Vanaja Konduri

Vanaja Konduri, PhD is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pathology & Immunology at Baylor College of Medicine and serves as GMP Project Manager and acting VP of R&D for Diakonos Oncology leading Diakonos Oncology’s dendritic cell (DC)-based vaccine programs. Over 14 years in cell-based immunotherapy, she has translated bench discoveries into IND-enabled clinical trials, directing CMC strategy, technology transfer to GMP facilities, and assay validation across multiple Phase I/II programs spanning melanoma, dermal angiosarcoma, pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, and glioblastoma. Her foundational work defined how TH1-polarized DC vaccination combined with chemotherapy eradicates orthotopic pancreatic tumors and generates durable immune memory — research that seeded her current preclinical programs combining next-generation DC vaccines with targeted RAS inhibitors and CAR-T strategies. She holds patents in tumor mRNA amplification, multifactorial immune modulation, and DC-derived exosome characterization, and has led manufacturing readiness assessments and quality system integration for both clinical-trial and expanded-access vaccine products. Dr. Konduri also directs immunology coursework at Baylor College of Medicine and mentors trainees across the bench-to-bedside pipeline, bringing a dual perspective — rigorous immunologic science paired with hands-on GMP manufacturing leadership — to personalized cancer vaccine development.