Genentech: Suchit Jhunjhunwala | Director & Distinguished Scientist, Computational Biology and Translation, Computational Sciences

Scientists / Our Scientists

"The immune system: naturally intelligent. Our mission: to make it artificially brilliant."

Years at Genentech

Publications at Genentech

Awards & Honors

My time at Genentech, working at the cutting edge of science at the world's first biotechnology company, has been truly inspiring. Knowing that everything we do directly contributes to the betterment of therapies for patients creates an incredibly meaningful work environment. Besides, you are surrounded by great colleagues, many of whom are world experts in their domains.

Personally, I've had the distinct opportunity to work on and influence oncology and cancer immunology programs at Genentech, using advanced computational biology. My focus has been on studying cancer genomes and identifying a wide range of tumor antigens for a range of therapeutic approaches. Over the last several years, our team has been working at the forefront of using cancer genomics and artificial intelligence to develop novel immuno-therapeutic strategies. This journey of discovery and innovation has been immensely rewarding, and I'm proud to have contributed to such groundbreaking work.

Featured Publication

Towards Designing Improved Cancer Immunotherapy Targets with a Peptide-MHC-I Presentation Model, HLApollo.

Nat. Commun. 2024, 15(1), 10752.

Thrift, W. J.; Lounsbury, N. W.; Broadwell, Q.; Heidersbach, A.; Freund, E.; Abdolazimi, Y.; Phung, Q. T.; Chen, J.; Capietto, A.-H.; Tong, A.-J.; Rose, C. M.; Blanchette, C.; Lill, J. R.; Haley, B.; Delamarre, L.; Bourgon, R.; Liu, K.; Jhunjhunwala, S.

View Abstract

Leading a portfolio within the Computational Sciences organization at Genentech, I currently direct the development of immunogenomic strategies for cell and gene therapies in Oncology and Immunology. Our work centers on leveraging advanced computational biology to identify therapeutic targets and establish platforms for innovative immunotherapies.

Across both Immunology and Oncology, a spectrum of emerging therapeutic modalities aims to modulate the immune system through receptor engagement and, in some cases, the engineering of immune cells such as T cells. Cell and gene therapies, encompassing both vaccines (cancer and tolerogenic) and cell therapies (CAR-T, TCR-T, etc.), represent prominent examples of this mechanism of action.

Our team develops sophisticated genomics algorithms and artificial intelligence models to investigate a diverse array of antigens relevant for therapeutic intervention via these immunotherapies. This includes the study of neoantigens and tumor-associated antigens in cancer, as well as antigens implicated in autoimmune pathologies. Furthermore, we use multi-omics, including bulk and single cell approaches to gain biological insights into the immune environment in disease and the immune response generated by these therapies in preclinical models and in human studies.

Towards designing improved cancer immunotherapy targets with a peptide-MHC-I presentation model, HLApollo

Nature Communications, ISSN: 20411723

William John Thrift; Nicolas Lounsbury; Quade Broadwell; Amy Heidersbach; Emily C. Freund; Yassan Abdolazimi; Qui Phung; Jieming Chen; Aude-Hélène Capietto; Ann-Jay Tong; Christopher M. Rose; Craig D. Blanchette; Jennie R. Lill; Benjamin Haley; Lélia Delamarre; Richard Bourgon; Kai Liu; Suchit Jhunjhunwala

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Suchit Jhunjhunwala

Director & Distinguished Scientist, Computational Biology and Translation, Computational Sciences

Featured Publication

Towards Designing Improved Cancer Immunotherapy Targets with a Peptide-MHC-I Presentation Model, HLApollo.