Dr. Carl June is a pioneering physician-scientist and globally recognized leader in cancer immunotherapy whose transformative work has reshaped oncology treatment paradigms worldwide. He currently serves as the Richard W. Vague Professor in Immunotherapy at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, holding dual directorships as head of the Center for Cellular Immunotherapies and Director of the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy Center at the University of Pennsylvania. A distinguished graduate of the US Naval Academy and Baylor College of Medicine, he completed specialized training through graduate studies at the World Health Organization in Geneva and postdoctoral research at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Institute in Seattle. His career trajectory from military service to academic leadership exemplifies his commitment to translating scientific discovery into life-saving clinical applications.
Dr. June pioneered chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy, a revolutionary approach that genetically re-engineers patients' own T cells to specifically target and destroy cancer cells with remarkable precision. His groundbreaking work initially focused on CD19-targeted CAR T-cells for treating refractory and relapsed leukemias, achieving unprecedented response rates approaching 90 percent for acute lymphoblastic leukemia and nearly 50 percent for chronic lymphocytic leukemia patients. This innovative immunotherapy represents the first gene transfer technique demonstrating sustained clinical success in cancer treatment, fundamentally transforming therapeutic approaches for hematologic malignancies. The extraordinary clinical outcomes from his research directly catalyzed FDA approvals for multiple CAR T-cell therapies, establishing a new standard of care for patients with previously untreatable blood cancers.
With more than 400 peer-reviewed publications and numerous prestigious accolades including election to the National Academy of Medicine, Dr. June has profoundly shaped the field of cellular immunotherapy while training generations of researchers who continue advancing this therapeutic frontier. He currently leads cutting-edge investigations expanding CAR T-cell applications to solid tumors, notably through promising clinical trials for pancreatic cancer funded by the Cancer Research Institute and Lustgarten Foundation. His laboratory continues developing novel engineered T-cell approaches to enhance the immune system's natural ability to recognize and eliminate diverse tumor types while addressing challenges of treatment accessibility and toxicity management. Dr. June remains at the vanguard of next-generation cellular therapies with transformative potential to treat numerous cancer types and other life-threatening diseases, cementing his legacy as the father of modern cancer immunotherapy.
