Speakers

Dr. Jason Acker is a seasoned professional in the field of biopreservation and cell therapy, currently serving as the Senior Director at PanTHERA CryoSolutions Inc, a BioLife Solutions company. With over 25 years of experience in the industry, Dr. Acker has a proven track record of driving...

Jamie Almeida is a Biologist in the Biosystems and Biomaterials Division at NIST. Her work focuses on developing standards to improve measurement accuracy and diagnostic reliability in healthcare. Jamie currently co-leads the Gene Delivery Systems Working Group within the Flow Cytometry Standards...

Driven by a personal mission to find a treatment for retinitis pigmentosa, Sulagna Bhattacharya co-founded Nanoscope Therapeutics and serves as CEO. She leads a diverse team working to restore sight for millions with inherited retinal diseases that currently have no cure. A serial...

Kimberly Burlison leads the North America Market Access function at Orchard Therapeutics, where she is responsible for U.S. access strategy for Lenmeldy, a first-in-class gene therapy for metachromatic leukodystrophy, a rare and life-threatening pediatric disease. She brings deep expertise in payer ...

Frederic Bushman is the W. M. Measey Professor and Chair of Microbiology at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Bushman received his bachelor’s degree from Amherst College, and his PhD from Harvard University. His research centers on genomics of human gene...

Dr. Daniel Cohen leads the Vector Engineering, Genomics, and Computational Biology team at the Roche Innovation Center - Philadelphia. His team leads technology innovation efforts in payload designs for AAVs, application of next generation sequencing and bioinformatics approaches to developing...

Greg serves as VP, Distinguished Scientific Fellow, supporting Addition’s scientific innovation and long-term R&D vision. With deep expertise in molecular biology and gene editing, he brings more than two decades of experience leading high-impact scientific programs across the biotechnology...

TJ Cradick has been at the forefront of Gene Editing for >20 years. In 2000, TJ Cradick started in Zinc Finger design and selection at Sangamo Biosciences. This was followed by work on Zinc Finger Nucleases. At the University of Iowa, TJ designed the first nuclease that specifically cleaved the...

Robert O. (Bob) Dillman, M.D., is a Clinical Professor of Medicine at the University of California, Irvine, and since 2016 has been the Chief Medical Officer for AIVITA Biomedical Inc., Irvine, CA. Dr. Dillman received a B.A. from Stanford, M.D., internal medicine training, and Chief Resident...

George Eastwood is the Executive Director of the Emily Whitehead Foundation, an organization created by the Whitehead family after their daughter Emily became the first pediatric patient to receive CAR-T cell therapy. Under his leadership, the foundation is focused on expanding access to advanced...

Immediate Past President and Board of Directors member of the International Society of Cell and Gene Therapy (ISCT) from June 2026. Previously President ISCT 2024 to 2026. Chief Commercialization Officer and Chair of the ISCT Commercialization Committee (2014-2020). CEO and Co-Founder of Kiji...

Dr. Hanley is the Chief and Director of the Cellular Therapy Program and an associate professor of pediatrics at Children’s National Hospital and George Washington University, respectively. He oversees processing for standard of care stem cell transplantation as well as the...

Amy House is Vice President of Corporate Development and Communications at Beacon Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biotechnology company advancing gene therapies for ocular diseases. She brings over 20 years of experience across healthcare and the life sciences spanning industry, academia, and...

Mr. Huang joined Ultragenyx in May 2015 and is responsible for leading global technical and pharmaceutical development, manufacturing and supply chain functions covering broad technical modalities including small molecules, recombinant proteins, nucleic acid medicines, and AAV gene therapy. This...

Margareth Jorvid – MSc Pharm, MSc MTRA, MBA, FTOPRA Methra Uppsala AB CEO, Regulatory Affairs & Quality Assurance Margareth Jorvid has over 30 years of experience in Regulatory Affairs and has worked at the Swedish Medical Products Agency (MPA) as well as large and small pharmaceutical and...

Christopher Juenger is Director of Regulatory Science, Policy, and Intelligence – North America Lead for CSL. In this role, he shapes regulatory policy through strategic engagement with external and internal stakeholders aligned with CSL’s portfolio of biotherapeutics for rare and serious...

