Thomas Dubensky

Thomas Dubensky pioneered the development of STING agonists as cancer vaccine adjuvants and intratumoral immunotherapeutics, demonstrating that cyclic dinucleotide (CDN) activation of the cGAS-STING pathway in dendritic cells generates potent type I interferon responses that prime robust anti-tumor CD8+ T cell immunity. His work advanced ADU-S100, one of the first clinical-stage STING agonists, demonstrating intratumoral injection can convert immunologically cold tumors to hot and synergize with checkpoint inhibitors. He has developed next-generation STING agonists with improved systemic delivery and pharmacokinetic profiles for cancer vaccine adjuvant applications. His pioneering work established the STING pathway as a major target for cancer immunotherapy.