Vinod Balachandran

Vinod Balachandran

Surgical Oncologist

Gastrointestinal Oncology, Immuno Oncology

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

Location USA, New York

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Dr. Vinod Balachandran is a hepatopancreatobiliary surgeon and physician-scientist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) in New York, where he holds the Hutham S. Olayan and Robert F. Raucci Chair and serves as Director of The Olayan Center for Cancer Vaccines. He is internationally recognized for his groundbreaking research on cancer vaccines and immunotherapy for pancreatic cancer, having led the landmark clinical trial demonstrating that personalized RNA neoantigen vaccines stimulate T cells in pancreatic cancer patients — published in Nature in 2023 and followed by a 2025 Nature paper showing that these vaccines prime long-lived CD8+ T cells. He also discovered in a landmark 2017 Nature paper that long-term survivors of pancreatic cancer harbor unique neoantigen qualities that engage the immune system. In addition to his laboratory research program in the Immuno-Oncology Program at MSK, he is an experienced HPB surgeon specializing in surgery for pancreatic, bile duct, gallbladder, and liver cancer. He was named among TIME’s 100 Most Influential People in Health in 2025 and recognized as one of the Washington Post’s 50 Most Influential People in Health in 2025. He received his MD from SUNY Stony Brook and completed his surgical training at New York-Presbyterian Hospital and MSK.

Current Positions

  • Hepatopancreatobiliary Surgeon, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY
  • Hutham S. Olayan and Robert F. Raucci Chair, MSK
  • Director, The Olayan Center for Cancer Vaccines at MSK
  • Principal Investigator, Immuno-Oncology Program Laboratory, MSK
  • Principal Investigator, Phase 2 Study of an mRNA Vaccine plus Immunotherapy and Chemotherapy versus Chemotherapy Alone for Operable Pancreatic Cancer (clinical trial)

Education

  • MD, SUNY at Stony Brook
  • Residency, General Surgery, New York-Presbyterian Hospital
  • Fellowship, Complex Surgical Oncology, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