Angela Justice is an executive coach to biopharma leaders and a former biopharma operator and Chief People Officer with more than 20 years of industry experience. She is known for helping senior leaders expand their influence, lead across functions and succeed at critical inflection points.

Dr. Stephan Kadauke is a physician-scientist whose work centers on translating cell and gene therapy platforms from early feasibility and risk assessment into first-in-human clinical implementation. He is Co-Director of the Cell Based Therapy Laboratory at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, where ...

Lavakumar (Kumar) Karyampudi is Senior Director, Cell Therapies at Moffitt Cancer Center. He joined Moffitt Cancer Center in September of 2021. At the Moffitt Cell Therapies Facility, Kumar is responsible for the complete oversight of all technical staff activities, manufacturing, and compliance...

Manolis Kellis is a Professor of Computer Science at MIT, a member of the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, and a member of the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab at MIT where he directs the MIT Computational Biology Group (compbio.mit.edu). His research is in disease...

Biotechnology executive with 20 years of experience driving innovation, regulatory success, and commercialization of advanced therapies. Proven track record leading global CMC, MSAT, and GMP operations across cell therapy, viral vectors, and biologics. Recognized for building high-performing...

Dr. Richard Koya, MD, PhD, is  Professor, University of Chicago School of Medicine, Biological Sciences Division, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, and the Director of the cGMP Vector Development & Production at University of Chicago Comprehensive Cancer Center. He has more than 25 years ...

Dr. Stephan Krause is the Executive Director, Analytical Strategy, Cell Therapy Global Quality at Bristol Myers Squibb.  Stephan stands out as a recognized industry leader, particularly for his efforts in advancing best practices to support enhanced and accelerated product development. Throughout...

Edward Kwee develops measurement solutions and standards to advance the evaluation of gene delivery systems. His work focuses on improving the reproducibility of cell-based assays and developing novel light-scattering methods to characterize gene delivery particles. By correlating particle...

Roy Levitt is a Clinical Professor, Vice Chairmant of the Department of Anesthesiology, and Director at the UHealth Institute for Advanced Pain Management at the University of Miami. He specializes in interventional pain management and has a strong focus on advancing novel therapeutic approaches...

Kok-Seong Lim, BPharm, PhD, RAC, is a pharmaceutical leader with over 20 years of experience in biological research and development, specializing in analytical sciences, quality control, and CMC strategy for advanced therapy platforms. He has held management roles at Metagenomi, Aura...

Craig T. Martin is a Professor of Chemistry at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where he has led innovative research aimed at understanding structure and mechanism in T7 RNA polymerase, the enzyme widely used for RNA synthesis and manufacturing. With a Ph.D. in Chemistry and over 35 years...

Chris Mason MD, PhD, FRSB, FRCS, FMedSci Chris is a leading international expert in cell and gene therapy with over 30 years of experience spanning R&D (including AI/ML), clinical medicine, regulation, manufacturing, reimbursement, and commercialization. He is Full Professor of Cell and Gene...

Dr. Mukesh Mayani is a Senior Director in Global CMC Development at Ultragenyx (Woburn, MA, USA) bringing over 18 years of biopharmaceutical CMC development experience across LVV, AAV, RNA vaccines, and mAb platforms. In his current role, Dr. Mayani leads purification development teams and provides ...

Monica Michail an Oncology/Hematology Research Pharmacist with expertise in Phase I–III clinical trials, cellular therapies, and investigational oncology programs. Her work focuses on translating complex protocols into clinical practice, supporting novel therapeutic modalities including CAR-T, NK...

Biotechnology executive with twenty years of experience transforming early scientific innovation into venture-backed, clinical-stage companies and exit-ready assets. Proven operator and strategic partner to CEOs and Boards, with deep expertise spanning company formation, capital...

Dedicated to transforming scientific discoveries into life-changing therapies, Dr. Samarendra Mohanty co-founded Nanoscope Therapeutics and serves as President and Chief Scientific Officer. With over 20 years of experience in biomedical sciences, Dr. Mohanty has co-founded several biotech and...

