Our Vision

We aspire to cure cancer, for everyone

Our Mission

Push the limits and deliver on the promise of immune cell therapies to empower patients to live to the fullest

#MakeAnImmPACT

Our Values

Inclusion

Embracing different backgrounds and perspectives with compassion

Integrity

Devoted to being data-driven

Ingenuity

Cultivating a courageous and innovative team

Passion

Committed to putting patients first

Excellence

Continuously strive to make an impact in the work that we do

Meet our Team

Leadership Team

President & CEO

Sumant Ramachandra, M.D., Ph.D

Sumant Ramachandra, M.D., Ph.D

President & CEO

Prior to joining ImmPACT in November 2021, Dr. Ramachandra was most recently Chief Science, Technology and Medical Officer for Baxter International since June 2017. In addition to these responsibilities, he was appointed President of Baxter Pharmaceuticals in mid-2019 and was appointed as Baxter’s Chair for the Global Inclusion Council focused on inclusion and diversity. Previous to Baxter, he worked with Pfizer, most recently as Senior Vice President, Head of Research & Development, Pfizer Essential Health. He served as Chief Scientific Officer at Hospira from 2008 to 2015 prior to Pfizer’s acquisition of Hospira in 2015. Earlier in his career, Sumant worked with Pfizer and Merck & Co. in various senior-level oncology global product development, medical affairs and business development & licensing roles and as a clinical pharmacologist. Before entering the industry in 2000, he was an intern and resident physician, medical services, at Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School.

Dr. Ramachandra completed his undergraduate degree in biochemistry, graduate degree (Ph.D.) in experimental pathology in the study of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and his medical degree (M.D.) at Rutgers University. In addition, he earned his M.B.A. at Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

Head, FP&A

Emily Arsenault, CPA, MBA

Emily Arsenault, CPA, MBA

Head, FP&A

Emily Arsenault, CPA, MBA, joined ImmPACT Bio in March 2022 and serves as Vice President of Finance. Emily has spent the majority of her career supporting early and growth stage life sciences companies, most recently as Executive Director, Head of Finance and Operations at Plexium in San Diego, CA. Previously she served as Director, Finance and Controller at Mirati Therapeutics (NASDAQ: MRTX), a publicly traded oncology company based in San Diego, CA. Emily received her Bachelor of Arts and Master of Business degrees from San Diego State University and is a Certified Public Accountant in the state of California.

Chief Medical Officer

Jonathan Benjamin, M.D., Ph.D

Jonathan Benjamin, M.D., Ph.D

Chief Medical Officer

Jonathan Benjamin is a hematologist, oncologist, and immunologist. Prior to joining ImmPACT in September 2022 as CMO, Dr. Benjamin was Senior Vice President for Clinical Research at Atreca where he directed sample acquisition efforts to support drug discovery, built the clinical development organization, and led development of its first clinical-stage asset. Previously, he was Medical Director at Amgen to work on the development and global registration of the bispecific T-cell engager (BiTE®) Blincyto® for B-cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. Before entering the biotechnology industry, he was assistant professor and attending physician in the Division of Blood and Marrow Transplantation at Stanford University.

Dr. Benjamin received his bachelor degree from Harvard College and M.D and Ph.D degrees from New York University. He completed his postgraduate training at the University of California San Francisco.

Group Head, Research

Jenny Cui, M.D., Ph.D

Jenny Cui, M.D., Ph.D

Group Head, Research

Jenny Cui, M.D., Ph.D. joined ImmPACT Bio in April 2021 and serves as Principal Scientist in Research and Development. She holds a M.D. degree from Geisel School of Medicine and a Ph.D. degree in Biomedical Engineering from Yale University. Prior to joining ImmPACT, she worked as a Scientist at A2 Biotherapeutics and PACT Pharma on T cell therapies.

Head, Protein Science

Orit Foord, Ph.D

Orit Foord, Ph.D

Head, Protein Science

Orit Foord, Ph.D joined ImmPACT Bio as Senior Director of Protein Science in January 2020. Orit brings over 20 years of experience in the biotech industry providing overall strategic, scientific, and technical leadership in antibody lead identification and optimization. Orit served as Sr. Director of Research at Adicet Bio working toward developing an allogeneic T cell platform of engineered immune-cell therapeutics for patients with solid tumors. Prior roles include VP of Antibody Discovery at Stemcentrx, and leading antibody discovery teams at Trellis Bioscience. Orit is an inventor on several dozen patents covering B cell technology and therapeutic antibodies. She received her PhD in Molecular and Cellular Biology from the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel.

