Event Details

29^th September at 13:00-14:00
Onsite event
in auditorium Biologi, BioCity, A stairs, 2^nd floor

Coffee/Tea will be served at 12:45

PhD Melissa R. Junttila, Vice President and Head of Biology Research, ORIC Pharmaceuticals Inc.
Harnessing Translational Research to Overcome Resistance in Cancer

Host: Jukka Westermarck (jukwes@utu.fi)

Those who would like to discuss with Dr. Junttila from 3 pm onwards, please contact the host.

Melissa R. Junttila, PhD, has more than 20 years of oncology research experience spanning academia and industry and is dedicated to translating innovative science into therapies for patients. She is currently Vice President, Head of Biology Research at ORIC Pharmaceuticals, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to improving patients’ lives by overcoming resistance in cancer. Prior to joining ORIC, Dr. Junttila was a discovery group Leader at Genentech, where she also led the genetic models core lab. By combining her preclinical modeling expertise with deep knowledge of small molecule and antibody-based therapeutic approaches in cancer immunology and oncology signal transduction, she has contributed to more than 25 target projects, eight of which have advanced to clinical development. Earlier in her career, she was a Fellow of the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation at UCSF. She received her BSc from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, and her PhD in Medical Biochemistry from the University of Turku, Finland.

Selected publications

• Enozertinib Is a Selective, Brain-Penetrant EGFR Inhibitor for Treating Non-Small Cell Lung Cancers with EGFR Exon 20 and Atypical Mutations. Cancer Res. 2026 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41196054/Phase I Study of ORIC-101, a
• Glucocorticoid Receptor Antagonist, in Combination with Enzalutamide in Patients with Metastatic Castration-resistant Prostate Cancer Progressing on Enzalutamide Clin Cancer Res. 2024 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38226958/
• Harnessing the predictive power of preclinical models for oncology drug development.Nat Rev Drug Discov. 2022 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34702990/
• EHMT2 methyltransferase governs cell identity in the lung and is required for KRAS ^G12Dtumor development and propagation. 2022 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35983994/
• Therapeutic resistance and susceptibility is shaped by cooperative multi-compartment tumor adaptation. Cell Death Differ. 2019 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30824837/
• Influence of tumour micro-environment heterogeneity on therapeutic response. 2013 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24048067/
• Full Publication List