She has been instrumental in the clinical development of multiple immunotherapeutic agents and immunotherapeutic combinations, from first-in-human studies through phase 3 clinical trials. She led the bladder cancer study of avelumab that resulted in FDA approval in advanced bladder cancer. She also leads multiple rationally designed, cutting-edge targeted therapy and immunotherapy combination studies in bladder cancer and rare genitourinary tumors.
Dr. Apolo serves on many national and National Institutes of Health committees. She has been an investigator on more than 35 clinical trials, authored over 80 scientific papers or chapters which have been cited over 1,800 times, serves on a number of editorial boards, and has made over 100 scientific presentations at universities and national/international meetings. She has received multiple awards, including the 2011 National Institutes of Health Award of Merit, the 2014 Lasker Clinical Research Scholars Program Award, the 2018 National Cancer Institute’s Director’s Award for Clinical Science, the 2018 Advancing Cancer Treatment Award for leadership in genitourinary clinical trial patient access, and the 2020 Arthur S. Flemming Award for leaders who make an impact in public service. She received tenure from NIH in 2021.