Omid Hamid

Omid Hamid, MD is Chief of Translational Research and Head of the Melanoma and Immunotherapy Program at The Angeles Clinic and Research Institute, a Cedars-Sinai affiliate in Los Angeles. He is internationally recognized as a leading investigator in melanoma immunotherapy, with particular expertise in the tumor microenvironment, early-phase clinical trials of novel immunotherapy agents, and biomarker research that links immune biology to clinical outcomes. His institution is one of the most active melanoma clinical trial sites in the United States, and Dr. Hamid has served as a lead investigator in some of the most consequential early clinical studies of checkpoint inhibitors, bispecific antibodies, and cellular therapies. Dr. Hamid was among the earliest investigators to study pembrolizumab in melanoma and contributed key data from KEYNOTE-001, particularly in characterizing responses in patients with diverse tumor characteristics and identifying immune correlates of durable remission. He has subsequently led or co-led numerous early- and late-phase trials evaluating novel combinations in melanoma, including bispecific T cell engagers, intratumoral immunotherapy agents such as talimogene laherparepvec (T-VEC), oncolytic viruses, and next-generation checkpoint modulators. His contributions to talimogene laherparepvec development, including co-leading the OPTiM phase III trial, helped establish the first FDA-approved oncolytic immunotherapy for melanoma. Dr. Hamid's translational research program focuses on dissecting the tumor immune microenvironment in melanoma through multiplex immunohistochemistry, spatial genomics, and single-cell technologies, aiming to identify actionable immune signatures and mechanisms of resistance. He has authored more than 250 peer-reviewed publications, is a frequent keynote lecturer at ASCO, AACR, and SITC meetings, and serves on editorial boards of leading oncology journals. His work bridges early drug development, biomarker science, and the biology of the cancer-immune interface to advance the next generation of melanoma therapies.