Seth M Pollack

Seth M Pollack, MD, is a Professor with Tenure at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and holds the Steven T. Rosen Professorship of Cancer Biology. He serves as Director of the Sarcoma Program and Co-Leader of the Cancer Immunology and Immunotherapy Initiative at the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center. His career is defined by pioneering translational research in cancer immunotherapy, particularly for sarcomas.

Dr. Pollack's research focuses on overcoming resistance to T cell-based therapies in sarcomas. His laboratory investigates immune evasion mechanisms in "immune-cold" sarcoma subtypes, such as MHC class I down-regulation, and develops therapeutic strategies including cytokine-based approaches, toll-like receptor agonists, and rational checkpoint inhibitor combinations. He has led multiple investigator-initiated clinical trials, including first-in-human studies of NY-ESO-1 specific T cells.

His recent publications (2024-2025) reflect a strong focus on sarcoma immunotherapy, health disparities in bone cancer, and gastrointestinal stromal tumors. Key themes include the application of radiomics for prognosis, neoadjuvant therapy outcomes, socioeconomic factors affecting cancer treatment, and HLA-related disparities in immunotherapy access. His work bridges translational lab discoveries with innovative clinical trial design to advance treatment for rare and resistant cancers.

Dr. Pollack holds the distinguished Steven T. Rosen Professorship of Cancer Biology, recognizing his significant contributions to cancer research.

Dr. Pollack secures significant research funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Department of Defense (DoD) for projects on TCR-therapy optimization, IL-12 gene delivery, NK cell-directed therapies, and tumor microenvironment modulation. He actively mentors students and postdocs in the Pollack Lab and serves on the following advisory boards:

• NCCN Soft Tissue Sarcoma and GIST Guidelines Panels
• National Leiomyosarcoma Foundation Executive Committee
• Medical advisory boards of the Sarcoma Alliance
• Medical advisory boards of the Desmoid Tumor Research Foundation

The Pollack Lab, located at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine and Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center, is dedicated to curing sarcomas. The lab's key research initiatives include:

• Developing CAR-T immunotherapy for sarcomas, including trials in pet dogs to inform human translation
• Understanding the immune microenvironment of synovial and myxoid sarcomas
• Characterizing key T cell receptors for improved clinical T cell responses