Cancer immunotherapy leaders at MD Anderson will work with experts at five other cancer centers in a new alliance funded by the largest single contribution ever made to the field. The Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, created with a $250 million grant from the Parker Foundation, focuses on accelerating progress in the breakthrough field that helps the immune system attack cancers. Each center received initial funding of $10-15 million in the first year to establish the Parker Institute onsite. This investment will grow annually through project grants, shared resources and central funding. 

Initially, five MD Anderson researchers will fully participate in the Parker Institute at MD Anderson:
 

• Director: Jim Allison, Ph.D., chair, Immunology, and executive director, MD Anderson's immunotherapy platform
  
  
• Co-director: Padmanee Sharma, M.D., Ph.D., professor, Genitourinary Medical Oncology, and scientific director of the immunotherapy platform
  
  
• Cassian Yee, M.D., professor, Melanoma Medical Oncology, and co-leader of the Adoptive Cell Therapy platform
  
  
• Elizabeth Mittendorf, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor, Breast Surgical Oncology
  
  
• Jennifer Wargo, M.D., associate professor, Surgical Oncology and Genomic Medicine