Ira Seth Mellman is an American cell biologist who discovered endosomes. He is currently the president of research at the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy (PICI). He served as Vice President of Cancer Immunology at Genentech in South San Francisco, California where he led the development of several cancer therapies including atezolizumab and mosunetuzumab.
Early life and education
Mellman grew up in New York, where he lived until he enrolled at Oberlin College in Oberlin, Ohio. While in college he maintained an interest in music but focused on the rapidly expanding field of cell biology. Working with David Miller, he began to study Chlamydomonas and found that a significant amount of the cell wall consisted of extensin. After leaving Oberlin, he enrolled in the graduate program at the University of California, Berkeley, but later transferred to Yale University to switch to research more applicable to people. At Yale, he studied the genetics behind vitamin B12 metabolism under the guidance of geneticist Leon E. Rosenberg.
Genentech
In 2007, Mellman was recruited to Genentech as the Director of Research Oncology to replace Marc Tessier-Lavigne. There, the company is developing understanding of immunology and along that, immunotherapy. His former doctoral students include Shannon Turley.
Personal life
In 1976, he married Margaret Moench. The couple have three children. He is also plays bass in the rock band Cellmates.