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Binder Lab
Zev Binder, MD, PhD
Research Assistant Professor, Department of Neurosurgery
Dr. Binder is a Research Assistant Professor, working with Dr. O'Rourke since 2015. He received a B.S. degree in Biochemistry from the University of California at Davis, an M.D. from Pennsylvania State University, and a Ph.D. in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering from Johns Hopkins University. Dr. Binder's research focuses on translational GBM research with an emphasis on immuno-oncology. He also works on GBM model development, characterization, and incorporation into the ongoing research. In his spare time, Dr. Binder enjoys playing with his two young daughters and making anything involving chocolate.
Research Interest
Dr. Zev Binder, MD, PhD, works with Dr. O'Rourke to run the Binder/O’Rourke lab and the Glioblastoma Translational Center of Excellence. Dr. Binder's research focuses on translational GBM research with an emphasis on immuno-oncology. The Binder/O’Rourke group has developed novel CAR-based approaches to treating GBM. In addition to the first-in-human bivalent CAR construct for GBM (Nat Med 2024, Nat Med 2025), targeting EGFR and IL13Ra2 simultaneously, they have generated a trivalent construct, incorporating an armoring element (Mol Ther 2024). As these new therapies are incorporated into clinical trials, Dr. Binder conducts the associated correlative studies, working with a broad group of collaborators to utilize patient samples as they gain a better understanding of the response to therapy (Cell 2026). He also works on GBM model development, characterization, and incorporation into his ongoing research (Cell 2020, Cell Stem Cell 2025).
The Binder/O'Rourke Laboratory
Contact
Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania
3400 Civic Center Blvd
Perelman South 8-315
Philadelphia, PA 19104
binderz@pennmedicine.upenn.edu