Research Activity

  • Personalized RNA neoantigen vaccines in pancreatic cancer: Led the landmark phase 1 clinical trial demonstrating that individualized mRNA neoantigen vaccines stimulate T cells in pancreatic cancer patients (Nature, 2023); follow-up study showing that RNA neoantigen vaccines prime long-lived CD8+ T cells in pancreatic cancer (Nature, 2025); currently leading a phase 2 trial of mRNA vaccine plus immunotherapy and chemotherapy versus chemotherapy alone for operable pancreatic cancer at MSK; co-author on review of RNA vaccines for cancer — principles to practice (Cancer Cell, 2024); co-author on mRNA vaccines for cancer treatment (Surgical Oncology Clinics of North America, 2026)
  • Neoantigen biology and long-term pancreatic cancer survivors: Identified unique neoantigen qualities in long-term survivors of pancreatic cancer in the landmark 2017 Nature paper, establishing that immune recognition of tumor neoantigens underlies exceptional survival; neoantigen quality predicts immunoediting in survivors of pancreatic cancer (Nature, 2022); neoantigen fitness model predicts tumor response to checkpoint blockade immunotherapy (Nature, 2017)
  • ILC2s and tumor immunity: Demonstrated that ILC2s amplify PD-1 blockade by activating tissue-specific cancer immunity in pancreatic cancer (Nature, 2020); IL-33-activated ILC2s induce tertiary lymphoid structures in pancreatic cancer (Nature, 2025); co-author on ILC2s as bipartisan politicians in cancer (Science Immunology, 2022)
  • Tumor immune microenvironment and macrophages: Co-author on Tim-4+ cavity-resident macrophages impairing anti-tumor CD8+ T cell immunity (Cancer Cell, 2021); co-author on hepatocytes coordinating immune evasion in cancer via serum amyloid A proteins (Nature Immunology, 2024)
  • Immune checkpoint blockade biomarkers: Improved prediction of immune checkpoint blockade efficacy across multiple cancer types (Nature Biotechnology, 2022); pretreatment neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio and mutational burden as biomarkers of tumor response to immune checkpoint inhibitors (Nature Communications, 2021); fundamental immune-oncogenicity trade-offs defining driver mutation fitness (Nature, 2022)
  • Cancer immunotherapy in pancreatic cancer: Comprehensive review of broadening the impact of immunotherapy to pancreatic cancer — challenges and opportunities (Gastroenterology, 2019); scaling the immune incline in PDAC (Nature Reviews Gastroenterology and Hepatology, 2021)
  • Extracellular vesicles and cancer biomarkers: Co-author on landmark study identifying extracellular vesicle and particle biomarkers defining multiple human cancers (Cell, 2020)
  • Pancreatic cancer genomics and surgery: Genomic methods identifying homologous recombination deficiency in pancreas adenocarcinoma to optimize treatment (Clinical Cancer Research, 2020); survival of patients with resected MSI-high and mismatch repair-deficient pancreatic ductal adenocarcinomas (Annals of Surgical Oncology, 2025); adjuvant modified FOLFIRINOX for resected pancreatic adenocarcinoma — clinical insights and genomic features (Journal of the National Cancer Institute, 2025); outcomes in locally advanced pancreatic cancer after induction ablative radiation therapy and resection (Annals of Surgical Oncology, 2025)
  • Pancreatic cancer surgical complications: Hemorrhage sites and mitigation strategies after pancreaticoduodenectomy (JAMA Surgery, 2024); postoperative pancreatic fistula after pancreatoduodenectomy — can radiomics improve clinical risk scores? (Annals of Surgery, 2025)
  • Pre-metastatic liver atlas and early prediction of metastasis: Co-author on multi-parametric atlas of the pre-metastatic liver for prediction of metastatic outcome in early-stage pancreatic cancer (Nature Medicine, 2024)
  • Biliary tract and cholangiocarcinoma: KRAS variants associated with survival outcomes and genomic alterations in biliary tract cancers (JCO Precision Oncology, 2024); long-term outcomes in patients with advanced intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma treated with hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy (Journal of the National Cancer Institute, 2025); genetic determinants of outcome in intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (Hepatology, 2021); intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma — recurrence patterns, genomics, and survival (JCO Precision Oncology, 2025); surgical management of biliary tract cancers (Chinese Clinical Oncology, 2016); outcomes of first versus second-line hepatic artery infusion chemotherapy in unresectable intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (Annals of Surgical Oncology, 2026)
  • Ampullary adenocarcinoma: Genome-derived ampullary adenocarcinoma classifier and postresection prognostication (JAMA Surgery, 2024); histologic- and genomic-directed adjuvant therapy for ampullary adenocarcinoma (Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network, 2025)
  • Colorectal liver metastases: Recurrence-free survival versus overall survival as a primary endpoint for studies of resected colorectal liver metastasis (The Lancet Oncology, 2022); association between surgical margin status, recurrence patterns, and oncologic outcomes in patients with colorectal liver metastases (Annals of Surgery, 2025); two-stage hepatectomy for extensive colorectal liver metastasis with perioperative hepatic and systemic chemotherapy (Annals of Surgery, 2025)
  • Pancreatic acinar cell carcinoma: Survival outcomes and genetic characteristics of resected pancreatic acinar cell carcinoma (Annals of Surgical Oncology, 2025); genome-based classification of pancreatic acinar cell carcinoma reveals similarities to KRAS wild-type PDAC (Journal of Translational Medicine, 2025)
  • Hepatic artery infusion pump surgery: Robotic versus open placement of hepatic artery infusion pumps (Annals of Surgical Oncology, 2025)
  • Schwann cells and pancreatic cancer invasion: Co-author on reprogrammed Schwann cells organizing into dynamic tracks that promote pancreatic cancer invasion (Cancer Discovery, 2022)
  • SWI/SNF-deficient undifferentiated carcinoma of the pancreas: Co-author on clinicopathologic and genomic analysis of SWI/SNF complex-deficient undifferentiated carcinoma of the pancreas (Modern Pathology, 2024)
  • Homologous recombination deficiency in pancreatic cancer: Co-author on phase 2 POLAR trial of pembrolizumab and olaparib in HRD-positive metastatic pancreatic cancer (Nature Medicine, 2026)
  • Nomograms in oncology: Co-author on landmark review of nomograms in oncology (The Lancet Oncology, 2015)
  • GIST: Reviews on gastrointestinal stromal tumors — who should get imatinib and for how long (Advances in Surgery, 2014); adjuvant imatinib for GIST (Annals of Surgical Oncology, 2014)
  • T-cell response modeling: Co-author on probing T-cell response by sequence-based probabilistic modeling (PLoS Computational Biology, 2021)

Honors and Awards

  • TIME100 Most Influential People in Health, 2025
  • Washington Post 50 Most Influential People in Health, 2025
  • FNIH Trailblazer Prize for Clinician-Scientists, 2023

