Calgary – September 29, 2026 -- Providence Therapeutics Holdings, Inc. has formed its first Clinical Advisory Board to guide development of its therapeutic mRNA cancer vaccine programs, including a personalized vaccine for pediatric brain cancer and off-the-shelf precision therapies for solid tumors.
Chief Medical Officer Leon Rozen chairs new four-member advisory panel
Dr. Rozen leads the board, which brings in Ezra Cohen, MD; Melinda Merchant, MD, PhD; and John Powderly, MD, to steer clinical strategy for the company's cancer vaccine pipeline.
Tempus AI oncology chief joins board with immunotherapy track record
Ezra Cohen currently serves as Chief Medical Officer for Oncology at Tempus AI. He previously held roles as Professor of Medicine and Division Chief of Hematology/Oncology at the Moores Cancer Center, University of California, San Diego.
Pediatric oncologist adds trial experience from NCI and Memorial Sloan Kettering
Melinda Merchant, a former Chief Medical Officer at Normunity, has held senior development positions at AstraZeneca, Epizyme, and Black Diamond Therapeutics. She led multiple clinical trials at the National Cancer Institute and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, spanning both adult and pediatric cancer immunotherapies.
Carolina BioOncology Institute president brings early-phase trial oversight
John Powderly, President of the Carolina BioOncology Institute, oversees multiple early phase cancer clinical research trials. He trained at the National Cancer Institute, MD Anderson Cancer Center, and the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
Providence Therapeutics operates an mRNA lipid nanoparticle platform and runs PaedNEO-VAX, a national Phase 1/2 personalized cancer vaccine trial in Australia targeting pediatric brain cancers.