Profiles

Kira Minkis, M.D., Ph.D.

Current Position:
PGY-1 Resident in Preliminary Medicine, Winthrop University Hospital, New York; followed by PGY-2 in Dermatology, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center, New York.
Graduate: 2009, Molecular Oncology and Immunology
Pathology Departmental Training Grant
(BA, New York University)
Faculty Mentor: Nina Bhardwaj, M.D., Ph.D.

I’m a recent graduate of the MSTP. I’m interested in combining a career in clinical dermatology and translational research. My research interest is in immunology and immunotherapy. The focus of my graduate studies in Dr. Bhardwaj’s lab was development of dendritic cell vaccines for melanoma. This is a field I find fascinating and where I hope to continue to be involved in the future. Apart from science/medicine, I enjoy traveling and in the near future hope to be able to study a new language.

Thesis

Construction of an Optimal Immunogen Using mRNA Transfected Dendritic Cells

Research Interests

Immunology and immunotherapy; development of dendritic cell vaccines for melanoma

Selected Publications

Minkis K, Kavanagh DG, Alter G, Bogunovic D, O'Neill D, Adams S, Pavlick A, Walker BD, Brockman MA, Gandhi RT, Bhardwaj N. Type 2 Bias of T Cells Expanded from the Blood of Melanoma Patients Switched to Type 1 by IL-12p70 mRNA–Transfected Dendritic Cells. Cancer Res. 2008 Nov 15;68:9441-50. Cited in Pubmed; PMID 19010919. doi: 10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-08-0900. PMCID: PMC2628575.

Velazquez EF, Jungbluth AA, Yancovitz M, Gnjatic S, Adams S, O'Neill D, Zavilevich K, Albukh T, Christos P, Mazumdar M, Pavlick A, Polsky D, Shapiro R, Berman R, Spira J, Busam K, Osman I, Bhardwaj N. Expression of the cancer/testis antigen NY-ESO-1 in primary and metastatic malignant melanoma (MM)--correlation with prognostic factors. Cancer Immun. 2007 Jul 12;7:11. Cited in Pubmed; PMID 17625806.