Areas of Specialization

  • Hepatopancreatobiliary surgery — pancreatic, bile duct, gallbladder, and liver cancer
  • Laparoscopic and robotic HPB surgery
  • Pancreatic cancer immunotherapy and cancer vaccines
  • Personalized mRNA neoantigen vaccine development
  • Tumor neoantigen biology and immune editing
  • ILC2s and innate lymphoid cell biology in tumor immunity
  • Immune checkpoint blockade and biomarker development
  • Pancreatic cancer genomics and precision oncology
  • Cholangiocarcinoma and biliary tract cancers
  • Hepatic artery infusion chemotherapy
  • Colorectal liver metastases

Selected Publications

Roth S, Apte M, Balachandran VP, Biffi G, Conroy T, Cukierman E, O’Reilly EM, Saur D, Michalski CW, et al. “Pancreatic cancer.” Nature Reviews Disease Primers 12(1):23, 2026. PMID 42098138.

Park W, O’Connor CA, Chou JF, Hilmi M, Tarcan Z, Balachandran V, O’Reilly EM, et al. “Pembrolizumab and olaparib in homologous-recombination-deficient metastatic pancreatic cancer: the phase 2 POLAR trial.” Nature Medicine 32(5):1783–1793, 2026. PMID 41882405.

Torphy RJ, Balachandran V, Soares KC. “mRNA Vaccines for Cancer Treatment.” Surgical Oncology Clinics of North America 35(2):299–316, 2026. PMID 41903991.

Sethna Z, Guasp P, Reiche C, Milighetti M, Ceglia N, Patterson E, Balachandran VP, et al. “RNA neoantigen vaccines prime long-lived CD8+ T cells in pancreatic cancer.” Nature 639(8056):1042–1051, 2025. PMID 39972124.

Amisaki M, Zebboudj A, Yano H, Zhang SL, Payne G, Chandra AK, Balachandran VP, et al. “IL-33-activated ILC2s induce tertiary lymphoid structures in pancreatic cancer.” Nature 638(8052):1076–1084, 2025. PMID 39814891.

Blair AB, Jolissaint JS, Foster D, Soares KC, Balachandran VP, Jarnagin WR, Wei AC, et al. “Outcomes in Locally Advanced Pancreatic Cancer After Induction Ablative Radiation Therapy and Resection.” Annals of Surgical Oncology 32(6):4108–4116, 2025. PMID 40178674.

Rojas LA, Sethna Z, Soares KC, Olcese C, Pang N, Patterson E, Balachandran VP, et al. “Personalized RNA neoantigen vaccines stimulate T cells in pancreatic cancer.” Nature 618(7963):144–150, 2023. PMID 37165196.

Guasp P, Reiche C, Sethna Z, Balachandran VP. “RNA vaccines for cancer: Principles to practice.” Cancer Cell 42(7):1163–1184, 2024. PMID 38848720.

Bojmar L, Zambirinis CP, Hernandez JM, Balachandran VP, Jarnagin WR, Lyden D, et al. “Multi-parametric atlas of the pre-metastatic liver for prediction of metastatic outcome in early-stage pancreatic cancer.” Nature Medicine 30(8):2170–2180, 2024. PMID 38942992.

Preston WA, Collins ML, Gönen M, Murtha T, Balachandran VP, Drebin JA, Soares KC, Jarnagin WR, et al. “Hemorrhage Sites and Mitigation Strategies After Pancreaticoduodenectomy.” JAMA Surgery 159(8):891–899, 2024. PMID 38776076.

Ecker BL, Seier K, Eckhoff AM, Tortorello GN, Allen PJ, Balachandran VP, Jarnagin WR, et al. “Genome-Derived Ampullary Adenocarcinoma Classifier and Postresection Prognostication.” JAMA Surgery 159(12):1365–1373, 2024. PMID 39259526.

Gelfer R, Gulla A, Kalvin HL, Song Y, Harding J, Balachandran V, Jarnagin WR, et al. “KRAS Variants Are Associated With Survival Outcomes and Genomic Alterations in Biliary Tract Cancers.” JCO Precision Oncology 8:e2400263, 2024. PMID 39642327.

Łuksza M, Sethna ZM, Rojas LA, Lihm J, Bravi B, Elhanati Y, Balachandran VP, et al. “Neoantigen quality predicts immunoediting in survivors of pancreatic cancer.” Nature 606(7913):389–395, 2022. PMID 35589842.

