Salman Punekar

Salman Punekar, MD is a Clinical Instructor in the Department of Pulmonary, Critical Care & Sleep Medicine at the Yale School of Medicine. He specializes in oncology and clinical trials focused on innovative cancer therapies. Dr. Punekar’s research emphasizes immunotherapy, particularly CAR T-cell therapies and targeted molecular agents, with a focus on solid tumors and pancreatic cancer. He has contributed to multiple phase I/II clinical trials evaluating novel treatments such as RMC-6236 (RAS inhibitor), A2B530/A2B694 (logic-gated CAR T-cell therapies), and PRT3789 (SMARCA2 degrader). His work addresses treatment efficacy, safety, and biomarker analysis using circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA).

Education: MD from Drexel University College of Medicine (2011).

Research interests span molecular targeted therapies, immune-checkpoint inhibitors, and translational oncology. He collaborates on studies involving KRAS mutations (G12V/D), EGFR-driven NSCLC, and HLA loss of heterozygosity (LOH) in solid tumors. Dr. Punekar also investigates disparities in cancer care outcomes among ethnic/racial minority populations.

Key publications from 2024-2025 highlight advancements in CAR T-cell engineering, RAS pathway inhibition, and SMARCA2 degradation strategies. His work bridges preclinical insights with clinical trial execution to advance personalized cancer medicine.