Dr. Kaufman's research has focused on the development of oncolytic viruses and immunotherapy for the treatment of melanoma and other types of cutaneous malignancies. His lab has contributed to understanding how viruses induce immunogenic cell death and initiate host anti-tumor immunity. He led the first randomized phase III clinical trial of an oncolytic herpes simplex type 1 (HSV-1) virus encoding GM-CSF in patients with advanced melanoma, which resulted in FDA approval of the first oncolytic virus in cancer. He also helped establish the role of anti-PD-L1 treatment for patients with advanced Merkel cell carcinoma. He continues to focus on how to integrate oncolytic viruses into combination immunotherapy regimens to enhance systemic immunity and improve therapeutic responses in patients with cancer.