Loren K. Mell, M.D.

Tenured Professor & Vice Chair

About Dr. Mell

Dr. Loren Mell is a Tenured Professor and Vice-Chair of Clinical & Translational Research. He is a member of the Center for Precision Radiation Medicine (CPRM) within the UC San Diego Altman Clinical & Translational Research Institute. He is also the Co-Leader of the Moores Cancer Center Head/Neck Disease Team and Section Chief of Head/Neck Cancer in the Department. He was named Co-Director of the Hanna and Mark Gleiberman Head & Neck Cancer Center of Excellence. Dr. Mell sees patients at both our La Jolla facility and the California Proton Center.

A dedicated Clinical Translational Researcher, he is the recipient of a NIH R01 Grant to study the effects of radiation on the immune system. He is the Principal Investigator (PI) of multiple clinical trials, including serving as national PI of the NRG-HN004 and KEYCHAIN trials, which are studying immune checkpoint inhibitors for patients with head and neck cancer. He is also co-PI of the NRG-GY006 trial studying bone marrow sparing chemoradiation for advanced gynecologic cancers. Dr. Mell serves on several national committees including the NRG and NCCN Head and Neck Cancer Committees, the NRG Cervix Committee, and the NIH Radiation Therapy and Biology Study Section. He is also lead editor of the textbook Principles of Clinical Cancer Research. He is author of over 180 journal articles and book chapters.

In addition to his research expertise, Dr. Mell is an experienced clinician with expertise in multiple disease sites including Head/Neck and Gynecologic Cancers. He serves on the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) Head/Neck Cancer Guideline Committee, the National Cancer Institute’s Head/Neck Cancer Task Force, and the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Head/Neck Advisory Group. He has been an Invited Speaker at over 50 National and International Cancer Symposia and Conferences.