# Vinod P. Balachandran

Source: https://onco.cc/people/vinod-balachandran/  
OnCo record `vinod-balachandran` (Person). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

Surgeon-scientist whose personalised mRNA vaccine trial showed pancreatic cancer can provoke lasting T-cell immunity.

## Summary

Vinod Balachandran led the phase 1 trial of the individualised mRNA neoantigen vaccine autogene cevumeran after pancreatic cancer surgery, showing that half of patients mounted durable neoantigen-specific T cells and that responders had markedly longer recurrence-free survival. His earlier Nature paper showed long-term pancreatic cancer survivors have high-quality neoantigens. He leads the phase 2 IMCODE003 trial.

## Fields

- Kind: Person
- Last checked: 2026-09-10
- Tags: pancreatic; vaccine; immunotherapy
- Role: Surgical Oncologist and Member, Immuno-Oncology Service, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
- Specialisms: Pancreatic cancer; Neoantigen vaccines; Tumour immunology; Hepatopancreatobiliary surgery

## Sources

- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vinod_P._Balachandran
- PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=Balachandran%20VP%5BAuthor%5D%20pancreatic%20vaccine

## Connected records

- cancers: [Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma](https://onco.cc/cancers/pancreatic/), [Resectable pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma](https://onco.cc/cancers/resectable-pdac/)
- technologies: [Personalised neoantigen (mRNA) vaccines](https://onco.cc/technologies/neoantigen-mrna-vaccine/)
- drugs: [Autogene cevumeran](https://onco.cc/drugs/autogene-cevumeran/)
- institutions: [Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center](https://onco.cc/institutions/mskcc/)
- key papers: [Genomic methods identify homologous recombination deficiency in pancreas adenocarcinoma and optimize treatment selection](https://onco.cc/key-papers/paper-park-hrd-pancreatic-platinum-ccr-2020/), [Identification of unique neoantigen qualities in long-term survivors of pancreatic cancer](https://onco.cc/key-papers/paper-balachandran-neoantigen-quality-long-term-survivors-nature-2017/), [RNA neoantigen vaccines prime long-lived CD8+ T cells in pancreatic cancer](https://onco.cc/key-papers/paper-sethna-rna-neoantigen-vaccine-long-lived-t-cells-nature-2025/), [Rojas 2023: a personalised mRNA vaccine trained T cells against each patient's pancreatic cancer, and those who responded stayed cancer-free longer](https://onco.cc/key-papers/paper-rojas-mrna-neoantigen-vaccine-pancreatic-nature-2023/)
- roadmaps: [Pancreatic cancer roadmap: from Whipple's operation to gemcitabine, FOLFIRINOX, adjuvant chemotherapy, PARP inhibition, KRAS inhibition, vaccines and the surveillance question](https://onco.cc/roadmaps/pancreatic-roadmap/)
- trials: [Autogene cevumeran phase 1 in resected pancreatic cancer (Memorial Sloan Kettering)](https://onco.cc/trials/autogene-cevumeran-phase-1/)

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