Team Profile

K&L Gates has been a significant contributor to the Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center (“Georgetown Lombardi”) for many years, including from the firm supported efforts of Cliff Alexander for the Men’s Event at Georgetown Lombardi, which raises money for prostate cancer, and David Forney’s participation in the annual BellRinger bike ride, which raises money for the full spectrum of cancer research at Georgetown Lombardi. This year, K&L Gates has formally established its own team to participate in BellRinger, as actual Riders, Virtual Riders, volunteers, and donors.

K&L Gates’ DC office acknowledges that many of its professionals around the country have other opportunities to contribute to cancer research. But Georgetown Lombardi is a national front-row contributor to cancer research. Collaborating with the NIH right up the road, Georgetown Lombardi was designated by the National Cancer Institute as a “comprehensive cancer center” in 1974. Of the 1,500 cancer programs in the U.S., only 51 are NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers. Georgetown Lombardi piloted the use of immunotherapy in stage III and IV melanoma patients. Research concluding in 2023 showed that this practice resulted in a 20% increase in two-year survival of these patients and established immunotherapy as the preferred treatment approach for the vast majority of patients with advanced melanoma. Georgetown Lombardi developed the HPV vaccine, heralded as the first “cancer vaccine” in the world. The vaccine's technology was generated by a team of Georgetown University researchers in the early 1990s and licensed for commercial development. The National Capital Area Minority/Underserved National Cancer Institute Community Oncology Research Program is based at Georgetown Lombardi. It is one of only 14 sites across the U.S. that aims to bring cancer clinical trials and cancer care delivery studies to people living in underserved areas.