Javier Gordon Ogembo, Ph.D.

626-256-4673
Javier Gordon Ogembo, Ph.D.
Professor, Department of Immuno-Oncology
Research Area
  • Understanding the Biology of Oncogenic Viruses and Their Entry and Replication Mechanisms, Particularly of Oncogenic Herpesviruses, with An Aim to Develop Virus-specific Strategies to Prevent or Treat Infection and Virus-associated Cancers.
Academic Appointments
  • Director, City of Hope Global Oncology & Diabetes Initiative
  • Professor, Department of Immuno-Oncology
Research Teams
Immuno-Oncology

Javier Gordon Ogembo, Ph.D., earned his Ph.D. from Nagoya University, Japan, and completed postdoctoral training at Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts. He is Professor in the Department of Immuno-Oncology and Director of the City of Hope Global Oncology & Diabetes Initiative.

Dr. Ogembo's research focuses on understanding oncogenic viruses, particularly Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and Kaposi sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) and translating fundamental discoveries into strategies for disease prevention and treatment. His laboratory investigates viral entry, persistence, immune evasion and virus-host interactions while developing vaccines, immunotherapies and diagnostic tools against virus-associated diseases and cancers.

His research also extends to cancer prevention and global oncology, with efforts focused on understanding the burden of oncogenic viruses across populations and expanding access to screening and early detection strategies for virus-associated cancers.
 

 

Areas of Research

  • Development of prophylactic and therapeutic vaccines against oncogenic gamma-herpesviruses
  • Development and characterization of monoclonal antibodies and antibody-based immunotherapies
  • Structural studies of viral glycoproteins, vaccine antigens and antibody interactions
  • Viral entry, persistence, immune evasion, pathogenesis and virus-host interactions
  • Development and application of experimental and preclinical models of gamma-herpesvirus infection
  • Development and validation of diagnostic tools for oncogenic viruses
  • Cancer prevention, screening and global oncology

Location

Education & Experience

Degrees

  • 2008, Ph.D., Virology and Biotechnology, Nagoya University, Nagoya, Aichi, Japan
  • 2002, M.Sc., Tropical Entomology, University of Zimbabwe, Harare
  • 1999, B.Sc., Horticulture, Egerton University, Nairobi, Kenya

Professional Experience

  • 2024-present, Professor, Department of Immuno-Oncology, Beckman Research Institute of City of Hope, Duarte, CA
  • 2020-2024, Associate Professor, Department of Immuno-Oncology, Beckman Research Institute of City of Hope, Duarte, CA
  • 2018-2020, Assistant Professor, Department of Immuno-Oncology, Beckman Research Institute of City of Hope, Duarte, CA
  • 2016-2018, Assistant Professor, Department of Experimental Therapeutics, Beckman Research Institute of City of Hope, Duarte, CA
  • 2013-2016, Assistant Professor, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA
  • 2011-2014, Adjunct professor, Emerson College, Boston, MA
  • 2010-2013, Adjunct Professor, Northeastern University, Boston, MA
  • 2008-2012, Teaching Assistant, Harvard Medical School, Boston, CA
  • 2008-2012, Postdoctoral Fellow, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
  • 2005-2008, Teaching Assistant, Nagoya University, Nagoya, Japan
  • 2003-2004, Teaching Assistant, Cell and Molecular Virology, University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
  • 2001-2002, Visiting Scientist, Horticulture Research International, Wellesbourne, United Kingdom
  • 1999-2001, Research Assistant, International Center of Insect Physiology and Ecology, Nairobi

Research

Dr. Ogembo's research is focused on several aspects of host pathogen interactions, with specific focus on the mechanisms by which oncogenic viruses [Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), Kaposi sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) and human papillomavirus (HPV)] bypass cellular barriers and host immune responses, a critical step required for the development of effective vaccines.

Over the years, Dr. Ogembo's work resulted in the development of novel virus-like particles (VLP)-based polyvalent candidate vaccines comprised of EBV nuclear antigen 1 (EBNA1), latent membrane protein 2 (cancer biomarkers), and several viral glycoproteins capable of inducing high neutralizing antibody titers and protective T-cell responses in mouse models. We are currently extending this work into the development of prophylactic and therapeutic vaccines against KSHV and HPV associated cancers.

Awards & Memberships

Awards

  • 2009-2012, Irvington Postdoctoral Fellow, Cancer Research Institute
  • 2008-2009, Postdoctoral Fellowship, NIH-Harvard Medical School
  • 2004-2008, Japanese Government Scholar, Monbukagusho
  • 2003-2004, Innovation Research Fund Fellow, Witwatersrand University
  • 2002-2002, Research Scholar, Horticulture Research International
  • 2001-2002, African Regional Postgraduate Program in Insect Science, ICIPE
  • 1995-1999, Kenya Government Scholar, The Government of Republic of Kenya

Memberships

  • American Association for the Advancement of Science
  • American Association for Cancer Research
  • The American Society of Virology
  • American Association of Immunology
  • American Society of Microbiology
  • The Japanese Society of Sericultural Science
  • The African Association of Insect Scientists
  • African Regional Postgraduate Programme of Insect Scientist
  • Feedforth
  • Sambaza Group
  • The World Mind Networks

