Speaker Profile
M.D., SVP, Translational Medicine, Adaptive Biotechnologies
Biography
Dr. Kirsch is a pediatric oncologist who spent over 20 years at the NCI as a basic researcher, attending physician, and, ultimately, Chief of the Genetics Branch within the Center for Cancer Research. The research interests of Dr. Kirsch have been focused on cancer specific genetic instability and cancer genetics. In 2005 Dr. Kirsch joined the biotech/pharma company, Amgen, as an Executive Director heading the Oncology Research group at Amgen Washington in Seattle. Dr. Kirsch currently serves as the Senior Vice President of Translational Medicine, Adaptive Biotechnologies, Seattle, Washington and South San Francisco, California.
Talk
Immunosequencing in the Service of Immuno-oncology
Profiling the T-cell repertoire in the tumors and circulation of patients with cancer is revealing details about tumor biology and also possible prognostic and predictive biomarkers for immunotherapeutic efficacy. This talk will highlight some of the ways that the tumor-infiltrating T-cell repertoire can be analyzed and utilized.
Session Abstract – PMWC 2017 Silicon Valley
Session Synopsis: Immunotherapy is considered a game-changer and holds a lot of promise. This session will provide some background on immunotherapy, discuss whether over time immunotherapy will become the standard-of-care for most cancers, what long term cure rates are being achieved, the important role of combination therapy and some of the newer immunotherapy applications and therapies.
