Editorial Board Member
Howard L. Kaufman, MD, FACS
Biography
Dr. Howard L. Kaufman has been a leading authority on tumor immunotherapy and oncolytic viruses for the treatment of melanoma. He led the first successful phase III trial of an oncolytic herpes virus that demonstrated clinical benefit in patients with melanoma resulting in the first FDA approval of an oncolytic virus for the treatment of cancer. He also led a clinical trial demonstrating that avelumab, a PD-L1-directed monoclonal antibody, had significant therapeutic activity in patients with Merkel cell carcinoma resulting in FDA approval. Dr. Kaufman maintained an funded laboratory in tumor immunology for nearly 20 years. He was born in Chicago, Illinois and received his MD degree from Loyola University, completed a residency in General Surgery at Boston University and fellowship training in Tumor Immunology and Surgical Oncology at the National Cancer Institute. He has previously held appointments as Chief of the Division of Surgical Oncology and Associate Director of the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center at Columbia University, inaugural Director of the Rush University Cancer Center, and Associate Director for Clinical Science of the Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey. His industry experience includes serving as Chief Medical Officer at Compass Therapeutic and Replimune, Inc. and he is currently the President and CEO of Ankyra Therapeutics in Boston. Dr. Kaufman has published over 500 peer-reviewed scientific papers, books, review articles and abstracts and serves on the editorial board of the Journal for Immunotherapy of Cancer, Oncoimmunology, and Journal of Translational Medicine. He is a member of numerous professional societies and served as President of the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer. Dr. Kaufman was the recipient of several awards including the Daland Prize, MRF Humanitarian Award and UIC Distinguished Alumnus Award. He has been appointed to the Board of Directors of several professional organizations, including the Melanoma Research Foundation, Melanoma Research Alliance, Commission on Cancer, American Cancer Society-Eastern Division and the University of Illinois Chicago College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. He maintains an academic appointment at Harvard Medical School and is a Clinical Associate within the Center for Melanoma at Massachusetts General Hospital and is a Clinical Associate in Oncology at the Massachusetts Eye & Ear Infirmary.