Hoyos D, Zappasodi R, Schulze I, Sethna Z, Balachandran VP, Wolchok JD, Levine AJ, Greenbaum BD, et al. “Fundamental immune-oncogenicity trade-offs define driver mutation fitness.” Nature 606(7912):172–179, 2022. PMID 35545680.

Ecker BL, Lee J, Saadat LV, Balachandran VP, D’Angelica MI, Jarnagin WR, Gonen M, et al. “Recurrence-free survival versus overall survival as a primary endpoint for studies of resected colorectal liver metastasis: a retrospective study and meta-analysis.” The Lancet Oncology 23(10):1332–1342, 2022. PMID 36058227.

Chowell D, Yoo SK, Valero C, Balachandran VP, Chan TA, Morris LGT, et al. “Improved prediction of immune checkpoint blockade efficacy across multiple cancer types.” Nature Biotechnology 40(4):499–506, 2022. PMID 34725502.

Deborde S, Gusain L, Powers A, Marcadis A, Balachandran VP, Wong RJ, et al. “Reprogrammed Schwann Cells Organize into Dynamic Tracks that Promote Pancreatic Cancer Invasion.” Cancer Discovery 12(10):2454–2473, 2022. PMID 35881881.

Zebboudj A, Amisaki M, Balachandran VP. “ILC2s-Bipartisan politicians in cancer.” Science Immunology 7(72):eabq2791, 2022. PMID 35658014.

Chow A, Schad S, Green MD, Hellmann MD, Balachandran V, Merghoub T, et al. “Tim-4+ cavity-resident macrophages impair anti-tumor CD8+ T cell immunity.” Cancer Cell 39(7):973–988, 2021. PMID 34115989.

Valero C, Lee M, Hoen D, Balachandran VP, Morris LGT, et al. “Pretreatment neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio and mutational burden as biomarkers of tumor response to immune checkpoint inhibitors.” Nature Communications 12(1):729, 2021. PMID 33526794.

Rojas LA, Balachandran VP. “Scaling the immune incline in PDAC.” Nature Reviews Gastroenterology and Hepatology 18(7):453–454, 2021. PMID 34083798.

Boerner T, Drill E, Pak LM, Balachandran VP, Jarnagin WR, et al. “Genetic Determinants of Outcome in Intrahepatic Cholangiocarcinoma.” Hepatology 74(3):1429–1444, 2021. PMID 33765338.

Hoshino A, Kim HS, Bojmar L, Balachandran VP, Lyden D, et al. “Extracellular Vesicle and Particle Biomarkers Define Multiple Human Cancers.” Cell 182(4):1044–1061, 2020. PMID 32795414.

Moral JA, Leung J, Rojas LA, Balachandran VP, et al. “ILC2s amplify PD-1 blockade by activating tissue-specific cancer immunity.” Nature 579(7797):130–135, 2020. PMID 32076273.

Park W, Chen J, Chou JF, Balachandran V, O’Reilly EM, et al. “Genomic Methods Identify Homologous Recombination Deficiency in Pancreas Adenocarcinoma and Optimize Treatment Selection.” Clinical Cancer Research 26(13):3239–3247, 2020. PMID 32444418.

Balachandran VP, Beatty GL, Dougan SK. “Broadening the Impact of Immunotherapy to Pancreatic Cancer: Challenges and Opportunities.” Gastroenterology 156(7):2056–2072, 2019. PMID 30660727.

Balachandran VP, Łuksza M, Zhao JN, Makarov V, Moral JA, Leach SD, et al. “Identification of unique neoantigen qualities in long-term survivors of pancreatic cancer.” Nature 551(7681):512–516, 2017. PMID 29132146.

Łuksza M, Riaz N, Makarov V, Balachandran VP, Hellmann MD, Wolchok JD, Greenbaum BD, et al. “A neoantigen fitness model predicts tumour response to checkpoint blockade immunotherapy.” Nature 551(7681):517–520, 2017. PMID 29132144.

Balachandran VP, Gonen M, Smith JJ, DeMatteo RP. “Nomograms in oncology: more than meets the eye.” The Lancet Oncology 16(4):e173–180, 2015. PMID 25846097.

Balachandran VP, DeMatteo RP. “Gastrointestinal stromal tumors: who should get imatinib and for how long?” Advances in Surgery 48(1):165–183, 2014. PMID 25293614.

Fairweather M, Balachandran VP, D’Angelica MI. “Surgical management of biliary tract cancers.” Chinese Clinical Oncology 5(5):63, 2016. PMID 27829277.

All information is sourced from publicly available materials