James N. Kochenderfer, M.D.
- Center for Cancer Research
- National Cancer Institute
- Building 10 - CRC - Room 3-3888
- Bethesda, MD 20892
- 240-760-6062
- kochendj@mail.nih.gov
RESEARCH SUMMARY
Dr. Kochenderfer is a physician-scientist working to develop immunotherapies for lymphoma, leukemia, and multiple myeloma. His current work focuses on chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapies. Chimeric antigen receptors (CARs) are fusion proteins that recognize malignant cells. T cells genetically engineered to express CARs can be infused into patients to treat cancer. Dr. Kochenderfer leads laboratory studies of CAR T-cell biology and clinical studies of CAR T-cell therapies for multiple myeloma and for treatment of B-cell malignancies after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.
Areas of Expertise
Information for Patients
Learn more about our clinical trials and the highly specialized care teams that lead them.
James N. Kochenderfer, M.D.
Research
Dr. Kochenderfer develops T-cell therapies for blood cancers including lymphoma, leukemia, and multiple myeloma. T cells normally play a critical role in fighting infections and cancers. Patients who have cancer have T cells that are no longer fighting their cancer. With gene therapy, their T cells can be modified to attack a cancer target and exert a powerful and specifically-targeted anti- cancer effect. Dr. Kochenderfer leads a lab that genetically engineers T cells with genes encoding chimeric antigen receptors (CAR) that target malignancy-associated antigens. He previously designed and constructed a novel anti-CD19 CAR T cell that was first to demonstrate antigen-specific activity of anti-CD19 CAR T cells in humans. This work in anti-CD19 CAR T cells led to the first Food and Drug Administration-approved CAR T-cell therapy for lymphoma. Dr. Kochenderfer also designed the first chimeric antigen receptor targeting B-cell maturation antigen (BCMA). He then led the first clinical trial of T cells expressing an anti-BCMA CAR as a treatment for multiple myeloma. He currently has open trials investigating novel CAR T cell therapies in Multiple Myeloma and Lymphoma and is developing new methods to improve the cancer fighting ability of CAR T cells.
Publications
- Bibliography Link
- View Dr. Kochenderfer's PubMed Summary.
Anti-BCMA CAR T-Cell Therapy bb2121 in Relapsed or Refractory Multiple Myeloma
T Cells Genetically Modified to Express an Anti-B-Cell Maturation Antigen Chimeric Antigen Receptor Cause Remissions of Poor-Prognosis Relapsed Multiple Myeloma
Development of CAR T Cells Expressing a Suicide Gene Plus a Chimeric Antigen Receptor Targeting Signaling Lymphocytic-Activation Molecule F7.
Safety and feasibility of anti-CD19 CAR T cells with fully human binding domains in patients with B-cell lymphoma
Anti-BCMA chimeric antigen receptors with fully human heavy-chain-only antigen recognition domains.
Biography
James N. Kochenderfer, M.D.
Dr. Kochenderfer is a clinician and translational researcher in the Surgery Branch of the National Cancer Institute (NCI). Dr. Kochenderfer conducts research aimed at developing new T-cell therapies for lymphoma and leukemia. His clinical expertise lies in the areas of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation and hematologic malignancies. Dr. Kochenderfer received his M.D. from West Virginia University in 1995, and he completed clinical training in internal medicine at Vanderbilt University. He completed oncology and hematology fellowships at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center and at Baylor College of Medicine. He completed further training in tumor immunology and stem cell transplantation as a clincial fellow at the NCI. He was an Assistant Clinical Investigator at NCI prior to becoming a tenure-track investigator in 2013. He received tenure from NIH in 2020. He received an American Society of Gene and Cell Therapy Outstanding New Investigator Award (2017) and the FNIH Trailblazer Clinican Award (2019). In 2020, his work on "Development of CAR T-Cell Therapy for Myeloma” was selected as a 2020 Top 10 Clinical Research Achievement Awards by the Clinical Research Forum.
Job Vacancies
We have no open positions in our group at this time, please check back later.
To see all available positions at CCR, take a look at our Careers page. You can also subscribe to receive CCR's latest job and training opportunities in your inbox.