Harriet Kluger, MD
Harvey and Kate Cushing Professor of Medicine (Oncology) and of DermatologyCards
Are You a Patient?
View this doctor's clinical profile on the Yale Medicine website for information about the services we offer and making an appointment.
View Doctor ProfileAdditional Titles
Director, Yale SPORE in Skin Cancer, Yale Cancer Center
Co-leader Cancer Immunology , Yale Cancer Center
Vice Chair for Collaborative Research, Internal Medicine
Chief, Division of Skin and Kidney Cancer
Associate Cancer Center Director, Education, Training and Faculty Development
Deputy Section Chief, Medical Oncology
Contact Info
Are You a Patient?
View this doctor's clinical profile on the Yale Medicine website for information about the services we offer and making an appointment.
View Doctor ProfileAdditional Titles
Director, Yale SPORE in Skin Cancer, Yale Cancer Center
Co-leader Cancer Immunology , Yale Cancer Center
Vice Chair for Collaborative Research, Internal Medicine
Chief, Division of Skin and Kidney Cancer
Associate Cancer Center Director, Education, Training and Faculty Development
Deputy Section Chief, Medical Oncology
Contact Info
Are You a Patient?
View this doctor's clinical profile on the Yale Medicine website for information about the services we offer and making an appointment.
View Doctor ProfileAdditional Titles
Director, Yale SPORE in Skin Cancer, Yale Cancer Center
Co-leader Cancer Immunology , Yale Cancer Center
Vice Chair for Collaborative Research, Internal Medicine
Chief, Division of Skin and Kidney Cancer
Associate Cancer Center Director, Education, Training and Faculty Development
Deputy Section Chief, Medical Oncology
Contact Info
About
Copy Link
Titles
Harvey and Kate Cushing Professor of Medicine (Oncology) and of Dermatology
Director, Yale SPORE in Skin Cancer, Yale Cancer Center; Co-leader Cancer Immunology , Yale Cancer Center; Vice Chair for Collaborative Research, Internal Medicine; Chief, Division of Skin and Kidney Cancer; Associate Cancer Center Director, Education, Training and Faculty Development; Deputy Section Chief, Medical Oncology
Biography
Dr. Kluger is a medical oncologist who sees patients with melanoma and renal cell carcinoma. Her research interests focus on developing new drug regimens and biomarkers predictive of response to therapies in melanoma and renal cell carcinoma. She participates in a number of clinical trials studying new agents for the treatment of these diseases, both targeting the immune system and the cancer cell. She runs an active research laboratory that studies tumor and immune cells from patients treated with novel therapies to determine mechanisms of resistance to therapy and mediators of toxicity from immune checkpoint inhibitors. The laboratory also conducts pre-clinical studies to improve treatment regimens for patients with melanoma, renal cell carcinoma or brain metastasis.
Please visit the lab website at:
Appointments
Medical Oncology and Hematology
ProfessorPrimaryDermatology
ProfessorSecondary
Other Departments & Organizations
- Cancer Immunology
- Dermatology
- Developmental Therapeutics
- Discovery to Cure Internship
- Internal Medicine
- K12 Calabresi Immuno-Oncology Training Program (IOTP)
- Medical Oncology and Hematology
- Skin & Kidney Cancer Program
- SPORE in Skin Cancer
- WHRY Pilot Project Program Investigators
- Women's Health Research at Yale
- Yale Cancer Center
- Yale Center for Immuno-Oncology
- Yale Medicine
- Yale New Haven Health System
- Yale Ventures
- YCC Collaborative Excellence
Education & Training
- Fellow
- Yale University School of Medicine (2002)
- Resident
- University of New Mexico (1995)
- MD
- Tel Aviv University (1993)
Research
Copy Link
Overview
Medical Research Interests
ORCID
0000-0002-4932-9873- View Lab Website
H. Kluger Lab
Research at a Glance
Yale Co-Authors
Publications Timeline
Research Interests
David Rimm, MD, PhD
Mario Sznol, MD
Lucia Jilaveanu, MD, PhD
Veronica Chiang, MD, FAANS
