Dr. Antoni Ribas is a world-renowned physician-scientist whose pioneering work has fundamentally reshaped the field of cancer immunotherapy. He currently serves as Professor of Medicine, Surgery, and Molecular and Medical Pharmacology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, where he also directs the Tumor Immunology Program at the Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center and the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy Center. Originally from Barcelona, Spain, Dr. Ribas earned his medical degree from the University of Barcelona in 1990 and completed his PhD at the Autonomous University of Barcelona before coming to UCLA in 1996 for his fellowship training in hematology/oncology. His early career at UCLA established him as a rising star in melanoma research, and he has since become a global leader whose work has transformed previously untreatable cancers into manageable conditions.
Dr. Ribas's groundbreaking research has been instrumental in developing multiple FDA-approved cancer therapies that have revolutionized treatment paradigms for metastatic melanoma and other cancers. He played a pivotal role in the clinical development of pembrolizumab (Keytruda), the first anti-PD-1 therapy that has since been approved for over 25 cancer indications, as well as combination therapies involving BRAF and MEK inhibitors that target specific genetic mutations in melanoma. His laboratory research has elucidated critical mechanisms of response and resistance to immunotherapies, providing the scientific foundation for rational combination strategies that have dramatically improved patient outcomes. The clinical impact of his work is profound, with therapies he helped develop extending survival for patients with advanced melanoma from mere months to potentially decades, transforming what was once considered a universally fatal diagnosis.
As a past president of the American Association for Cancer Research and an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine, Dr. Ribas has significantly shaped the direction of cancer research worldwide through his leadership and mentorship. He continues to push the boundaries of cancer immunotherapy by investigating novel approaches to overcome treatment resistance and developing next-generation engineered T-cell therapies through his NIH and foundation-supported laboratory. His collaborative approach has fostered numerous interdisciplinary partnerships that accelerate the translation of basic discoveries into clinical applications, benefiting patients across multiple cancer types. Dr. Ribas remains at the forefront of his field, with ongoing research focused on understanding and overcoming primary and acquired resistance to immunotherapy, ensuring his continued influence on the future of cancer treatment.
