Overview
Jedd Wolchok, MD, PhD, FASCO, is the Meyer Director of the Sandra and Edward Meyer Cancer Center at Weill Cornell Medicine. Dr. Wolchok was most recently Chief of the Immuno-Oncology Service and held The Lloyd J. Old Chair in Clinical Investigation at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and remains Professor of Medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College. Dr. Wolchok is a clinician-scientist exploring innovative immunotherapeutic strategies in laboratory models, and a principal investigator in numerous pivotal clinical trials. Dr. Wolchok helped establish immunotherapy as a standard approach to cancer treatment and was instrumental in the clinical development leading to the approval of ipilimumab and the combination of nivolumab and ipilimumab for advanced melanoma. He supervises an NIH R01-funded basic science laboratory which is focused on investigating novel immunotherapeutic agents in pre-clinical laboratory models. The focus of his translational research laboratory is to investigate innovative means to modulate the immune response to cancer as well as to better understand the mechanistic basis for sensitivity and resistance to currently available immunotherapies.
Highlights
- 1
- 2Nature communications · 2020
- 3Journal of clinical oncology : official journal of the American Society of Clinical Oncology · 2021
Publications
Funding
Active
16 grants- MPIR01CA306020-01A1Identifying targets to mitigate immunotherapy-associated immune-related adverse eventsNational Cancer Institute · 2026–2031
- MPIR01CA297338-01Determining the role of neutrophils in anti-tumor immunity and immune-related adverse events in the context of T cell-based therapiesNational Cancer Institute · 2025–2030
- KP1584423Targeting the melanoma metabolic microenvironment to boost T-cell therapyMelanoma Research Alliance · 2026–2029
- PIBCRF-26-176Investigating means to enhance immunity to breast cancerBreast Cancer Research Foundation · 2026–2028
- PIPICI 235170-03PICI Grant and Main Collaboration Agreement with Multiple SubprojectsParker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy · 2024–2028
- Co-IHT9425-25-1-0084Targeting Inflammatory Pathways in Breast Cancer Brain Metastases for the Treatment of Edema and Radiation Necrosis Using Anti-VEGF Ultrasmall Particle TherapyU.S. Department of Defense · 2025–2028
- PILICR 230410-04Ludwig Collaborative LaboratoryLudwig Institute for Cancer Research · 2022–2027
- Co-IAY2AX000074Engineered IgA engagers to fight cancerAdvanced Research Projects Agency for Health · 2025–2027 · via TigaTx, Inc.No publications yet
- Co-IHT9425-23-1-0631Ultrasmall PSMA-Targeted Particle Radiotherapy for Regulating the Immunosuppressive Prostate Cancer Tumor Microenvironment and Enhancing Treatment EfficacyU.S. Department of Defense · 2023–2027
- KPR01CA262516-01A1Group 2 Innate Lymphoid Cell Regulation of Pancreatic Cancer ImmunityNational Cancer Institute · 2022–2027 · via Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
- Sub-PIU01CA271407-05Proteogenomic studies to understand mechanisms and drivers of resistance to immunotherapiesNational Cancer Institute · 2022–2027 · via Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center
- KPPICI IC-624Targeting tumor and T-cell metabolism to bridge the gap in CAR-T efficacy between liquid and solid tumorsParker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy · 2025–2026
- Sub-PISU2C 6352Targeting immune evasion in gastroesophageal cancerStand Up To Cancer · 2023–2026 · via Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
- PIBCRF-24-176DNA Vaccines Against Cancer and Infectious OrganismsBreast Cancer Research Foundation · 2024–2026
- Co-IMSKCC C22733988Optimal vaccine design for Gastric Esophageal CancerStand Up To Cancer · 2024–2026 · via Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
- Sub-PIU10CA180820-11ECOG-ACRIN Operations CenterNational Cancer Institute · 2022–2026 · via ECOG-ACRIN Cancer Research Group
Completed grants (10)