Robert Camp, PhD, MD
Ruth Halaban, PhD
Melanoma
Medical Oncology
Publications
2026
Compartment-specific immune and tumor markers associated with clinical outcomes in patients with and without sarcomatoid/rhabdoid renal cell carcinoma treated with ipilimumab and nivolumab
Savion-Gaiger N, Perales O, Su D, Bar-Ziv D, Challa P, Djureinovic D, Yi I, Adeniran A, Kluger H, Schoenfeld D. Compartment-specific immune and tumor markers associated with clinical outcomes in patients with and without sarcomatoid/rhabdoid renal cell carcinoma treated with ipilimumab and nivolumab. ESMO Open 2026, 11: 106908. PMID: 42013628, PMCID: PMC13123346, DOI: 10.1016/j.esmoop.2026.106908.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchThis study investigates biomarkers in renal cell carcinoma, showing tumor PD-L1 expression predicts better survival with immunotherapy, while neutrophil markers highlight sarcomatoid/rhabdoid tumor immune environments.Ex vivo expansion of melanoma tumor infiltrating lymphocytes leads to a dominant exhausted T cell population with lack of memory markers
Coppola G, Kerr S, Cha P, Bersenev A, Olino K, Kluger H, Sznol M, Weiss S, Bosenberg M, Kleinstein S, Krause D, Hurwitz M, Katz S. Ex vivo expansion of melanoma tumor infiltrating lymphocytes leads to a dominant exhausted T cell population with lack of memory markers. Cancer Immunology Research 2026, 14: 861-874. PMID: 41686210, PMCID: PMC13032746, DOI: 10.1158/2326-6066.cir-25-0798.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchAltmetricConceptsTumor-infiltrating lymphocytesMemory cell phenotypeEx vivo expansionInfiltrating lymphocytesEx vivoPatient tumorsT cellsEfficacy of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytesSubpopulations of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytesMelanoma tumor-infiltrating lymphocytesTIL expansionCD8 T cellsCell phenotypeT cell populationsReceptor PD1Individual clonotypesDN cellsEx vivo growthPost-expansionTCR sequencesClinical trialsFDA approvalStem-likeCell differentiation stateTherapeutic effectClonal determinants of organotropism and survival in metastatic uveal melanoma
Jones B, Hammes E, Demkowicz P, Matesva M, Pointdujour-Lim R, Sinard J, Bacchiocchi A, Halaban R, Bosenberg M, Sznol M, Kluger H, Bakhoum M. Clonal determinants of organotropism and survival in metastatic uveal melanoma. Npj Precision Oncology 2026, 10: 68. PMID: 41582235, PMCID: PMC12913882, DOI: 10.1038/s41698-026-01274-8.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchAltmetricConceptsUveal melanomaLiver metastasesClonality determinationPost-metastatic survivalMetastatic uveal melanomaPatterns of disseminationBAP1 lossExtrahepatic metastasesPrimary tumorIntraocular cancerMetastatic spreadMetastasisMolecular profilingPatient outcomesMelanomaLiverSurvivalIntraocularMonosomyTumorBAP1PatientsCancerOrganotropism
2025
Survival of patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma with or without brain metastases
Savion-Gaiger N, Considine B, Hasson N, Nelson M, Chiang V, Kluger H, Braun D, Schoenfeld D, Sznol M, Leapman M, Hurwitz M. Survival of patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma with or without brain metastases. The Oncologist 2025, 30: oyaf387. PMID: 41287461, PMCID: PMC12704413, DOI: 10.1093/oncolo/oyaf387.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsMetastatic renal cell carcinomaClear cell RCCMetastatic clear cell RCCBrain metastasesImmune checkpoint therapyOverall survivalRenal cell carcinomaRetrospective cohort studyImmune checkpointsPrognostic significanceCell carcinomaRetrospective cohort study of patientsAssociated with poor survivalCohort study of patientsBrain MRI screeningMetastatic disease diagnosisAssociated with poor prognosisSurvival of patientsStudy of patientsCcRCC diagnosisICI therapyCell RCCMRI screeningPoor prognosisPoor survivalImmune checkpoint inhibitor-induced diabetes can potentially be effectively treated with infliximab: a case report of two patients
