Jared Weiss, MD
Dr. Jared Weiss is the Section Chief of Thoracic and Head/Neck Oncology and a Professor of Medicine at the UNC School of Medicine and the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center. He specializes in lung cancer, squamous head and neck cancer, and other cancers including malignant pleural mesothelioma with a focus on the use of immunotherapy, therapeutic cancer vaccines, and cellular therapeutics.[1]
Dr. Weiss says that his life’s work is the reduction of suffering from cancer. He is passionate about maximizing quality of life and favors the use of oral targeted therapies or immunotherapies whenever possible.
Education and Career
Dr. Weiss began his education at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, where he earned a bachelor of science degree in neuroscience. From there he moved on to Yale University School of Medicine, where he earned his medical degree, and then completed a residency in Internal Medicine at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. He completed a fellowship in Hematology and Oncology at the University of Pennsylvania before joining the University of North Carolina School of Medicine in Chapel Hill.
In addition to his role as Professor of Medicine in the Oncology Department, Dr. Weiss is the Associate Director for Finance of the UNC Lineberger Clinical Protocol Office and Section Chief of the Thoracic Oncology Program.
Research
Dr. Weiss’ research focus is on the development of personalized immunotherapy for the treatment of lung cancer and head/neck cancer. His primary effort is PANDA-VAC, a personalized and adaptive vaccine generated from the prediction of Neo-antigens. He is also in the early stages of cellular therapeutics work targeting GD2 and MAGE-A4 and on a novel mechanism for better selection of tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte products.[1]
Dr. Weiss is also the national primary investigator in trials evaluating the introduction of oncolytic virus into malignant pleural effusions, induction chemoimmunotherapy in locally advanced, surgically resectable head and neck cancer, and adjuvant immune-radiotherapy in head/neck cancer. He also leads and participates in several international industry efforts including ilixadencel dendritic cell infusion into solid tumors and immunolight.[2]
Professional Memberships and Activities
Dr. Weiss is a volunteer and executive board member with GRACE, a nonprofit company whose mission is to provide expert-mediated information on current and emerging cancer management options to empower patients, caregivers, and health professionals to become direct partners in cancer care. Cancergrace.org is the largest online information source for cancer patients in the world, and his activities within that organization include answering patient questions, moderating webinars and podcasts, and generating webinars and podcasts. He is also on the executive board of the Lung Cancer Initiative of North Carolina.[2]
