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Michael Aaron Morse

Professor of Medicine
Medicine, Medical Oncology
Duke Box 3233, Durham, NC 27710
Seeley G. Mudd Bldg, Rm 437, 10 Bryan Searle Dr., Durham, NC 27710

Overview


We are studying the use of immune therapies to treat various cancers, including gastrointestinal, breast, and lung cancers and melanoma. These therapies include vaccines based on dendritic cells developed in our laboratory as well as vaccines based on peptides, viral vectors, and DNA plasmids. Our group is also a national leader in the development and use of laboratory assays for demonstrating immunologic responses to cancer vaccines. Finally, we are developing immunotherapies based on adoptive transfer of tumor and viral antigen-specific T cells.

Our current clinical trials include phase I and II studies of immunotherapy for: patients with metastatic malignancies expressing CEA, pancreatic cancer, colorectal cancer, breast cancer, and ovarian cancer, and leukemias following HSCT. My clinical area of expertise is in gastrointestinal oncology, in particular, the treatment of hepatic malignancies, and malignant melanoma.

Key words: dendritic cells, immunotherapy, vaccines, T cells, gastrointestinal oncology, melanoma, hepatoma

Current Appointments & Affiliations


Professor of Medicine · 2012 - Present Medicine, Medical Oncology, Medicine
Professor in the Department of Surgery · 2015 - Present Surgery, Surgical Sciences, Surgery
Member of the Duke Cancer Institute · 1993 - Present Duke Cancer Institute, Institutes and Centers

Recent Publications


Advances in the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma: An overview of the current and evolving therapeutic landscape for clinicians.

Journal Article CA Cancer J Clin · May 20, 2025 Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the sixth most common malignancy and the third leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide. Contemporary advances in systemic and locoregional therapies have led to changes in peer-reviewed guidelines regarding systemi ... Full text Link to item Cite

Clinical impact of concurrent autologous adoptive T cells immunotherapy in active COVID-19 infected cancer patients for chemotherapy.

Journal Article Infect Agent Cancer · April 9, 2025 BACKGROUND: The concurrent presence of COVID-19 infection in advanced cancer patients has increased the mortality since the compromised immunity was inevitably worsen. The role and clinical impact of autologous adoptive T cell immunotherapy (ACT) designed ... Full text Link to item Cite

Effective extracellular payload release and immunomodulatory interactions govern the therapeutic effect of trastuzumab deruxtecan (T-DXd).

Journal Article Nat Commun · April 2, 2025 Trastuzumab deruxtecan (T-DXd) is an antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) targeting HER2, exhibiting significant clinical efficacy in breast cancer (BC) with varying HER2 expression, including HER2-low and HER2-ultralow. However, the precise mechanism underlying ... Full text Link to item Cite
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Education, Training & Certifications


Yale University · 1990 M.D.