Andy J. Minn

Andy J. Minn, M.D., Ph.D. is an Adjunct Professor of Radiation Oncology at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, an Associate Investigator in the Abramson Family Cancer Research Institute, and Director of the Mark Foundation Center for Immunotherapy, Immune Signaling, and Radiation. He also serves as an Attending Physician in Radiation Oncology at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and the Philadelphia VA Medical Center, and holds memberships in the Abramson Cancer Center, the Institute for Immunology, and the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy.

Education:

• BA (Biology), University of Chicago, 1992
• Ph.D. (Immunology), University of Chicago, 1999
• M.D. (Medicine), University of Chicago, 2000

Research Interests:

Dr. Minn’s laboratory investigates how interferon-stimulated gene programs—normally deployed against viral pathogens—are activated by endogenous “virus-mimicking” signals within tumors. His group studies:

• The identity of tumor-derived nucleic acids and exosomal RNAs that trigger pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) and anti-viral interferon signaling.
• The evolutionary pressures that lead cancer cells to co-opt these pathways.
• How chronic interferon signaling can either enhance or suppress anti-tumor immunity depending on context, thereby influencing responses to radiation, chemotherapy, and immune checkpoint blockade.
• Translational strategies to combine JAK/STAT inhibition, CAR-T engineering, and radiation to overcome immunotherapy resistance.

Recent Publication Trends:

Over the past decade, the Minn laboratory has produced a steady stream of high-impact papers that illuminate the dual roles of interferon signaling in cancer. Their 2024 Science study provided clinical evidence that JAK inhibition plus PD-1 blockade can overcome adaptive resistance in non-small cell lung cancer. Earlier work, including 2019 and 2016 Cell papers, dissected opposing interferon functions that coordinate innate and adaptive immunity during checkpoint blockade. Additional studies have linked micronuclei formation, exosome-mediated RNA transfer, and epigenetic memory to therapy resistance, establishing a cohesive narrative that spans basic discovery, mechanistic dissection, and early-phase clinical translation.

Scientific Awards & Honors:

No specific named awards are listed in the provided text; however, his continuous funding from the Mark Foundation, leadership of a major center, and frequent publication in top-tier journals attest to significant peer recognition.

Advising & Team Science:

Dr. Minn mentors a diverse team:

• Graduate students: Lex Johnson (Immunology), Bihui Xu (Cancer Biology), Erica Dhuey (Cancer Biology), Lisa Cucolo (Cell Biology), Jingya Qiu (Genomics and Computational Biology), Darwin Ye (Cancer Biology), Yuwei Qi (Cell Biology), Shangshang Wang (Chemistry).
• Post-doctoral fellows: Yuanming Xu, Fevzi Demircioglu, Xiang Ni.
• Research staff: Caitlin Foley (Research Fellow), Yongjun Yu (Senior Lab Manager).

Rotation projects are continually available, and the lab actively engages in cross-disciplinary collaborations—most notably with Carl June’s group for CAR-T cell engineering—through the Mark Foundation Center for Immunotherapy, Immune Signaling, and Radiation.