Paul Nghiem

Paul Nghiem is the world's foremost authority on Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC), a rare and lethal neuroendocrine skin cancer. He has led or co-led nearly every major MCC immunotherapy clinical trial, including JAVELIN Merkel 200 (avelumab) and KEYNOTE-017 (pembrolizumab), and has characterized the pivotal role of Merkel cell polyomavirus (MCPyV) in MCC pathogenesis. He maintains the largest MCC patient registry and biobank globally, and his discoveries on tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte biology in MCC have explained why checkpoint inhibitors produce particularly durable responses.