Cancer Vaccine Institute News

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