# Robert H. Vonderheide

Source: https://onco.cc/people/robert-vonderheide/  
OnCo record `robert-vonderheide` (Person). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

Directs Penn's cancer centre and pioneered CD40 agonist immunotherapy for pancreatic cancer.

## Summary

Robert H. Vonderheide is Director of the Abramson Cancer Center at the University of Pennsylvania. He is a physician-scientist who pioneered CD40 agonist immunotherapy for pancreatic cancer, showing that CD40 activation can license macrophages and T cells against pancreatic tumours. His selected paper reports that CD40 agonists alter tumour stroma and show efficacy against pancreatic carcinoma in mice and humans. That work led to clinical trials of CD40 agonists with chemotherapy and PD-1 blockade, and he continues to study tumour immunology while directing Penn's cancer centre.

## Fields

- Kind: Person
- Last checked: 2026-09-08
- Role: Director, Abramson Cancer Center
- Specialisms: Pancreatic cancer immunotherapy; CD40 agonists; Tumour immunology

## Sources

- Abramson Cancer Center: https://www.pennmedicine.org/cancer
- PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=Vonderheide%20RH%5BAuthor%5D

## Connected records

- cancers: [Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma](https://onco.cc/cancers/pancreatic/)
- technologies: [Cytokines & engineered cytokines](https://onco.cc/technologies/cytokine-therapy/), [Immune checkpoint inhibitors](https://onco.cc/technologies/checkpoint-inhibitor/)
- institutions: [Abramson Cancer Center, University of Pennsylvania](https://onco.cc/institutions/penn-abramson/)
- key papers: [Challenges and opportunities for pancreatic cancer immunotherapy](https://onco.cc/key-papers/paper-bear-pancreatic-immunotherapy-review-cancer-cell-2020/), [Phase II study of maintenance rucaparib in patients with platinum-sensitive advanced pancreatic cancer and a pathogenic germline or somatic variant in BRCA1, BRCA2, or PALB2](https://onco.cc/key-papers/paper-reiss-rucaparib-maintenance-brca-palb2-pancreatic-jco-2021/)

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