Gaiger N, Hurwitz M, Hafez N, Kluger H, Herold K, Perdigoto A. Immune checkpoint inhibitor-induced diabetes can potentially be effectively treated with infliximab: a case report of two patients. Frontiers In Endocrinology 2025, 16: 1697724. PMID: 41282287, PMCID: PMC12634352, DOI: 10.3389/fendo.2025.1697724.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsLife-threatening complicationsTNF-aImmune-related adverse eventsImmune checkpoint inhibitor therapyDestruction of pancreatic beta cellsSpontaneous autoimmune diabetesCheckpoint inhibitor therapyTreated with infliximabC-peptide levelsBeta-cell destructionBeta-cell functionInfliximab treatmentInhibitor therapyAdvanced malignanciesPancreatic beta cellsAutoimmune diabetesIrreversible complicationsClinical outcomesCase reportAdverse eventsInfliximabInflammatory cytokinesLabile diabetesInsulin treatmentDiabetic controlImproving immunotherapy responses by dual inhibition of macrophage migration inhibitory factor and PD-1
Tran T, Sánchez-Zuno G, Osmani L, Caulfield J, Valdez C, Piecychna M, Leng L, Armstrong M, Donnelly S, Bifulco C, Clister T, Kulkarni R, Zhang L, Sznol M, Jilaveanu L, Kluger H, Kang I, Bucala R. Improving immunotherapy responses by dual inhibition of macrophage migration inhibitory factor and PD-1. JCI Insight 2025, 10: e191539. PMID: 41122966, PMCID: PMC12581657, DOI: 10.1172/jci.insight.191539.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsAnti-PD-1Macrophage migration inhibitory factorAnti-MIFMigration inhibitory factorTumor growthTherapeutic efficacyAnti-programmed cell death 1Intratumoral immune cell populationsAssociated with advanced diseaseHigh-expression MIF allelesCell death 1Inhibitory factorTh1 cytokine levelsInhibition of macrophage migration inhibitory factorDual inhibitionMurine tumor modelsColorectal cancer modelImmune cell populationsTumor-bearing animalsClinical trial developmentMultiple cancer typesAntitumor responseDeath-1PD-1Tumor burdenTargeting an essential viral oncoprotein with an IL-7-enhanced mRNA vaccine induces durable immunity to Merkel cell carcinoma
Frey A, Clulo K, Fei Y, Dumit T, Scallo F, Allen J, Chang E, Perry C, Wirth L, Jacobs D, Braun D, Bosenberg M, Tran T, Clune J, Kluger H, Olino K, Ishizuka J. Targeting an essential viral oncoprotein with an IL-7-enhanced mRNA vaccine induces durable immunity to Merkel cell carcinoma. Cell Reports 2025, 44: 116359. PMID: 41042672, PMCID: PMC12646823, DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2025.116359.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchThis study investigates an IL-7-enhanced mRNA vaccine targeting virus-associated Merkel cell carcinoma, showing durable immune responses in mouse models and patient samples, addressing cancer recurrence challenges.CTLA-4 blockade shifts the B cell repertoire towards autoimmunity
Çakan E, Wang M, Dai Y, Mirouse A, Villanueva-Pachas C, Bouis D, Boeckers J, Gera R, Yraita S, Clapp L, Perdigoto A, Delmotte F, Massad C, Bacchiocchi A, Ring A, Kluger Y, Kluger H, Herold K, Meffre E. CTLA-4 blockade shifts the B cell repertoire towards autoimmunity. Journal Of Clinical Investigation 2025, 135: e189074. PMID: 41026527, PMCID: PMC12618075, DOI: 10.1172/jci189074.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsImmune-related adverse eventsAnti-PD-1CTLA-4 blockadeMature naive B cellsCTLA-4Naive B cellsB cell repertoireB cellsCheckpoint inhibitorsPD-1Emergence of immune-related adverse eventsAnti-CTLA-4 combination therapyCancer patientsReactivity of recombinant antibodiesCentral B cell tolerancePeripheral B cell repertoireAnti-CTLA-4B cell frequenciesBlood of cancer patientsAutoreactive B cellsB cell toleranceTreatment of cancer patientsSingle B cellsAntitumor responseCombination therapyFactors that increase class I MHC expression may contribute to the development of immune checkpoint inhibitor-induced diabetes
