Meet the 2025-2026 Pediatric Oncology Fellow Jennifer Schloss, MD, PhD

Jennifer Schloss, MD, PhD | Kristen Ann Carr Fund Pediatric Oncology Fellow

Jennifer Schloss, MD, PhD, was inspired to go into medicine, specifically oncology, following the diagnoses of multiple family members with tumors. Motivated to help families facing similar challenges, Dr. Schloss is committed to both clinical care and research aimed at developing new therapies. In addition to receiving her medical degree, Dr. Schloss also earned a PhD in immunology, a field that has so much to offer for the treatment of cancer. She now specializes in pediatrics, inspired by the resilience of children and their families and by the opportunity to make a lasting impact on their lives. Although cancer treatments for children have advanced significantly, Dr. Schloss recognizes that much work remains, especially in the area of pediatric sarcomas. She believes her expertise in immunology can make a meaningful contribution to developing new, more effective therapies.

Current Research

Dr. Schloss’s research focuses on pediatric sarcomas, including soft tissue and bone cancers, which represent about 20% of childhood cancers. In contrast to the progress made for most childhood leukemias, sarcoma cure rates are often very poor. She is investigating how the immune system functions in several different types of pediatric sarcoma, and how immune dysfunction allows these cancers to progress. Dr. Schloss is looking at this problem from two perspectives: First, by examining how different components of the immune system change depending on the location of a tumor and before and after treatment; this work focuses on the very rare cancer desmoplastic small round cell tumor (DSRCT). The second is by investigating how the immune system recognizes, or fails to recognize, particular proteins called fusion oncoproteins, which are the drivers of many pediatric sarcomas, including Ewing sarcoma, rhabdomyosarcoma, synovial sarcoma and DSRCT. Her goal is to use the results of this work to develop new therapies that harness the immune system for the treatment of these challenging cancers.