Ajay V. Maker

Ajay V. Maker is a Professor and Chief of the Division of Surgical Oncology at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) School of Medicine. His clinical expertise spans complex gastrointestinal and hepatopancreatobiliary cancers, melanomas, and sarcomas, with a focus on minimally invasive robotic/laparoscopic techniques.

• Graduate of Brown University (B.A. in Fine Arts/Biology), Yale School of Medicine (MD), and completed residency at Brigham and Women's Hospital/Harvard.
• Postdoctoral training in tumor immunology at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) under Dr. Steven Rosenberg, followed by NIH and Memorial Sloan-Kettering fellowships.

His research, funded by NIH, DoD, and ASCO, targets immunotherapies for colorectal liver metastases and pancreatic cancer. Key contributions include identifying immunostimulatory cytokines, developing orthotopic animal models, and leading the international IPMN biomarkers group to validate a pancreatic cyst biosignature. Recent publications highlight innovations in HPB surgical reporting, neoadjuvant therapy for pancreatic cancer, and multi-omic profiling of IPMN progression.

• Scientific Awards: NIH MERIT Award, U.S. Army Cancer Impact Award, ADA Medical Scholars Award, AAS/Novartis Research Award, ASCO Merit Award, and Society of Surgical Oncology's Clinical Investigator Award.

As Principal Investigator, he has secured K08 and UL1 NIH grants, R37 MERIT from NCI, and Warren and Clara Cole Foundation support. His work bridges translational immunology and clinical surgical outcomes, impacting global guidelines for cancer biobanking and immunotherapy protocols.