Sr. Director, Clinical Development Operations

Carolyn Gabus

Carolyn Gabus

Sr. Director, Clinical Development Operations

Carolyn Gabus joined ImmPACT Bio in September 2022 and serves as Senior Director of Clinical Operations.  She joins ImmPACT with over 20 years of global trial experience across several small to medium sized pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies.  Her experience includes leadership roles in Phase I – III studies of small molecules in oncology, autologous neoepitope-specific TCR T cell therapy in solid tumors, patient-specific active idiotype immunotherapy in blood cancers, and several other indications and operationally complex programs.  She brings a strong background in clinical trial management, clinical compliance, and global regulatory inspection readiness leading to regulatory approvals.  

Sr. Director, Program Management

Shirin Ghavam

Shirin Ghavam

Sr. Director, Program Management

Shirin Ghavam, MS. OD., joined ImmPACT Bio in September 2022 and serves as Head of Program Management.    She brings with her 20 years of Biotech-Pharmaceutical experience spanning all phases of the product lifecycle, from pre-clinical through commercialization and post- marketed products, at both large pharmaceuticals as well as startups.   

Shirin has a proven track record of empowering cross-functional teams to develop and execute best-in-class innovative products that transform the lives of patients globally. She is a collaborative action-oriented leader who uses strategic planning, employee empowerment coupled with corporate values to drive collaboration and achieve long lasting results.

Chief Scientific Officer

Jim Johnston, Ph.D

Jim Johnston, Ph.D

Chief Scientific Officer

Jim was co-founder and CEO/CSO of Kalthera Inc, prior to the merger with ImmPACT Bio. He was most recently Vice President of Research at A2 Biotherapeutics, focused on T-cell and Treg bioengineering therapy.

Previously, Jim was Executive Director of Research, and Global Head of Inflammation at Amgen with responsibility for Inflammation and part of Immuno-Oncology (2011–2018), where his team was responsible for ten drug candidates that progressed to FIH, five of which are advancing through clinical trials and two now approved.

Prior to Amgen, Jim was Professor of Immunology at Queen’s University Belfast, from 2002 to 2011, and previously a Director at DNAX Research Institute. He made several key discoveries, including the identification and characterization of JAK3 and work that outlined its importance in IL-2 family signaling and in autosomal SCID patients, as well as many mechanisms controlling T-cell biology and cytokine signaling.

He has been awarded the Most Valuable Scientist award at the BRMP, NIH (1996), the Hajime Award at DNAX Research Institute (1999), and the Irish Society of Immunology RDS Public Lecture Award (2010). He founded and was Chief Scientist at Fusion Antibodies Ltd, which develops humanized antibody therapeutics (www.fusionantibodies.com).

Jim has a PhD from the University of Manchester and was a Postdoctoral fellow, and later a Sr. Staff Fellow with Dr. John O’Shea at NIAMS, at the NIH. He has 16 patents and has authored more than 130 peer-reviewed manuscripts.

Head, Human Resources

Jolie Keough

Jolie Keough

Head, Human Resources

Jolie Keough joined ImmPACT Bio in May of 2022 and serves as the Head of Human Resources. Jolie is an accomplished Talent leader who has built her career creating high-performing teams. She brings 20+ years of experience to ImmPACT Bio.

Before joining ImmPACT Bio, Jolie helped industry leaders such as Mirati Therapeutics, Kite Pharma, Turnstone Biologics, Amgen, and Baxter Healthcare follow their journeys from various phases of clinical development through successful approval and commercialization. Jolie earned her degree in International Business at San Diego State University.

Head, Process Development

Deepthi Kolli, Ph.D

Deepthi Kolli, Ph.D

Head, Process Development

Deepthi Kolli, Ph.D joined ImmPACT Bio in June 2022 and serves as Executive Director of Process Sciences. Prior to joining ImmPACT Bio, she was a Senior Director (process sciences) at SonomaBio, and Director (Assay Development and Quality control) at Atara Bio, cell therapy companies focusing on autologous and allogeneic T cell products. Deepthi holds a Ph.D and M.S in Immunology from the National Dairy Research Institute, and a B.Sc in Biochemistry and Microbiology from Nagarjuna University in India.

