George Coukos

Professor George Coukos, MD, PhD (born December 23, 1961), is a world-renowned physician-scientist in the field of tumor immunology and translational cancer research. He trained in medicine and obtained his MD in 1986 from the University of Modena (Italy) and a PhD in 1991 from the University of Patras (Greece), followed by postdoctoral training in cell biology and clinical specialization in obstetrics, gynecology, and gynecologic oncology at the University of Pennsylvania (USA).
Professor Coukos began his academic career at the University of Pennsylvania, where he rose through the ranks to full professor, founded the Ovarian Cancer Research Center, and served as Associate Director of the Division of Gynecologic Oncology. In 2012 he was recruited to Switzerland to establish and lead the Department of Oncology at UNIL-CHUV and the Lausanne branch of the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research.
His research has been foundational in uncovering how tumors evade immune surveillance, particularly through regulation of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes and the tumor endothelial barrier. He was among the first to demonstrate spontaneous antitumor immune responses in ovarian cancer, challenging prior assumptions about immunogenicity and laying the groundwork for combinatorial immunotherapy approaches that have progressed into clinical testing in multiple solid tumors.
Professor Coukos has pioneered systems for identifying cancer neoantigens, developing rational T-cell therapies, and integrating immunobiology with clinical translation. His work spans basic discovery to clinical application, including novel vaccines and adoptive T-cell approaches that harness the immune system against cancer.
He has received numerous honors for his contributions, including election as a Fellow of the AACR Academy (2023), recognition as a Highly Cited Researcher, and election to the US National Academy of Medicine (2024)—reflecting sustained leadership in cancer immunotherapy and translational oncology.