Purevdorj (Puje) Olkhanud, MD, PhD, MPH

Program Director

Dr. Olkhanud is an immunologist who joined CGCB as a Program Director in July 2023. Previously, Dr. Olkhanud was a Staff Scientist in the Center for Cancer Research at NCI in 2018 conducting and leading translational research in tumor immunology, microbiome, and cancer vaccines at the Vaccine Branch under Dr. Jay Berzofsky. His research focused on controlling tumor growth, cancer metastasis, and regulatory immune cells in the tumor microenvironment, and identifying more potent target molecules to develop better strategies for cancer vaccines in combination with immunotherapy. His responsibilities included leading the Tumor Immunology Team comprised of post-doctoral investigators and identifying new research areas in improving anti-tumor and cancer vaccine responses. Other duties include establishing partnerships through CRADAs with biotech companies to fulfill the mission of the Vaccine Branch. Dr. Olkhanud is the author of 27 publications in this field and has patents that discovered a new subset of regulatory B cells, a new formulation of a DNA-based vaccine for Alzheimer's disease, and a new strategy of delivering siRNA to temporarily silence the targeted gene of interest. His achievements also resulted in NCI Federal Technology Transfer Awards and NIH Mentor Awards for training lab personnel.

He initially joined NIH in 2004 as a postdoctoral fellow with experience in molecular and cellular immunology research and cancer study using different animal models. Before that, Puje was a faculty member at Johns Hopkins University performing research in global health, including NIH-funded projects studying the impact of urban air pollution on health across the lifespan in Mongolia. He served as a chair of the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health at the Mongolian National University of Medical Sciences (MNUMS). He has an M.D. in Internal Medicine and a Ph.D. in Cancer Immunology from MNUMS.