Chief Financial Officer

Vikram Lamba, MBA

Vikram Lamba, MBA

Chief Financial Officer

Vikram Lamba is a seasoned healthcare executive with more than 26 years of executive experience in the industry. He joins ImmPACT Bio from ChromaCode, Inc., where he was the Chief Financial Officer. Previously, from December 2018 to April 2021, Mr. Lamba served as Chief Financial Officer at Civica, Inc., a not-for-profit generic drug and pharmaceutical company founded to combat life-saving drug shortages and affordability. From 2016 to 2018, he served as Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer for Fortuna Fix, a cell-therapy company in the field of regenerative medicine focused on neurodegeneration and neurotrauma. From 2011 to 2016, he served as Chief Executive Officer of Zosano Pharma Corporation and as a member of its Board of Directors. Before that, he served as Chief Financial Officer and Chief Business Officer of Predictive Biosciences, Inc. from July 2008 until he joined Zosano in 2011. Prior to that, he served as Vice President of Corporate Development at Advanced Medical Optics, Inc. (acquired by Abbott), where he was responsible for many significant merger and acquisition transactions and strategic alliances, and as Vice President for Finance and Chief Financial Officer of GeneOhm Sciences, Inc. (acquired by Becton Dickinson). He also has over 16 years of global experience in various positions with Burmah Castrol PLC and Bayer AG. During his eight years with Bayer in Canada, Germany and the U.S., he held positions in areas of general management, mergers and acquisitions and finance.

Mr. Lamba received a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from India and a Master of Business Administration from the Asian Institute of Management where he spent his final year as an exchange student at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

General Manager, IL

Anat Nursella, CPA

Anat Nursella, CPA

General Manager, IL

Ms. Nursella has over 15 years of broad experience in senior financial and operational positions within public and private biotechnology companies supporting fund raising, licensing, partnerships and M&A transactions with total value exceeding billion USD with global companies.

She has a deep expertise with building and leading finance functions in addition to overseeing and collaborating with other critical business groups to enable growth and realization of value.

Prior to joining ImmPACT Bio, she served as a CFO of Adicet Bio, a biotechnology company discovering and developing allogeneic gamma delta T cell therapies for cancer and other diseases (NASDAQ: ACET) and General Manager of Adicet Israel.

Ms. Nursella is a former CFO of cCam Biotherapeutics Ltd (acquired by Merck), Keystone Heart Ltd (acquired by Venus Medtech) , RDD Pharma Ltd , OticPharma Ltd, NasVax Ltd (TASE:NSVX), Elutex Ltd (TASE: ELTX).

Ms. Nursella holds the MA Law degree from Bar-Ilan University and BA, Finance and Economics degree from the University of Haifa and she is a Certified Public Accountant.

Sr. Director, Regulatory Affairs

Beth Palian

Beth Palian

Sr. Director, Regulatory Affairs

Beth joined ImmPACT Bio in March 2023 as Senior Director of Regulatory Affairs. Previously, she was Director of Regulatory Affairs at Neogene Therapeutics where she built out the regulatory team and led the submissions of Neogene’s first CTA and IND for their personalized and shared neoantigen TCR T cell therapy programs in solid tumors.  Prior to Neogene, Beth held increasing positions of responsibility at Kite Pharma where she supported the initial BLA/MAAs for Yescarta in large B cell lymphoma and led the sBLA filing for Yescarta’s second approved indication in follicular lymphoma. Beth earned her Ph.D in Molecular and Cellular Biology from the University of Southern California and her bachelor’s degree from New York University.

Chief Technical Officer

Sylvain Roy

Sylvain Roy

Chief Technical Officer

Sylvain is an accomplished technical operations global leader with more than 22 years of biopharmaceutical industry experience and a proven track record of enabling and accelerating patients’ access to life-saving therapies.

Over the past two decades, Sylvain has held senior leadership positions at Baxter International, Baxalta, Shire Pharmaceuticals, and NantKwest, and most recently ImmunityBio, with a focus on manufacturing and process development. During his tenure at ImmunityBio, he contributed to successful investigational new drug (IND) submissions for five cell therapy products (natural killer cell and mesenchymal stem cell therapies), as well as led technology transfers, process scale up, and operations scale out on both autologous and allogeneic process platforms.

With wide-ranging operational and technical expertise in recombinant protein, cell and gene therapy, and vaccines, from early phases to large-scale commercial manufacturing, Sylvain has provided instrumental contributions to the success of multi-billion-dollar biologics and decisive progress in pipeline clinical programs.

Sylvain has a master’s degree in biochemistry and biotechnology engineering from INSA Lyon (France), and has spent a large part of his career in Europe (France, Switzerland), with experience in Asia (Singapore).

Head, Manufacturing

Dan St. Peter, MBA, PMP

Dan St. Peter, MBA, PMP

Head, Manufacturing

Dan St. Peter, MBA, PMP joined ImmPACT Bio in July 2022 and serves as Head of Manufacturing and Site Head for West Hills. Prior to joining ImmPACT Bio, Dan was Site Director for Baxter in Ontario, Canada, leading a team of 600 in the manufacture of IV and dialysis fluids. Over his career, Dan has held roles of increasing responsibility in a variety of functions (Engineering, Project Management, Global Marketing, and Operations) and is known as a servant leader who uses employee empowerment, leadership development, and team dynamics to achieve results. Dan holds a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from the University of Akron and an MBA from Lake Forest Graduate School of Management.

