Members Jennifer Wargo, MD The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center Houston, TX Dr. Jennifer Wargo is a professor, the Department of Genomic Medicine, Division of Cancer Medicine, and professor, the Department of Surgical Oncology, Division of Surgery, at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. Dr. Wargo’s career commitment is to advance the understanding and treatment of disease through science. After completing her Medical Degree, she entered surgical residency training at the Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts, where she became interested in the biology and treatment of cancer. During her training, she completed two fellowships in Surgical Oncology with a focus on immunotherapy for cancer. Dr. Wargo was recruited to the Division of Surgical Oncology at Massachusetts General Hospital in July 2008 and had an active research laboratory focusing on melanoma tumorigenesis and immunotherapy for cancer. In September 2013, Dr. Wargo was recruited by The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center to help lead the Melanoma Moon Shot program. With a joint appointment in Surgical Oncology and Genomic Medicine, Professor Wargo continues her critical research to better understand responses to therapy and to develop novel strategies to combat resistance. This includes her groundbreaking recent work elucidating the role of the gut microbiome in shaping responses to immunotherapy in patients with melanoma—with a manuscript describing this work published in Science and a clinical trial underway exploring optimal methods to manipulate the gut microbiome to enhance responses to cancer therapy. She is recognized internationally as a leader in cancer research and is leading innovative efforts globally.
