Hyam “Hy” Levitsky is president of research and development at Century Therapeutics. He was previously the executive vice president of research and the chief scientific officer at Juno Therapeutics. Levitsky is a pioneer in the administration of therapeutic cancer vaccines — especially after high-dose chemotherapy and stem cell transplantation. In addition to being a co-inventor of the immunotherapy vaccine GVAX, he has led investigations on antigen processing and presentation, T cell co-stimulation, T cell priming versus tolerance, and the evolution of tumor-specific immunity during immune reconstitution.

Born in New Jersey, Levitsky received his medical degree from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in 1984, followed by training in internal medicine and medical oncology. He joined the Johns Hopkins faculty in 1991, rising to professor of oncology, medicine and urology in 2001, while working at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center, where he served as scientific director of the George Santos Bone Marrow Transplant Program.

Levitsky’s research has focused on tumor immunology, cancer vaccines and adoptive T cell therapy. He is a Leukemia and Lymphoma Society Stohlman Scholar; a member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation; a founding member of the Cancer Immunotherapy Consortium of the Cancer Research Institute; and a member of CRI’s Scientific Advisory Council.

Levitsky serves on several advisory boards, including the Osler Advisory Board. Levitsky and his wife, Rhonda Zuckerman, a recently retired anesthesiologist, live in Seattle, and have three children.