Key Points
- Jill O’Donnell-Tormey, PhD, served as chief executive officer and director of scientific affairs at the Cancer Research Institute for more than 30 years.
- The Council is a dedicated group that provides advice and assists with raising funds and building awareness.
The Foundation is pleased to welcome Jill O’Donnell-Tormey, PhD, to its Council, a dedicated group of goodwill ambassadors who work closely with the Board of Directors and staff to provide strategic advice and assist with building awareness, establishing relationships, and raising funds.
Dr. O’Donnell-Tormey recently stepped down as chief executive officer and director of scientific affairs at the Cancer Research Institute (CRI) after more than 30 years. She now serves as a senior advisor at CRI, a global nonprofit organization dedicated to investing in the most promising areas of cancer immunotherapy research to harness the power of the immune system to conquer and cure all cancers.
During her tenure at CRI, she guided more than $500 million to create catalytic research programs that span the laboratory and the clinic to change the course of cancer treatment.
She has been named one of Irish America magazine’s “Top 100” Irish Americans and received the 2002 Fairleigh Dickinson University Pinnacle Award, the 2013 CRI-Frederick W. Alt Award for New Discoveries in Immunology, the 2020 Tara Withington Public Service Award from the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer, and the 2024 CRI-Oliver R. Grace Award for advancing cancer research.
Dr. O’Donnell-Tormey serves on boards of The Staten Island Foundation, The City University of New York, Richmond University Medical Center, and Coherus BioSciences, Inc. She also serves as an advisor to the Briger Foundation for Oncology Research, the Redmile Group LLC, and to Aufbau Medical Innovations, Ltd.
“The Foundation and CRI have become longstanding partners to advance the field of focused ultrasound and immunotherapy, and Jill has been integral to the success of that collaboration,” said Foundation Chairman Neal F. Kassell, MD. “We are thrilled that she will be joining the Council and assisting the Foundation’s mission in yet another facet.”
Dr. O’Donnell-Tormey serves on the Foundation’s Cancer Immunotherapy Advisory Board and recently appeared on the Foundation’s Curing with Sound podcast. We were also pleased to welcome her as part of a panel on advances for cancer treatment at our summer awareness event.
“I am honored to bring my expertise to the Council to help the Foundation’s continuing efforts to explore how focused ultrasound can synergistically impact cancer immunotherapies,” said Dr. O’Donnell-Tormey.
Dr. O’Donnell-Tormey received her BS in chemistry, summa cum laude, from Fairleigh Dickinson University, and her PhD in cell biology from the SUNY Downstate Medical Center.