“We’ve gone from zero to 60 cancer vaccines just in my career,” CVI Director Dr. Nora Disis said to KIRO 7 News. “I do believe that immune therapy and using the immune system to fight cancer is here.” KIRO 7 News, Seattle recently toured our labs at UW Medicine’s Cancer Vaccine Institute and spoke with Dr. Disis on the future of cancer vaccines. CVI is currently running clinical trials for a breast cancer vaccine and expects it to be available within the next 10 years. We are also developing vaccines for lung, ovarian, colon, and prostate cancers. “We [used vaccines to eradicate] infectio ..read more

Last Tuesday night, CVI Founder and Director ,,Dr. Nora Disis attended the American Chemical Society (ACS) Spring Meeting in New Orleans and received the 2024 ACS Creative Invention Award.  Given to a single inventor who successfully applies chemistry and chemical engineering to contribute to the material prosperity and happiness of people, this award recognizes Dr. Disis’s work in making cancer vaccines a reality. The vaccines are designed to recognize specific proteins found at high levels in cancers and train the immune system to recognize and destroy cancer cells with those ..read more

Photo Credits: Lisa Stromme Warren CVI Executive Director Dr. Kiran Dhillon was featured in this week's radio broadcast of The Sound of the Puget Sound and shared the promise of our cancer vaccines. Dr. Dhillon discussed the remarkable results of CVI's cancer vaccines, with clinical trials showing successful and safe interception and prevention of breast cancer 10 years after vaccination. The vaccine trains the immune system to recognize and target cancer, and she estimates that an FDA-approved breast cancer vaccine may come in the next five to eight years. "What I love about this is that it ..read more

CVI Principal Scientist ,,Dr. Denise Cecil and her team were announced winners of the Cancer Prevention Research Award for Outstanding Journal Article by the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) for their research on activating the immune system against colon cancer.  Holding promise for continued substantive contributions to the cancer field, Dr. Cecil’s team has been working on strategies to harness the immune system to intercept and prevent colon cancer. Colon cancer, or colorectal cancer, is the ,,second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United S ..read more

Pink Eraser Project co-founder Kristin Dahlgren visits the CVI lab and meets Dr. Nora Disis. Photo Credits: Kiran Dhillon CVI breast cancer vaccine research was featured in Maria Shriver’s Sunday Paper this past weekend. The story by Kristen Dahlgren, former NBC Correspondent and co-founder of the ,,Pink Eraser Project, talks about the project’s plans to accelerate the development of safe, affordable, and life-saving breast cancer vaccines. Backed by brilliant breast cancer doctors and immunology experts, including our own ,,Dr. Nora Disis, the Pink Eraser Project is rallying the nation ..read more

CVI Executive Director Dr. Kiran Dhillon was featured on The Boobie Docs: The Girlfriend’s Guide to Breast Cancer, Breast Health, & Beyond podcast hosted by Robyn Roth, a board-certified radiologist who specializes in breast imaging and image-guided procedures. Joined by Pink Eraser Project co-founders Kristen Dahlgren and Michele Young, Dr. Dhillon talks about their collective mission to erase breast cancer with cancer vaccines and the promising results of CVI's early clinical trials. In a phase I clinical trial of 66 women with advanced-stage HER2-positive breast cancer, 80% are alive a ..read more

As we bid farewell to 2023, the Cancer Vaccine Institute is proud to share a year-in-review that underscores a journey of innovation, collaboration, and gratitude. From hosting our first patient reunion to gaining recognition for our cancer vaccines and immunotherapies, CVI remains steadfast in its commitment to making a meaningful difference in the lives of patients and their families. To our patients, donors, collaborators, and research team, thank you for being an integral part of our mission to ignite the immune system to end cancer. Take a look at our 2023 Year In Review Newsletter: ,,ht ..read more

“Without a doubt, my North Star has been that whatever I do has to impact patients in my lifetime," said CVI Founder and Director ,,Dr. Nora Disis. 25 years ago, scientists didn’t know whether the immune system had anything to do with cancer. Now, immunotherapies are the backbone of cancer research and treatments. On the latest episode of the BIOS Community Podcast, Dr. Disis discusses her work with cancer vaccines, starting as the only female student in her oncology fellowship to founding and directing the Cancer Vaccine Institute at the University of Washington. Tune in here: ,,https://yout ..read more

Did you know September is Ovarian Cancer Awareness month? We’re sharing the stories of Jamie Crase and Julie Duggan, two of our patients who participated in our ovarian cancer vaccine and immunotherapy clinical trials in the hopes of advancing ovarian cancer research. https://youtu.be/ugiXZ3WQy_8 Ovarian cancer is known as a silent killer because it’s difficult to detect early and often diagnosed at advanced stages. Patients tend to initially respond well to treatment but the cancer often comes back. At the CVI, we’re working on immunotherapies and vaccines to treat and prevent the disease. Ou ..read more

The American Chemical Society (ACS) announced today that Dr. Nora Disis, CVI Founder and Director, will receive the 2024 ACS Award for Creative Invention! Dr. Disis is being recognized for her work in developing vaccines for the prevention and treatment of cancers. You can check out all of the recipients for the ACS 2024 awards here: https://cen.acs.org/people/awards/2024-ACS-National-Award-winners/101/web/2023/09?utm_source=LatestNews&utm_medium=LatestNews&utm_campaign=CENRSS ..read more