Our Science – Khleif Website

Samir N. Khleif, M.D.

Vaccine Branch Head, Cancer Vaccine Section Investigator National Cancer Institute Building 8, Room 5101 Bethesda, MD 20892 Phone:   301-594-0210 Fax:   301-435-8695 E-Mail:   khleif@nih.gov

Biography

Dr. Khleif earned his M.D. from the University of Jordan in Amman in 1986. He completed his internal medicine residency at the Medical College of Ohio in 1990 and then joined the NCI as a medical oncology fellow. Currently, Dr. Khleif is head of the Cancer Vaccine Section, Vaccine Branch at the NCI; he also serves as a Special Assistant to the Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, leading the Critical Path Initiative for oncology. He also holds an adjunct academic appointment with the Medicine Department of the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences. Dr. Khleif serves on many local, national, and international committees and as a cancer vaccine expert for a number of national organizations. From 2002 to 2006, Dr. Khleif served as the Director General and CEO of the King Hussein Cancer Center as part of an agreement between the NCI and Jordan. During this time, Dr. Khleif led the development of the only cancer center in the Middle East into an internationally recognized comprehensive cancer center of excellence. In 2007, Dr. Khleif was appointed the Director of the King Hussein Institute for Biotechnology and Cancer. This appointment was the result of a new agreement between the NCI and Jordan to develop this new institute as a comprehensive cancer center and biotechnology research hub.

Research

Cancer Vaccine Development

Dr. Khleif's research focuses on integrating translational basic laboratory research and clinical trials to understand the interaction between tunor cells and the immune system and to develop cancer vaccines. His laboratory's emphasis is on the preclinical identification of potential new vaccine targets, the development of improved and more effective methods for vaccine delivery, an expanded understanding of the mechanism of immune response in vaccinated patients, and the incorporation of these findings into clinical trial development. His research has a special emphasis on viral and cellular oncogene antigenic potentials.

Intramural Collaborators - Jay Berzofsky, NCI; Masaki Tarabe, NCI; Michael Birrer, NCI; Steven Libutti, NCI; Seth Steinberg, NCI; Lauren Wood, NCI; and Peter Choyke, NIH Clinical Center.

Extramural Collaborators - Theresa Whiteside, University of Pittsburgh; Albert Deleo, University of Pittsburgh; George Coukos, University of Pennsylvania; Emanuelle Petricoin, James Mason University; Lance Liotta, James Mason University; Robert Kerbel, University of Toronto; Yuval Shaked, University of Toronto; Anil Sood, MD Anderson Cancer Institute; Joseph Lucci, University of Miami; Joan Walker, University of Oklahoma; Vincent Herrin, University of Tennessee; Mark Einstein, Montefiore Hospital; Harold Varmus, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center; and Katerina Pollitti, Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.

This page was last updated on 8/12/2009.