Dr. Denise Cecil received a BS in Microbiology from Michigan State University and a Ph.D. from the University of California, San Diego in Molecular Pathology, examining the role of non-traditional inflammatory cytokines in the modulation of the pathogenesis and progression of osteoarthritis. Currently, she is the Principal Scientist at the University of Washington Medicine Cancer Vaccine Institute where she is working to develop vaccines that elicit a Type I immune response for several solid tumors, including breast, ovarian, prostate and colon cancer. She has managed the pre-clinical development, IND-enabling studies, clinical product manufacture and human immune monitoring of several vaccines into Phase I clinical trials. She has authored numerous original and review articles and books chapters and holds several patents.