- Co-ISA 234045-02Enterome Services AgreementEnterome SA · 2023–2025Contract
- Co-IMFCR 227111-01Investigating novel KRAS inhibitors effects on the tumor-immune responses and integration of KRAS inhibition with immune based therapies.The Mark Foundation for Cancer Research · 2023–2024
- PIBCRF-23-176DNA Vaccines Against Cancer and Infectious OrganismsBreast Cancer Research Foundation · 2023–2024
- MPIT32CA009207-43Investigational Cancer Therapeutics Training ProgramNCI · 1977–2024 · via NIH RePORTER
- Sub-PIUE5CA246754-03MSK Immuno-Oncology for the Translational Researcher Short CourseNational Cancer Institute · 2022–2024 · via Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
- PIBCRF-22-176DNA Vaccines Against Cancer and Infectious OrganismsBreast Cancer Research Foundation · 2022–2023
- PIR01CA056821-26Immunization Against Melanoma Differentiation AntigensNCI · 1992–2022 · via NIH RePORTER
- PIR25CA020449-42Summer research experiences for medical students supervised by faculty mentorsNCI · 1977–2022 · via NIH RePORTER
- Co-IW81XWH-17-1-0277The Impact of TCR Affinity on T Cell Dysfunction and Immunotherapeutic Reprogramming in Solid TumorsU.S. Department of Defense · 2017–2020
- PIRC2CA148468-02Defining the Importance of Immunity to NY-ESO-1 in Melanoma Therapy and PrognosisNCI · 2009–2012 · via NIH RePORTER
Honors & distinctions
- Member · National Academy of Medicine · 2023
- Member · Association of American Physicians
- Member · American Society for Clinical Investigation
Clinical research
Completed & closed trials (1)
- PICompassionate Use of Entinostat for Treatment of Metastatic Melanoma in Patient P-LWeill Medical College of Cornell University · IRB STUDY CLOSURE (as of 2024)
News mentions
- Experimental Treatment Directly Kills Prostate Tumor Cells While Reawakening Antitumor ImmunityJune 15, 2026
Prostate-targeted, engineered nanoparticles made of amorphous silica are effective in killing prostate tumors directly while enhancing anti-tumor immunity, according to a preclinical study led by investigators at Weill Cornell Medicine and the Cornell Duffield College of Engineering.
- Awards & Honors: February 2026February 27, 2026
Awards, honors and achievements for the month of February.
- Reviving Exhausted Immune Cells Boosts Tumor EliminationNovember 17, 2025
A new study has discovered a molecular signal that tumors exploit to exhaust the T cells meant to destroy them—and how silencing that signal could revive the body’s immunity.
- Long-term Metastatic Melanoma Survival Dramatically Improves on ImmunotherapySeptember 15, 2024
Long-term data from a landmark international trial show about half of patients with metastatic melanoma treated with a combination of immune checkpoint inhibitors survive cancer-free for 10 years or more, according to a new report from Weill Cornell Medicine and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute investigators and their colleagues.
Show 7 more mentions
- Stand Up To Cancer Dream Team Collective Seeks to Transform Care of Gastroesophageal CancerMarch 27, 2024
A collaboration between Dr. Jedd Wolchok, the Meyer Director of the Sandra and Edward Meyer Cancer Center at Weill Cornell Medicine, and Dr. Yelena Janjigian, chief of the gastrointestinal oncology service at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, is looking to transform the care of gastroesophageal cancer (GEC) patients with untreatable disease – earning the pair a grant from Stand Up To Cancer® (SU2C) as a part of the SU2C-Torrey Coast Foundation Gastroesophageal Cancer Dream Team Collective.
- Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy (PICI) Welcomes Weill Cornell Medicine to Cancer Research ConsortiumDecember 13, 2023
The Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy (PICI) announced it has added Weill Cornell Medicine to its network of preeminent academic and medical research institutions at the forefront of the fight against cancer.
- Awards & Honors: November 2023November 30, 2023
Awards, honors and achievements for the month of November.
