The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute (OSUCCC – James) launched the Pelotonia Institute for Immuno-Oncology (PIIO) in July, 2019 with a $65 million investment from Pelotonia, a non-profit organization that strives to change the world by mobilizing purpose-driven communities and accelerating funding for innovative cancer research.
The PIIO is a comprehensive bench-to-bedside research initiative focused on harnessing the body’s immune system to fight cancer at all levels — from prevention to treatment and survivorship. Led by Founding Director Zihai Li, MD, PhD, a renown medical oncologist and immunologist in the ever-expanding field of cancer immunotherapy, the overall ambition of the PIIO is to be a leader in driving immuno-oncology (IO) breakthroughs. Dr. Li’s research and clinical expertise compliments and builds upon current immunotherapy work at the OSUCCC – James. Under the leadership of Dr. Li, the PIIO has developed a strategic plan and is recruiting a robust team of faculty scientists with expertise ranging from development of cancer vaccines to bioinformatic and statistical modeling for high throughput immunogenomic screening. The latter is technology that allows scientists to screen and analyze thousands of genes simultaneously for links to cancer. Once identified, these genes can serve as targets for new cancer drug therapies.
To advance our goals and initiatives, the PIIO is also bolstering shared resources in Immune Monitoring and Discovery, training the next generation of IO researchers, and building collaborations with industry and other IO centers. This effort is also guided collectively by both the internal and external scientific advisory boards whose membership is composed of multiple world leaders in the area of IO including Drs. Lieping Chen, Carl June, Sue Kaech, Miriam Merad, Drew Pardoll, and Jennifer Wargo.
The work of the PIIO centers around its strategic plan which builds upon the following pillars:
- Talent: Striving to be an institute of choice for IO faculty and staff;
- IO Research Excellence: Leading groundbreaking immuno-oncology discoveries and solutions;
- Clinical Translation: Becoming a top site in the world for practice-changing immuno-oncology clinical trials;
- Partnerships and Commercialization: Being recognized as a model for fostering impactful strategic immuno-oncology collaborations;
- Resource Management: Creating a robust and sustainable foundation to advance the strategic priorities of the PIIO.
Our members’ annual funding from grants stands at over $39 million, including $22 million from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). More than 80 human clinical trials are underway in the IO space, with the bulk of them being experimental early- stage (phase I and II) trials. Since 2019, our members have published over 1,200 articles in peer- reviewed scientific journals and have disclosed over 70 inventions. In addition, our Immune Monitoring and Discovery Platform (IMDP) has amassed over $4 million in resources and technologies.