Catherine J. Wu

Catherine J. Wu, MD, is a physician-scientist specializing in cancer immunotherapy. Wu serves as Professor of Medicine and Chief of the Division of Stem Cell Transplantation and Cellular Therapies at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, where she also holds the Lavine Family Chair for Preventative Cancer Therapies. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in biochemistry from Harvard University and a medical degree from Stanford University School of Medicine, followed by training in internal medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital and a fellowship in oncology and hematology at Dana-Farber.

Wu's research has advanced the understanding of how the immune system can be harnessed to fight cancer. Her laboratory pioneered the use of next-generation genomic sequencing technologies to identify tumor neoantigens—mutations in cancer cells that T cells can recognize and attack. By sequencing DNA from both healthy and cancerous cells, Wu and her colleagues developed a method to identify each patient's unique tumor neoantigens and produce synthetic copies as personalized vaccines. Her work on the NeoVax platform, published in "Nature," described a clinical trial in which patients with melanoma received patient-specific neoantigen vaccines, resulting in immune system activation against tumor cells. Follow-up studies published in "Nature Medicine" demonstrated sustained immune responses and continued protection in vaccinated patients. Wu has also collaborated on clinical trials testing personalized neoantigen vaccines in kidney cancer, with results published in "Nature" showing that such vaccines can target driver mutations and induce anti-cancer immunity.

In addition to her vaccine research, Wu is recognized for her expertise in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). Her studies have mapped the genomic landscape of CLL and tracked its evolution, with findings published in New England Journal of Medicine, Cell, Cancer Cell, and Nature. Wu led research revealing mechanisms of resistance to venetoclax, a leukemia drug, identifying that resistant cells overproduce the protein MCL1, which has implications for overcoming treatment resistance.

Wu's contributions have been recognized with honors in cancer research, including the Sjöberg Prize by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences for her work in personalized cancer vaccines. She is a member of the National Academy of Medicine and the Association of American Physicians, and a Fellow of the American Association for Cancer Research. Wu has been named to the Fierce 50 for her impact in cancer research and has delivered plenary addresses at major scientific conferences, including the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting and the European Society for Medical Oncology. Wu is regarded as a leading figure in the advancement of personalized cancer medicine, immunotherapy, and genomic research.