Arlene Sharpe

Arlene Sharpe, MD, PhD, serves as the Kolokotrones University Professor at Harvard University and Chair of the Department of Immunology at Harvard Medical School, within the field of Medicine. She is also the George Fabyan Professor of Comparative Pathology and a member of the Department of Pathology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Sharpe received her A.B. degree from Harvard College, M.D. and Ph.D. from Harvard Medical School, and completed her residency in pathology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, becoming board certified in anatomic pathology. Her leadership roles extend to being an institute member at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, leader of the Cancer Immunology Program at the Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center, Vice Director of the Gene Lay Institute of Immunology and Inflammation at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Massachusetts General Hospital, and Harvard Medical School, and co-director of the Evergrande Center for Immunologic Diseases at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital.

The research in the Sharpe laboratory centers on T cell costimulatory pathways and their immunoregulatory functions, particularly the roles of these pathways in T cell tolerance, antimicrobial immunity, and antitumor responses. Her work has elucidated the immune-inhibitory mechanisms of CTLA-4 and PD-1 pathways, contributing critically to the development of cancer immunotherapies. Author of over 400 publications, notable papers include “A STUB1–CHIC2 complex inhibits CD8+ T cells to restrain tumor immunity” in Nature Immunology (2025), “The B7:CD28 family and friends: Unraveling coinhibitory interactions” in Immunity (2024), “Regulatory T cells in dominant immunologic tolerance” in Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (2024), and “B-cell-specific checkpoint molecules that regulate anti-tumour immunity” in Nature (2023). Sharpe has been honored with awards such as the 2024 Harrington Prize for Innovation in Medicine, 2024 David and Beatrix Hamburg Award from the National Academy of Medicine, 2025 Excellence in Immunology Award from the International Union of Immunological Societies, 2017 Warren Alpert Foundation Prize, 2014 William B. Coley Award for Tumor Immunology, and designation as a Highly Cited Researcher (top 1%) from 2014 to 2023. An elected member of the National Academy of Sciences and National Academy of Medicine, she previously served as President of the American Association of Immunologists (2016-2017).

Professional Email: arlene_sharpe@hms.harvard.edu