Aizenbud L, Gaiger N, Perdigoto A, Mann J, Torres M, Boland G, Lawless A, Silverman S, Schoenfeld D, Destina J, Hasson N, Tran T, Hurwitz M, Austin M, Sullivan R, Herold K, Kluger H. Factors that increase class I MHC expression may contribute to the development of immune checkpoint inhibitor-induced diabetes. Journal For ImmunoTherapy Of Cancer 2025, 13: e012358. PMID: 40935567, PMCID: PMC13059913, DOI: 10.1136/jitc-2025-012358.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsImmune-related adverse eventsImmune checkpoint inhibitorsICI-induced colitisICI-induced hypophysitisHLA-GNon-overlapping cohortsInterferon-gRisk of immune-related adverse eventsExpression of class I major histocompatibility complexClass I MHC expressionGeneral populationICI-treated patientsPeripheral blood mononuclear cellsMissense variantsInsulin-dependent diabetes mellitusSurvival of patientsCohort of patientsBlood mononuclear cellsClass I major histocompatibility complexGermline missense variantsClass I MHC moleculesMessenger RNA expressionCheckpoint inhibitorsThyroid patientsAdverse eventsHumoral determinants of checkpoint immunotherapy
Dai Y, Aizenbud L, Qin K, Austin M, Jaycox J, Cunningham J, Wang E, Zhang L, Fischer S, Carroll S, van Aggelen H, Kluger Y, Herold K, Furchtgott L, Kluger H, Ring A. Humoral determinants of checkpoint immunotherapy. Nature 2025, 644: 527-536. PMID: 40702172, DOI: 10.1038/s41586-025-09188-4.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsCheckpoint immunotherapyPreclinical mouse tumor modelsImmune-related adverse eventsIFN-IAntibody-mediated humoral immunityResponse to therapyTumor surface proteinMouse tumor modelsType I interferonIndividual autoantibodiesAutoantibody signaturesAdverse eventsAutoantibody responseCellular immunityTumor modelHumoral immunityAutoantibodiesOdds ratioIL-6Healthy control participantsHealthy individualsControl individualsI interferonPatientsGrowth factor
Clinical Trials
Current Trials
Impact of cancer immunotherapy on the kidneys
IRB ID2000033212RoleSub InvestigatorPrimary Completion Date07/31/2032Recruiting Participants
Clinical Care
Copy Link
Overview
Dr. Kluger is a medical oncologist who sees patients with melanoma and renal cell carcinoma. Her research interests focus on developing new drug regimens and biomarkers predictive of response to therapies in melanoma and renal cell carcinoma. She participates in a number of clinical trials studying new agents for the treatment of these diseases, both targeting the immune system and the cancer cell. She runs an active research laboratory that studies tumor and immune cells from patients treated with novel therapies to determine mechanisms of resistance to therapy and mediators of toxicity from immune checkpoint inhibitors. The laboratory also conducts pre-clinical studies to improve treatment regimens for patients with melanoma, renal cell carcinoma or brain metastasis.
Clinical Specialties
Fact Sheets
Merkel Cell Carcinoma (MCC)
Learn More on Yale MedicineMetastatic Cancer
Learn More on Yale MedicineMelanoma
Learn More on Yale MedicineSkin Cancer
Learn More on Yale Medicine
Yale Medicine News
Are You a Patient?
View this doctor's clinical profile on the Yale Medicine website for information about the services we offer and making an appointment.
View Doctor ProfileNews & Links
Copy Link
Media
News
- June 02, 2026
Yale Cancer Center Researchers and Trainees Present at 2026 ASCO Annual Meeting
- May 15, 2026
Yale Cancer Center Researchers Highlight Breakthroughs Across Cancer Care at ASCO 2026
- May 14, 2026
Why Does Melanoma Spread to the Brain? A Yale Team Is Chasing the Answer.
- May 04, 2026Source: Channel 3 Eyewitness News
Melanoma Monday: Skin cancer awareness
Get In Touch
Copy Link
Contacts
Administrative Support
Locations
Patient Care Locations
Are You a Patient? View this doctor's clinical profile on the Yale Medicine website for information about the services we offer and making an appointment.