Visionary and charismatic biotech executive with over 28 years of experience spanning commercial strategy, drug development, and product lifecycle management. Raphaël has held key global and regional leadership roles at top-tier pharmaceutical companies including Novartis Oncology, Celgene, and...

Dr. Federico Perdomo-Celis is Co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer of CellRep. An MD with a PhD in Immunology and postdoctoral training at Institut Pasteur (Paris), he has more than ten years of research in T cell biology, where he pioneered the discovery that dysfunctional CD8+ T cells can be...

Strategic Regulatory CMC Leader with extensive expertise in Cell & Gene Therapies (CGT), biologics, and tissue engineering. Proven track record of navigating the transition from early-phase development to commercial lifecycle management. Expert at authoring robust BLA/MAA/IND submissions and...

Brock Reeve is the CEO and Co-Founder of Eos BioInnovation, an early-stage investment company focused on the regenerative medicine field. Eos is dedicated to incubating and seeding companies across modalities and indications based on research from leading academic labs. Prior to forming Eos in...

Natalia Rivera-Torres, Ph.D., is the Associate Director of Pre-Clinical Development at the ChristianaCare Gene Editing Institute. Her research has significantly advanced the understanding of gene repair mechanisms in human cells and how these processes vary across different patient...

Dr. Blaine Robinson joined Blood Cancer United in 2011 and was promoted in January 2025 to Vice President of the Therapy Acceleration Program (TAP), the venture philanthropy initiative aiming to accelerate high-risk, innovative blood cancer therapeutics. He works closely with the entire Research...

Art Sagoskin MD is a Reproductive Endocrinologist and is an innovator, team-player, scientist, change-maker, and pioneer. For over four decades.Currently, he is involved with the Mygogenesis LLC and Amebogenesis companies and he has been part of the team promoting and researching the use of stem...

Amber Salzman, Ph.D., is CEO of Epicrispr Biotechnologies, a biotechnology company developing epigenetic therapies. Dr. Salzman brings more than three decades of leadership experience in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries, including building and scaling multiple therapeutic platforms...

Dr. Rachel Salzman is Chief Executive Officer at Armatus Bio, a privately held preclinical stage biotech focusing on precision therapies for genetic neuromuscular disorders. For over 20 years, Dr. Salzman has provided drug development expertise in the rare disease space where complex biological and ...

Justin is the Vice President of Technical Operations at Caribou Biosciences which is a leading clinical-stage CRISPR genome-editing biopharmaceutical company advancing a pipeline of off-the-shelf CAR-T therapies for the treatment of patients with hematologic malignancies. He is responsible for...

Dr. Devyn Smith brings significant cell and gene therapy development and platform expertise from his 20+ year career. Devyn joined Arbor Biotechnologies as Chief Executive Officer on April 27, 2021 after concluding his role as Chief Operating Officer of Sigilon Therapeutics. Prior to...

Andrew Steinsapir is the Acting Chief Technology Officer of Apertura Gene Therapy and a Director, Gene Therapy Program Lead of Deerfield Management’s Discovery and Development team. Prior to Deerfield, Mr. Steinsapir was a Consultant for over three years at Dark Horse Consulting Group, where he...

Swami Subramanian is a globally recognized market access and pricing executive with more than 25 years of leadership experience shaping reimbursement, pricing, and commercialization strategies across oncology, rare diseases, vaccines, cell therapy, and gene therapy. Throughout his career, he has...

John Tomtishen is a cell therapy industry veteran and recognized CMC leader within biopharmaceutical manufacturing having served in diverse business and technical roles throughout his career. John is currently the Global Head Cell Therapy, Field Application Scientists and Strategic Alliances at...

Development and manufacturing are where strategy is realized. Nelly Viseux is a biotechnology executive at Regeneron Pharmaceuticals leading cell therapy development, manufacturing, and CMC strategy. She has built and scaled internal capabilities enabling rapid IND readiness and reliable cGMP...

Dr. Zhang is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School. Dr. Zhang’s work has elucidated the formation of cytotoxic CD4+ T cells, particularly on the role of the CD70/CD27 and OX40L/OX40 costimulatory pathways in this process. Building on these ...