Keynote Speakers

Nicola J Mason is a Professor in the Department of Pathobiology and holds the James & Gilmore Endowed Chair Professorship at the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Veterinary Medicine. She received her veterinary degree from the Royal Veterinary College, London and her Immunology PhD from the University of Pennsylvania. She performed her post-doctoral fellowship in cancer immunotherapy at the Abramson Cancer Center at the School of Medicine at Penn.

Dr. Mason’s translational research group focuses on a comparative approach to accelerate the clinical implementation of effective adoptive cellular immunotherapies – including engineered T and iNKT cells – for human and canine patients with liquid and solid tumors. Her lab focuses on next generation approaches and combination approaches to improve CAR-T efficacy in the hostile tumor microenvironment and her work is supported by federal and private foundation grants. Dr. Mason leads the NIH/NCI supported pre-medical cancer immunotherapy network for canine trials (PRECINCT). The network is comprised of veterinary and medical clinician scientists, including oncologists, internists, surgeons and pathologists who share a passion for comparative translational research. Through innovation and collaboration, the network supports and accelerates immunotherapy research in canine cancer patients through NIH/NCI funded clinical trials. Her pioneering work with a live, recombinant Listeria vaccine in dogs with osteosarcoma earned her the One Health Award for Excellence in promoting One Health Initiatives and led to a phase 2 clinical trial evaluating the same vaccine in pediatric patients with metastatic and relapsed/refractory osteosarcoma is currently enrolling.