Dr. Yasmin Thanavala joined the staff of Roswell Park Cancer Institute in 1985, as a Cancer Research Scientist in the Department of Immunology and she is currently Professor and Member in the same department. Dr. Thanavala earned her doctorate degree in Immunology from the University of London, U.K. while working in the Department of Immunology at The Middlesex Hospital Medical School under the mentorship of Professor Ivan Roitt. Her studies were funded by a grant from the World Health Organization. Dr. Thanavala’s lifelong interest in vaccine design and delivery began when she was a student. Her laboratory research program focuses on vaccines for pathogens and cancer and on the study of inflammatory triggers that may contribute to tumorigenesis particularly in the lung. Dr. Thanavala has been issued a total of 7 patents. She is a former member of the NIH Immunological Sciences Study Section and a current member of NIH Study Section Tumor, Transplantation and Tolerance She has served as an Ad Hoc Reviewer for Special Emphasis Panels, SBIR/STTR Study Sections, The March of Dimes, The Welcome Foundation, Internation Foundation for Science, Sweden and Bill and Melinda Gates Grand Challenges in Global Health. She has received numerous awards including Gold Medal for Young Research Scientist in Reproductive Biology, Indian Council of Medical Research (1971), Eisenhower Medical Center, Distinguished Speaker Award (1989), Inventor of the Year Award (1996), FEZANA award for Excellence in Profession (1998), Governor’s (NY State) award for Excellence in Health Advocacy (1998) and Bharat Samman Award 2005.

Vaccine formulations and vaccine delivery : Oral vaccines, Nanoparticle based vaccines. Study of innate (macrophages, dendritic cells and myeloid derived suppressors) and adaptive immune responses (T cells, T reg cells) in the lung; role of chronic inflammation in mediating tumor development/ progression.