The Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research Appoints Two New Members to Its Board of Directors

Newswise — JANUARY 20, 2023, NEW YORK – It is with great pleasure that we announce the appointment of Jedd Wolchok and Nicolas Killen to the Board of Directors of the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research and the LICR Fund, which manages the assets of the Institute. 

Wolchok is currently Meyer Director of the Sandra and Edward Meyer Cancer Center at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York and co-director of the Ludwig Collaborative Laboratory at Weill Cornell Medicine. Killen is managing partner of the Geneva-based law firm Borel & Barbey.

They replace two directors who are retiring: Olivier Dunant, a partner at Borel & Barbey who joined the Board in 1998 and retired December 31, 2022; and Philip Pizzo, pediatric oncologist and David and Susan Heckerman Professor of Microbiology and Immunology, Emeritus, at Stanford University, who retired September 1, after eight years as a director.

“On behalf of the Board—and the organization as a whole—I would like to thank Olivier and Phil for their steady guidance and long, dedicated service to the Ludwig Institute,” said John Notter, chairman of the Board of the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research and LICR Fund. “We wish them every success in their future endeavors and will always consider them a part of the extended Ludwig community.” 

The new directors replace the valuable expertise that Dunant and Pizzo brought to the Board. Killen, who has extensive experience in commercial and international tax law, received his initial law degree from Geneva University, joining the Geneva Bar in 1989. He then earned an advanced degree in law (LLM) from Duke University. Following a year at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP in New York, he joined Borel & Barbey in 1992 as an associate, rising to partner in 1999. Killen serves on the boards of several foundations, banks and corporations. 

Wolchok, a clinician-scientist and authority on cancer immunotherapy, has long been affiliated with Ludwig Cancer Research as an investigator and leader. He is a trustee of the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research Charitable Trust. He is also a former member of the Ludwig Institute, the former Lloyd J. Old/Virginia and Daniel K. Ludwig Chair in Clinical Investigation at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK), former director of the Ludwig Collaborative Laboratory and former associate director of the Ludwig Center at MSK.

Wolchok is perhaps best known for having led the clinical development of the anti-CTLA-4 checkpoint blockade immunotherapy ipilimumab, the formulation of new criteria to assess patient responses to cancer immunotherapy and his leadership of groundbreaking studies establishing the enhanced efficacy of combination anti-CTLA-4 and anti-PD-1 immunotherapies for the treatment of melanoma. His laboratory has also made major contributions to tumor immunology, and its discoveries have resulted in new diagnostics and therapeutic strategies that are now in preclinical and clinical development.

“Being an international research foundation dedicated to basic and translational cancer research—and a pioneer in the area of immunotherapy—the Ludwig Institute will be well served by the experience Nicolas and Jedd bring to the Board room,” said Ed McDermott, president and CEO of the Ludwig Institute. “Their uniquely informed perspectives will enrich the Board’s deliberations on the current operations, staffing and long-term strategy of the Ludwig Institute.”

We extend a warm welcome to the two new directors and look forward to their guidance on fulfilling Ludwig’s mission to advance cancer research and alleviate the suffering caused by cancer.