Nicholas A Vitanza

Nicholas A Vitanza is an Associate Professor in Hematology/Oncology at Seattle Children's Hospital, where he serves as an Attending Pediatric Neuro-Oncologist in the Cancer and Blood Disorders Center. He is also the Principal Investigator at the Ben Towne Center for Childhood Cancer and Blood Disorders Research and has been on staff since August 2016. Dr. Vitanza directs the Vitanza Lab and serves as the Scientific Director of the Brain Tumor Research Program, overseeing a dedicated research program spanning laboratory work to patient care, and as the CNS CAR T Cell Lead, overseeing CAR T cell trials for brain and spinal cord tumor patients.

Dr. Vitanza completed his medical education at the American University of the Caribbean School of Medicine, followed by residency training at the State University of New York at Stony Brook. He then completed fellowships at multiple prestigious institutions including Lucile Salter Packard Children's Hospital-Stanford, New York University Langone Medical Center, and Stanford University School of Medicine. His specialized training in pediatric oncology and neuro-oncology was conducted under renowned mentors including Drs. Bill Carroll, Elizabeth Raetz, and Michelle Monje.

Dr. Vitanza's research focuses on developing targeted therapies for children with fatal brain and spinal cord tumors, particularly diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG), diffuse midline glioma (DMG), and atypical teratoid rhabdoid tumor (ATRT). His work spans from high-throughput drug screening in patient-derived models to clinical translation, with a particular emphasis on CAR T cell immunotherapies. He has pioneered multiple innovative clinical trials including BrainChild-01 (targeting HER2), BrainChild-02 (targeting EGFR), BrainChild-03 (targeting B7-H3), and BrainChild-04 (multi-antigen targeting).

Analysis of Dr. Vitanza's recent publications reveals a strong focus on advancing CAR T cell therapies for pediatric CNS tumors, with particular emphasis on combination approaches, multi-targeting strategies, and addressing treatment-related toxicities. His work bridges basic science discoveries with clinical applications, consistently aiming to translate laboratory findings into novel therapeutic options for children with previously untreatable brain cancers. The publications demonstrate progressive refinement of delivery methods, target selection, and safety profiles of immunotherapies for pediatric brain tumors.

• R37 MERIT (Method to Extend Research in Time) Award from NIH National Cancer Institute
• Invited researcher to Cancer Moonshot Brain Tumor Forum at White House (2023)
• ASPHO award during pediatric oncology fellowship

Dr. Vitanza has secured significant NIH funding for his research and has directed multiple clinical trials that have advanced the field of pediatric neuro-oncology. His laboratory work has led to multiple clinical trials, demonstrating a successful translational pipeline from bench to bedside. He has mentored numerous researchers and clinicians in the field of pediatric brain tumor research and treatment.

The Vitanza Lab focuses on creating treatment-naïve biopsy-derived patient-derived DIPG/DMG models, discovering targetable molecular and immunologic vulnerabilities in these tumors, and translating these findings into innovative new clinical trials. The lab collaborates extensively with other research groups at Seattle Children's Hospital and beyond, forming a comprehensive research ecosystem dedicated to curing childhood brain cancers.