Publications

  • Kotey EN, Sharma P, Rodriguez E, Gonzalez-Dahua JP, Tello BA, Reidel IG, Escalante GM, Zhao Y, Wu X, Kincaid RP, Chen Y, Skalsky RL, Mutsvunguma LZ, Ogembo JG. A newly developed eGFP-traceable recombinant rhesus lymphocryptovirus, a tool to study viral infection and replication in vitro and ex vivo, confirms gp350 as key for viral entry. J Virol. 2026;100. doi: 10.1128/jvi.00537-26. PMID: 42274213.
  • Escalante GM, Reidel IG, Mühe J, Wang F, Ogembo JG. Non-human primate lymphocryptoviruses: Past, present, and future. Curr Top Microbiol Immunol. Published online July 13, 2025. doi: 10.1007/82_2025_313. PMID: 40652103.
  • Cua S, Tello BA, Farelo MA, Rodriguez E, Escalante GM, Mutsvunguma LZ, Ogembo JG, Reidel IG. A novel monoclonal antibody against a modified vaccinia Ankara (MVA) envelope protein as a tool for MVA virus titration by flow cytometry. Viruses. 2024;16(10):1628. doi: 10.3390/v16101628. PMID: 39459960.
  • Escalante GM, Reidel IG, Mutsvunguma LZ, Cua S, Tello BA, Rodriguez E, Farelo MA, Zimmerman C, Muniraju M, Li H, Govindan AN, Axthelm MK, Wong SW, Ogembo JG. Multivalent MVA-vectored vaccine elicits EBV neutralizing antibodies in rhesus macaques that reduce EBV infection in humanized mice. Front Immunol. 2024;15:1445209. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2024.1445209. PMID: 39346922.
  • Muniraju M, Mutsvunguma LZ, Reidel IG, Escalante GM, Cua S, Musonda W, Calero-Landa J, Farelo MA, Rodriguez E, Li Z, Ogembo JG. Kaposi sarcoma-associated herpesvirus complement control protein (KCP) and glycoprotein K8.1 are not required for viral infection in vitro or in vivo. J Virol. 2024;98(6). doi: 10.1128/jvi.00576-24. PMID: 38767375.
  • Escalante GM, Mutsvunguma LZ, Muniraju M, Rodriguez E, Ogembo JG. Four decades of prophylactic EBV vaccine research: A systematic review and historical perspective. Front Immunol. 2022;13:867918. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.867918. PMID: 35493498.
  • Warden CD, Cholli P, Qin H, Guo C, Wang Y, Kancharla C, Russell AM, Salvatierra S, Mutsvunguma LZ, Higa KK, Wu X, Wilczynski S, Pillai R, Ogembo JG. HPV genotyping by L1 amplicon sequencing of archived invasive cervical cancer samples: A pilot study. Infect Agent Cancer. 2022;17(1):44. doi: 10.1186/s13027-022-00456-w. PMID: 35945577.
  • Escalante GM, Foley J, Mutsvunguma LZ, Rodriguez E, Mulama DH, Muniraju M, Ye P, Barasa AK, Ogembo JG. A pentavalent Epstein-Barr virus-like particle vaccine elicits high titers of neutralizing antibodies against Epstein-Barr virus infection in immunized rabbits. Vaccines (Basel). 2020;8(2):169. doi: 10.3390/vaccines8020169. PMID: 32268575.
  • Mutsvunguma LZ, Rodriguez E, Escalante GM, Muniraju M, Williams JC, Warden C, Qin H, Wang J, Wu X, Barasa A, Mulama DH, Mwangi W, Ogembo JG. Identification of multiple potent neutralizing and non-neutralizing antibodies against Epstein-Barr virus gp350 protein with potential for clinical application and as reagents for mapping immunodominant epitopes. Virology. 2019;536:1-15. doi: 10.1016/j.virol.2019.07.026. PMID: 31377598.
  • Muniraju M, Mutsvunguma LZ, Foley J, Escalante GM, Rodriguez E, Nabiee R, Totonchy J, Mulama DH, Nyagol J, Wussow F, Barasa AK, Brehm M, Ogembo JG. Kaposi sarcoma-associated herpesvirus glycoprotein H is indispensable for infection of epithelial, endothelial, and fibroblast cell types. J Virol. 2019;93(16). doi: 10.1128/JVI.00630-19. PMID: 31142670.
  • Mulama DH, Mutsvunguma LZ, Totonchy J, Ye P, Foley J, Escalante GM, Rodriguez E, Nabiee R, Muniraju M, Wussow F, Barasa AK, Ogembo JG. A multivalent Kaposi sarcoma-associated herpesvirus-like particle vaccine capable of eliciting high titers of neutralizing antibodies in immunized rabbits. Vaccine. 2019;37(30):4184-4194. doi: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2019.04.071. PMID: 31201053.
  • Cholli P, Bradford L, Manga S, Nulah K, Kiyang E, Manjuh F, DeGregorio G, Ogembo RK, Orock E, Liu Y, Wamai RG, Sheldon LK, Gona PN, Sando Z, Welty T, Welty E, Ogembo JG. Screening for cervical cancer among HIV-positive and HIV-negative women in Cameroon using simultaneous co-testing with careHPV DNA testing and visual inspection enhanced by digital cervicography: Findings of initial screening and one-year follow-up. Gynecol Oncol. 2018;148(1):118-125. doi: 10.1016/j.ygyno.2017.11.002. PMID: 29153541.

For the complete and most up-to-date list of publications, please visit Dr. Ogembo’s PubMed profile.