Candel Therapeutics Strengthens Research Leadership With Appointment Of Systems Immunology Expert Dr. Bali Pulendran To Advisory Board

Candel Therapeutics, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing multimodal biological immunotherapies to help patients fight cancer, has announced the appointment of Dr. Bali Pulendran to its Research Advisory Board (RAB). Dr. Pulendran is an internationally recognized authority in systems immunology and vaccinology. 

He has pioneered the use of systems-based approaches to better understand how the human immune system functions and responds to various stimuli. His extensive knowledge will support Candel’s mission as the company advances its lead viral immunotherapy candidates, CAN-2409, which is being developed for multiple solid tumor indications, and CAN-3110, designed to treat recurrent high-grade glioma.

Expressing his enthusiasm about joining the board, Dr. Pulendran said, “I’m honored to join Candel’s Research Advisory Board during this pivotal time for the company. Candel’s innovative viral immunotherapy platform represents a powerful new way to stimulate the immune system to fight cancer. I look forward to contributing my experience in systems immunology and immune response research to help advance these promising therapies that could make a real difference for patients facing various cancers.”

Dr. Pulendran currently serves as the Violetta L. Horton Professor at Stanford University School of Medicine and is the Director of the Institute for Immunity, Transplantation and Infection at Stanford University. He is also a Fellow at ChEM-H, which focuses on integrating chemistry, engineering, and medicine for human health. Dr. Pulendran earned his Ph.D. from the Walter & Eliza Hall Institute under the mentorship of Sir Gustav Nossal.

Over the course of his distinguished career, Dr. Pulendran has made several groundbreaking contributions to the field of immunology, including the discovery that dendritic cells are composed of multiple functionally distinct subtypes and the elucidation of how microbial signals program these cells to regulate immune responses. His research has been published in leading scientific journals such as Nature, Science, Cell, Nature Medicine, and Nature Immunology. He is also recognized by Thomson Reuters as one of the world’s Highly Cited Researchers, an honor reserved for scientists whose publications rank in the top 1% by citations.

Welcoming Dr. Pulendran to the board, Paul Peter Tak, M.D., Ph.D., FMedSci, President and CEO of Candel, stated, “We are delighted to have Dr. Pulendran join our Research Advisory Board. His pioneering research in systems immunology and his deep understanding of how the immune system reacts to different stimuli will provide valuable insights as we continue to progress CAN-2409 across multiple solid tumors and CAN-3110 in recurrent high-grade glioma. His expertise will be instrumental as we work toward developing transformative cancer therapies for patients who need them most.”