Karolina Palucka, M.D., Ph.D.

Professor, Director, JAX Cancer Center, Edison T. Liu Endowed Chair in Cancer Research

Conducts research to understand how vaccines work and to define precisely the immune mechanisms that underlie vaccination, with a focus on cancer immunotherapies.

My laboratory specializes in human immunology with a focus on experimental immunotherapy. We have pioneered the development of dendritic cell-based vaccines for patients with cancer or HIV, and I am very interested in understanding how vaccines work and precisely defining the immune mechanisms that underpin successful vaccination. We apply cutting-edge genomic approaches that offer unprecedented insights into the inner workings of immune cells (single-cell genomics, hybrid sequencing and long RNA reads).This knowledge can catalyze the discovery and development of novel immunotherapies,including vaccines that target cancer.

Karolina Palucka on ORCID

Highlighted Publication

Wu TC, Xu K, Martinek J, Young RR, Banchereau R, George J, Turner J, Kim KI, Zurawski S, Wang X, Blankenship D, Brookes HM, Marches F, Obermoser G, Lavecchio E, Levin MK, Bae S, Chung CH, Smith JL, Cepika AM, Oxley KL, Snipes GJ, Banchereau J, Pascual V, O’Shaughnessy J, Palucka K. IL-1 receptor antagonist controls transcriptional signature of inflammation in patients with metastatic breast cancer. Cancer Res. 2018 Sept 15; 78(18): 5243-5258. doi: 10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-18-0413. PubMed PMID: 30012670.

Cover of 'Cancer Research', September 2018

 

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Commentary by Charles Dinarello

 

 View on Cancer Research Website  

Education and experience

Education

1993
Ph.D., hematology and immunology
Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden

1988
Boards, internal medicine and oncology
Warsaw Medical Academy, Warsaw, Poland

1984
M.D., medical studies
Warsaw Medical Academy, Warsaw, Poland

Experience

2014-
Professor and Associate Director, Cancer Immunology, The Jackson Laboratory for Genomic Medicine, Farmington, CT

2012-2014
Director, Ralph M. Steinman Center for Cancer Vaccines, BIIR, Dallas, Texas

2011-
Investigator, ANRS/INSERM Unit #955 – Vaccine Research Institute

2009-
Professor, Department of Gene & Cell Medicine, Mt. Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY

2009-2014
Adjunct Professor, Department of Biomedical Studies, Baylor College of Dentistry, Dallas, TX

2008-2014
Investigator, INSERM Unit 899 – Center for Human Vaccines, Dallas, TX

2005-2014
Adjunct Professor, Institute of Biomedical Studies, Baylor University, Waco, TX

2004-2014
Michael A.E. Ramsay Chair of Cancer Immunology Research, Baylor Foundation, Baylor Health Care System, Dallas, Texas

2004-2008
Scientific Co-Founder, ODC Therapy, Inc.

2002-
Investigator, Baylor Institute for Immunology Research, Dallas, Texas

2000-2002
Associate Investigator, Baylor Institute for Immunology Research, Dallas, Texas

1999-2000
Assistant Investigator, Baylor Institute for Immunology Research, Dallas, Texas

1998-1999
Senior Research Associate, Baylor Institute for Immunology Research, Dallas, Texas

1996-1998
Senior Postdoctoral Fellow, Hospital Pitie-Salpetriere, Immunology Laboratory, Paris, France

1993-1996
Postdoctoral Fellow, Karolinska Hospital, Department of Medicine, Hematology Laboratory, Stockholm, Sweden

1993-1994
Consultant, Karolinska Hospital, Department of Pathology, Hematology Laboratory, Stockholm, Sweden

1989-1993
Intern/Resident, Medical Oncology, Maria Sklodowska Curie Memorial Oncology Institute, Warsaw, Poland

1985-1989
Intern/Resident, Medical Oncology, Maria Sklodowska Curie Memorial Oncology Institute, Warsaw, Poland

Grants, Honors, and Accomplishments 

2011
Career Award for Important Contribution to Tumor
Immunotherapy, European Academy of Tumor Immunology