the financial and operational resources that support MSK’s research enterprise. Previously, Dr. Levine served as HOPP's first chief of the Molecular Cancer Medicine Service, inaugural Director of the Center for Hematologic Malignancies, and Senior Vice President for Translational Research at Memorial Hospital. He holds the Edward P. Evans Endowed Chair for Myelodysplastic Syndromes. Join us in congratulating Dr. Levine in the comments below!

🚨 MSK’s @AndreaCercek presented full interim results from the AZUR-1 trial at #ESMO26 in Madrid. The trial tested Jemperli (dostarlimab) in people with stage 2 and 3 rectal cancer whose tumors are mismatch repair-deficient (MMRd) or microsatellite instability-high (MSI-H). Among patients for whom the approach worked, no cancer has returned during follow-up. The approach, developed at MSK by Dr. Cercek and Dr. Luis Diaz Jr. (@ldiaz1971), allows some patients to avoid treatments that can have life-altering consequences, including infertility and bowel and bladder dysfunction. The @FDA approved the approach in October 2026, calling it "groundbreaking. “It’s incredibly rewarding,” says Dr. Cercek, “to get these happy tears and happy emails from the patients who finish treatment and realize, ‘Oh my God, I get to keep all my normal body functions that I feared I might lose to radiation or surgery.’” Learn more: bit.ly/3ULmQko

Tomorrow at #ESMO26: MSK hepatopancreatobiliary surgeon Dr. Vinod Balachandran (@TheVinodLab) will discuss immunotherapy in pancreatic cancer and overcoming barriers to success. 🗓️ Monday, October 26 | 11:15 a.m. CET

Tomorrow at #ESMO26: MSK sarcoma medical oncologist Dr. Lauren Banks will present research on lifileucel in undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma or dedifferentiated liposarcoma. 🗓️ Monday, October 26 | 9:34 a.m. CET

Today at #ESMO26: Research co-authored by MSK gastrointestinal medical oncologist Dr. Yelena Janjigian will be presented from CLARITY-Gastric 01, a phase 3 study of sonesitatug vedotin in second- or later-line advanced or metastatic Claudin 18.2-positive gastroesophageal carcinoma. 🗓️ Sunday, October 25 | 5:18 p.m. CET

Coming up at #ESMO26: MSK thoracic surgeon Dr. Daniela Molena will discuss perioperative therapy for locally advanced gastric and gastroesophageal cancer. 🗓️ Sunday, October 25 | 4:30 p.m. CET

Tomorrow at #ESMO26: MSK gastrointestinal medical oncologist @AndreaCercek will present the first results from the global AZUR1 trial of dostarlimab monotherapy in patients with dMMR/MSI-H locally advanced rectal cancer. 🗓️ Sunday, October 25 | 11:00 a.m. CET

Coming up at #ESMO26: MSK cancer biologist @nikolausschultz will present on AI-augmented integration of real-world data to improve cancer outcome prediction. 🗓️ Saturday, October 24 | 12:20 p.m. CEST

Tomorrow at #ESMO26: MSK melanoma medical oncologist Dr. Michael Postow will present a poster on real-world outcomes among patients with resectable stage III melanoma treated with neoadjuvant nivolumab plus relatlimab or nivolumab plus ipilimumab. 🗓️ Saturday, October 24 | 12:00 p.m. CEST

Good news for #melanoma cancer patients: New results from a personalized #cancervaccine designed to prevent melanoma from returning after surgery showed positive results, according to research presented at this year’s #ESMO26 meeting in Madrid. The study found that adding a specially tailored cancer vaccine to standard treatment with immunotherapy successfully reduced the risk of melanoma coming back by 42% compared with standard immunotherapy alone. “The idea of this treatment is that by specifically boosting a patient’s immune system to recognize their own tumor cells, we can reduce the risk that the cancer comes back,” says Dr. Michael Postow, Chief of the Melanoma Service at MSK. “Even when we can’t see any cancer on a CT or PET scan, we know that often it’s still there — because such a high proportion of patients eventually have a cancer recurrence. That’s why there is tremendous need for this type of treatment.” Read more about one of the three MSK patients treated in the trial: bit.ly/3W0Voj2

A new vaccine continues to show potential as a ready-made treatment for pancreatic cancer, according to a study co-led by MSK researchers. MSK's @EileenMOReilly presented phase 2 results from AMPLIFY-7P at #ESMO26. The vaccine targets KRAS mutations, which are found in more than 90% of pancreatic cancers. 99% of patients receiving the vaccine developed cancer-fighting immune T cells. Patients with the strongest immune responses had the lowest recurrence rates. “Having a vaccine that’s ‘off-the-shelf’ would make it easier, faster, and less expensive to treat a larger number of patients,” says Dr. O’Reilly. “This gives hope for people with pancreatic cancer who have been out of effective treatments when their disease returns.” Learn more: bit.ly/3VSsO3h