Cancer Vaccine Institute News

The Cancer Vaccine Institute (CVI) is proud to share our 2025 Year in Review that highlights our research and achievements. We made remarkable progress last year, advancing vaccines in clinical trials, moving vaccines in our preclinical pipeline forward, and sharing our research with the community. We are especially grateful to our patients, scientists, clinicians, collaborators, staff, faculty, and supporters. Your ongoing partnership and scientific leadership accelerates re

The Cancer Vaccine Institute (CVI) at UW Medicine is advancing a new generation of cancer vaccines designed to train the immune system to recognize and eliminate cancer cells. These vaccines target proteins that are overexpressed in cancer, drive tumor growth, and are linked to poor outcomes. Once activated, vaccine‑generated immune cells circulate throughout the body, seek out cancer cells, and can remain for years, providing long‑term protection. CVI is developing vaccines

The Cancer Vaccine Institute (CVI) took park in the 2025 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium from December 9-12, 2025, bringing our latest research to one of the world's leading forums for breast cancer science. Faculty members from the CVI presented four scientific posters with fellow collaborators, researchers, and scientists. Through these presentations, the CVI team highlighted recent discoveries in HER2-targeted vaccines, neoadjuvant immunotherapy, and findings from our

Dr. Shaveta Vinayak This past year, we mourned the loss of our beloved colleague and friend, Dr. Shaveta Vinayak, who passed away after a courageous battle with metastatic breast cancer. Dr. Vinayak was an extraordinary physician–scientist whose brilliance, compassion, and unwavering commitment to patients shaped every part of our work at the Cancer Vaccine Institute. Shaveta’s career was defined by excellence, and she quickly emerged as a national leader in breast cancer res

Dr. Ying Liu presented this study at the 2025 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium At the UW Cancer Vaccine Institute, we are working to develop vaccines that train the immune system to recognize and eliminate cancer. At the 2025 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, we shared new data comparing two of our HER2-targeted therapeutic vaccine platforms for people with advanced HER2-positive breast cancer. About 20% of all breast cancers overexpress the HER2 protein, which can make

The Cancer Vaccine Institute (CVI) was excited to share new results from a multi-center clinical trial led by Moffitt Cancer Center at the 2025 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium. These results offer encouraging evidence for WOKVAC, a HER2-targeted DNA vaccine developed here at the CVI. In this study, Moffitt and collaborating sites evaluated whether HER2 vaccination could help prevent recurrence in patients at especially high risk, including individuals who still have invas

Every year, In Concert for Cancer brings people together through music, hope, and a shared commitment to ending cancer. At the Cancer Vaccine Institute (CVI), that commitment translates directly into momentum by fueling discoveries and supporting the people who will carry this mission forward. This year, their partnership is helping accelerate one of the most ambitious goals in cancer research: preventing ovarian cancer before it starts. And at the heart of that effort is a

At the 2025 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, the UW Cancer Vaccine Institute shared new research revealing how a unique population of immune cells, shaped in part by the gut microbiome, may influence breast cancer growth and treatment response. Our team’s findings shed light on these immune cells called BAC‑TA T cells, their presence in newly diagnosed patients, and how precision probiotics could one day help shift the immune environment to better fight tumors. Dr. Denise

The UW Cancer Vaccine Institute is excited to share new findings suggesting that a HER2-targeted cancer vaccine may help protect HER2-positive breast cancer patients from developing brain metastases—one of the most difficult complications to treat. Dr. Candace Haghighi presented these findings at the 2025 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium. Dr. Candace B. Haghighi at the 2025 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium The Highlights: HER2-positive breast cancer has a high risk of s

PC: American Cancer Society On October 23, 2025, Dr. Nora Disis , Director of the Cancer Vaccine Institute, helped lead the conversation at the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) Washington Research & Policy Breakfast  at the Bell Harbor International Conference Center. This annual event is ACS CAN’s flagship gathering in Washington State, convening policymakers, researchers, clinicians, and patient advocates to explore how evidence-based strategies can r

Photos from the October 23rd event include: Dr. Nora Disis (CVI Director), Dr. Robert Jones (University of Washington President), Dr. Lynn Hassan Jones, Dr. Tim Dellit (UW Medicine CEO), Jean Enersen (Former KING5 News Anchor), Pramila Jayapal (US House of Representatives), Susan Bevan (CVI Development Council Member) October was a powerful month at the University of Washington, as Husky Athletics partnered with the Huskies for a Cure  campaign to raise awareness and funds f

Last week at the Cancer Vaccine Institute, we witnessed a moment of joy, pride, and profound recognition as Dr. Nora Disis was honored as a Delta Community Captain . In a surprise event filled with CVI lab members, Seahawks representatives, Delta Air Lines team members, and Dr. Disis’ family, the room erupted in celebration of a scientist whose work is transforming the future of breast cancer care. The Delta Community Captain program, powered by Delta Air Lines in partnership

Developing Vaccines to Create a New Standard of Care On October 22, 2025, the Cancer Vaccine Institute (CVI) at UW Medicine welcomed patients, advocates, researchers, and community members to DeLille Cellars in Woodinville, WA for an evening of connection and discovery. “Changing the Course of Ovarian Cancer” highlighted how cancer vaccines, once considered aspirational, are now changing lives and redefining what’s possible in cancer care. Driving a New Standard of Care The e

We are thrilled to announce that Dr. Natasha Hunter, MD, has been appointed Director of Clinical Trials at the Cancer Vaccine Institute (CVI). Dr. Hunter is a translational breast cancer researcher and clinical oncologist at the University of Washington and Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center. Her research focuses on circulating tumor DNA to guide treatment decisions and monitor disease response, as well as immunologic strategies to detect micrometastatic disease and prevent cancer

We are proud to announce that Dr. Nora Disis, Director of the Cancer Vaccine Institute, has been selected as a 2025 Champion of SITC by the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC). This special recognition, part of SITC’s 40th anniversary celebration, honors 40 individuals whose work has significantly advanced the society’s mission—including education, scientific exchange, global access, advocacy, and leadership development. Dr. Disis’ pioneering contributions to cancer va

At the Cancer Vaccine Institute, we are proud to share a major milestone in our mission to develop safe and effective scalable cancer...

Every September, Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month reminds us of the urgent need to improve outcomes with a new standard of care for people...

On the Cancer Research Frontier is a series spotlighting the scientists, doctors, nurses, patients, and philanthropists at the CVI.

The Women’s University Club has selected Dr. Nora Disis , Cancer Vaccine Institute (CVI) Founder and Director, as one of three women in...

CVI Director Dr. Nora Disis was funded $300K to advance the development of a vaccine designed to prevent ovarian cancer’s metastatic spread.