Shane Mayak

Shane Mayak is a biologist and founder of Ligo Project, a non-profit focused on connecting science to art, culture, and community. She studies the immune system, biological microenvironments, and how cells communicate with each other and their surroundings. Her main interest is in learning how immune cells and the biological processes and structures that control them can go awry in diseases such as cancer. At Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Mayak oversees collaborative research and clinical projects that aim to better understand and treat the different types of cancers that can affect the immune cells in your blood, like leukemia and lymphoma. She is passionate about creating a more open and dynamic dialogue with the public around science and committed to the idea that tapping into both scientific and artistic approaches helps us become better innovators and problem solvers.