Dr. Vinod P. Balachandran

Dr. Vinod P. Balachandran, MD, is a surgical oncologist specializing in the treatment of benign and malignant diseases of the pancreas, bile duct, gallbladder, and liver. He is a faculty member at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK), where he first joined in 2006 and has built a distinguished career devoted to the care of patients with pancreatic cancer. Drawing on deep surgical expertise and a commitment to individualized patient care, he and his team approach every case from diagnosis through recovery with the guiding principle of doing it once, doing it right, and doing it efficiently. His work combines a high-volume surgical practice with a relentless focus on achieving the best possible outcomes for one of the most complex and difficult cancers to treat.

Beyond the operating room, Dr. Balachandran leads a research laboratory within the Immuno-Oncology Program at MSK, where his team investigates new ways to activate the immune system against pancreatic cancer. His laboratory made a landmark discovery showing that a rare group of long-term pancreatic cancer survivors harbor tumors enriched with cancer-fighting immune cells that recognize tumor-specific genetic defects called neoantigens. These neoantigens act as flags that allow the immune system to identify and eliminate cancer cells, and his team found that they can trigger durable, long-lasting immunity that may prevent the cancer from returning. This insight opened a new path for treating pancreatic cancer with personalized neoantigen vaccines, custom-built by analyzing each patient's individual tumor genetics to train the immune system to target that specific cancer. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, his team launched the first clinical trial of personalized neoantigen vaccines for pancreatic cancer, with promising results that have spurred vaccine trials across MSK and globally.

To accelerate the translation of these laboratory findings into treatments for patients, Dr. Balachandran helped found and directs The Olayan Center for Cancer Vaccines at MSK, an academic research center designed to speed the development of new immunotherapies. Approximately 10 cancer vaccine clinical trials are currently enrolling through the center, with more in planning and many others active worldwide. His work addresses a critical unmet need, given that current immunotherapies largely fail in pancreatic cancer due to its immune-suppressive environment. Through his combined roles as a skilled surgeon, laboratory scientist, and clinical trialist, Dr. Balachandran continues to advance both the science and the care of pancreatic cancer with exceptional dedication to his patients.