- Drs. Lisa Newman, Jedd D. Wolchok Elected to National Academy of MedicineOctober 9, 2023
Dr. Lisa Newman, chief of the section of breast surgery at Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center, and Dr. Jedd D. Wolchok, the Meyer Director of the Sandra and Edward Meyer Cancer Center at Weill Cornell Medicine, in partnership with NewYork-Presbyterian, have been elected to the National Academy of Medicine (NAM). One of the most prestigious honors in health and medicine, the academy recognizes individuals who have demonstrated outstanding professional achievement and commitment to service. “I feel absolute and total elation,” said Dr. Newman, who is also a professor of surgery at Weill Cornell Medicine and a surgical breast oncologist at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center. “I am humbled as well because so many incredibly talented researchers who I have long admired are members of the National Academy of Medicine. To be elected by such an illustrious body of scientists and physicians is extremely meaningful to me personally and to the team of researchers with whom I collaborate and therefore share this honor.” “I was incredibly thrilled and humbled by being invited to join the National Academy of Medicine,” said Dr. Wolchok, who is also a professor of medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine. “It's such a prestigious and widely respected honor. I'm most enthusiastic about the recognition that my appointment will bring to Weill Cornell Medicine, the Meyer Cancer Center and to the trainees here. If it brings additional attention to the work that's going on here, and in the field of immunotherapy in general, then I think everybody can benefit.” Leading the Charge of Breast Cancer Research Dr. Newman leads the multidisciplinary breast oncology programs at Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center. A researcher who has extensively investigated ethnicity-related breast cancer disparities for more than 20 years, Dr. Newman is the founding medical director for the International Center for…
- Awards and Honors – April 28, 2023April 28, 2023
Awards, honors, prizes and achievements for the month of April.
- Awards and Honors – March 31, 2023March 31, 2023
Awards, honors, prizes and achievements for the month of March.
- Dr. Jedd Wolchok Appointed Meyer Director of the Sandra and Edward Meyer Cancer Center at Weill Cornell MedicineJuly 28, 2022
Dr. Jedd Wolchok, an internationally acclaimed medical oncologist whose innovations in immunotherapy have revolutionized melanoma treatment, has been recruited as the Meyer Director of the Sandra and Edward Meyer Cancer Center at Weill Cornell Medicine, effective Sept. 12.
Media highlights
- Highly Anticipated Moderna-Merck Melanoma Cancer Vaccine Data Arrived EarlySTAT · October 26, 2026
- Iowa’s “Cancer Crisis” Emerges As A Top Issue On The Campaign TrailThe Cancer Letter · October 26, 2026
- After A Cancer Vaccine’s First Success, The Race Is On To Expand The ImpactSTAT · October 26, 2026Also in The Boston Globe
- Moderna, Merck Shares Fall As Leaked Cancer Data DisappointsBloomberg News · October 23, 2026
- Jedd D. Wolchok, MD, PhD: Curiosity, Conviction, And The Evolution Of Cancer ImmunotherapyPrecision Signals · October 14, 2026
Show 7 more mentions
- The Week In Cancer News: Cancer Vaccine For MelanomaCancer Today · August 24, 2026
- A New Personalized Cancer Vaccine Could Keep Skin Cancer From Coming Back, Drugmakers SaySmithsonian Magazine · August 24, 2026
- Moderna Clears A Phase 3 Trial For An mRNA Vaccine To Treat MelanomaKCRW-FM (Santa Monica, CA) · August 20, 2026
- mRNA Cancer Vaccine Cuts Melanoma Recurrence In Landmark Phase 3 TrialGadget Review · August 20, 2026Also in Yahoo
- Moderna And Merck Revive mRNA Hopes With Melanoma Trial SuccessBloomberg News · August 19, 2026
- Moderna And Merck Say mRNA Cancer Vaccine Succeeded In Late-Stage Melanoma TrialSTAT · August 19, 2026
- Swim Across America Open Water SwimWCBS-TV (New York, NY) · August 3, 2026
Mentoring
- SVSvena VermaPharmacology (PhD) · Class of 2024
- AGAditi GuptaMD mentee · Class of 2019
- NMNicole MalandroImmunology & Microbial Pathogenesis (PhD) · Class of 2016
- JMJudith MurphyImmunology & Microbial Pathogenesis (PhD) · Class of 2015
- SEShabnam EghbaliMD mentee · Class of 2023
- SSSara SchadImmunology & Microbial Pathogenesis (PhD) · Class of 2021
- JPJoseph ParkMD mentee · Class of 2019
- MBMamadou BahImmunology & Microbial Pathogenesis (PhD)
External relationships
Leadership Roles
American Association for Cancer Research · Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research
Ownership
Ascentage Pharma Group Inc · CellCarta · Georgiamune Inc. · Linnaeus Therapeutics, Inc. · XenImmune Therapeutics Inc
Advisory/Scientific Board Member
Ankyra Therapeutics, Inc. · Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy
Professional Services
Immunocore Limited
Other
Ascentage Pharma Group Inc · Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation INC · ImmunoGenesis INC · Scancell Ltd · United States Securities and Exchange Commission