Shannon Turley

Shannon Jennifer Turley is an American biologist who is an Immunology Fellow at Genentech.^[1] She develops immunotherapies for inflammatory diseases and cancers. She was elected member of the National Academy of Sciences in 2025.^[2]

Turley was born and raised in Chicago.^[3] She spent a summer at the Shedd Aquarium, where she took part in a research cruise off the Florida Keys. She said that she fell in love with the idea of being a scientist.^[3] Her journey into science began at the University of California, San Diego, where she specialized in human biology and completed a placement at Scripps Research working with Jonathan Sprent.^[3] Whilst working as a technician at Scripps, Turley published her first paper on mouse ribosomal proteins at the age of 22.^[4] She was a doctoral student at Yale University, where she worked on dendritic cells with Ira Mellman.^[5][6]

Turley spent a year teaching at Bowdoin College, but despite enjoying teaching, missed basic research.^[3] Turley joined the Joslin Diabetes Center for her postdoctoral research.^[3] In 2004, Turley was appointed an Assistant Professor of Pathology at the Harvard Medical School.^[7] She held a joint position with the Dana–Farber Cancer Institute, where she studied how immune responses were initiated.^[7] She was promoted to Associate Professor in 2010, and specialized in stromal immunobiology.^[8] She spent ten years at the Dana–Farber Cancer Institute before joining Genentech, having decided to develop immunotherapy that improves patient outcomes.^[3] In 2017, she was awarded the Cancer Research Institute Frederick W. Alt Award.^[9] Turley has described a new pathway to create tissue-specific tolerance by the presentation of ectopic antigens on lymph node stromal cells.^[10]

At Genentech, Turley created a discovery program dedicated to the tumor microenvironment. She is particularly interested in the development of immunotherapies for patients with advanced cancers and inflammatory diseases.^[8] Her research has transformed understanding of the cancer-immunity cycle, explaining the sequence through which tumors develop and exploring opportunities to develop targeted therapies.^[3] The process begins with the release of cancer cell antigens due to cancer cell death. These antigens are then presented by dendritic cells or other antigen-presenting cells (APCs). This presentation leads to the priming and activation of APCs and T lymphocytes. Cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) travel to the tumor sites, where they infiltrate the tumours and surrounding stroma. The T lymphocytes then recognize the tumor cells and ultimately kill them through immune cell activity. The immunotypes of different tumors are critical in modulating the T cell response. She has investigated the function of podoplanin in cancer.^[11]

• Sanjeev Mariathasan; ; Dorothee Nickles; et al. (14 February 2018). "TGFβ attenuates tumour response to PD-L1 blockade by contributing to exclusion of T cells". Nature. 554 (7693): 544–548. doi:10.1038/NATURE25501. ISSN 1476-4687. PMC 6028240. PMID 29443960. Wikidata Q50001757.
• Mark S Anderson; Emily S Venanzi; Ludger Klein; et al. (15 November 2002). "Projection of an immunological self shadow within the thymus by the aire protein". Science. 298 (5597): 1395–401. doi:10.1126/SCIENCE.1075958. ISSN 0036-8075. PMID 12376594. Wikidata Q28207164.
• Emmanuel L Gautier; Tal Shay; Jennifer Miller; et al. (30 September 2012). "Gene-expression profiles and transcriptional regulatory pathways that underlie the identity and diversity of mouse tissue macrophages". Nature Immunology. 13 (11): 1118–1128. doi:10.1038/NI.2419. ISSN 1529-2908. PMC 3558276. PMID 23023392. Wikidata Q29620142.

Turley was awarded membership of the National Academy of Sciences in 2025.^[2]