He also is director of the UCLA Cell and Gene Therapy Core Facility and Assistant Director for clinical programs in the UCLA Human Gene Medicine Program, the largest gene medicine program in the world. His research is aimed at understanding how the immune system can be effectively used to treat cancer, with a focus on malignant melanoma. This work spans from laboratory research to patients, including pre-clinical and clinical development of CTLA4 blocking monoclonal antibodies, dendritic cell vaccines, genetically engineered antitumor lymphocytes and the use of targeted small molecule inhibitors to pharmacologically sensitize cancer cells to immunotherapy.