Paola Grandi

Paola is the CSO at CG Oncology,  a clinical stage biotech company focused on the development of immunotherapy approaches for treatment of solid tumors based on Oncolytic viral vectors. At CG Oncology, Paola  is responsible for directing the clinical and translational research programs. Paola earned a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the University of Ferrara (Italy) in 2001 before moving to the U.S. to pursue her interests in oncolytic Herpes Simplex Virus-based vectors. After four years at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, Paola joined the Departments of Neurological Surgery and Microbiology and Molecular Genetics at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine where she developed the next-generation Oncolytic HSV-based vectors armed with novel payload combinations that altered the tumor microenvironment (TME) to promote the development of anti-tumor immunity. As an NIH funded principal investigator, she carried out pioneering work to combine the use of retargeted HSV vectors with cellular microRNA regulation of viral genes in non-tumor tissue to limit vector oncolytic activity to brain tumors. Her academic research produced the patent that provided the core technologies to establish a start-up oncolytic vector company, Oncorus, Inc. in Cambridge, MA. Paola was the scientific founder and the Director of Tumor Immunology Virology at Oncorus where she provided robust scientific guidance and leadership for ongoing multi-disciplinary drug discovery programs.