Head, Clinical Development Operations

Todd Stallings-Schmitt

Todd Stallings-Schmitt

Head, Clinical Development Operations

Todd Stallings-Schmitt joined ImmPACT in July 2022, and serves as Vice President, Clinical Development Operations. He brings with him more than 20 years of experience in clinical research and development operations, overseeing all phases of drug development.

Before joining ImmPACT, Todd was Vice President, Clinical Operations at PACT Pharma where he was responsible for the first-in-human trials of an autologous neoepitope-specific TCR T cell therapy for solid tumors. Prior to that he was Senior Director of Clinical Operations at Puma Biotechnology where he was responsible for multiple global clinical programs leading to an NDA and MAA filing resulting in approval of Nerlynx® (neratinib) for the treatment of HER2+ breast cancer in the extended adjuvant setting. Earlier in his career, Todd worked for BiPar Sciences (a Sanofi-Aventis company) and Genentech, overseeing clinical trials in orthopedics, cardiology, and oncology.

He received his Master Public Health from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and Bachelor of Science degree in Biomedical Science from Auburn University.

Head, Supply Chain

Edgar Sur

Edgar Sur

Head, Supply Chain

Edgar Sur joined ImmPACT Bio in June 2022 and serves as the Head of Supply Chain. He brings a history of operational excellence experience in Supply Chain, External Manufacturing and Quality. Prior to joining ImmPACT Bio, he has held numerous leadership roles as Head of Supply Chain for Center for Breakthrough Medicines, Head of Technical Operations for L-Nutra, Head of External Manufacturing for Kite and Global Head of Operational Excellence for Bayer. Edgar holds a MS in Supply Chain Management from University of San Diego as well as an MBA from Embry Riddle Aeronautical University

Chief Operating Officer

Venkata P. Yepuri

Venkata P. Yepuri

Chief Operating Officer

Venkat brings more than 30 years’ experience working in biotech and healthcare provider fields to ImmPACT. He was most recently vice president, global business solutions and chief procurement officer at Amgen. Over 20 years at Amgen, Venkat had multiple roles with increasing responsibility in functions including business development, corporate transformation, information systems, and strategic sourcing/sustainability. Prior to Amgen, Venkat co-founded a physician group purchasing company in the U.S., and with a Healthcare Association of Southern California spin-off, ran the technology consulting program for clients such as Kaiser Permanente. In addition, he established subsidiaries in India and Malaysia focused on medical equipment sales and services.

He holds a master’s degree in biomedical engineering from Case Western Reserve University and a bachelor’s degree in electronics and communication from Delhi University.

 

Head IL, Research

Adi Sharbi Yunger, Ph.D

Adi Sharbi Yunger, Ph.D

Head IL, Research

Adi Sharbi Yunger, Ph.D joined ImmPACT Bio in July 2018 and serves as Director of Research and IL site head. Prior to joining ImmPACT-Bio, she was a Senior Scientist at BARcure, a FutuRx portfolio company focused on developing biologics for B-cell malignancies. Adi holds a Ph.D in Immunology from the Weizmann Institute of Science, and a B.Sc in Biotechnology Engineering from Ben-Gurion University in the Negev.

Board of Directors

Chairperson

Sheila Gujrathi, M.D.

Sheila Gujrathi, M.D.

Chairperson

Dr. Gujrathi serves as executive chair of Ventyx Biosciences, chair of ADARx Pharmaceuticals, and director of Janux Therapeutics. She previously served as chair of Turning Point Therapeutics and is the co-founder and former CEO of Gossamer Bio. Prior to Gossamer, Dr. Gujrathi served as chief medical officer of Receptos, which was acquired by Celgene. Previously, she held development leadership positions at Bristol-Myers Squibb and Genentech where she led development and numerous global regulatory filings and approvals for immunology and oncology programs. Earlier in her career, she was a management consultant in McKinsey & Company’s healthcare practice.

Dr. Gujrathi received both her M.D. in the accelerated Honors Program in Medical Education and her B.S. in biomedical engineering with highest distinction from Northwestern University. She completed her internal medicine internship and residency at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School and additional fellowship training in allergy/immunology at University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) and Stanford University Medical Center.

President & CEO

Sumant Ramachandra, M.D., Ph.D

Sumant Ramachandra, M.D., Ph.D

President & CEO

Prior to joining ImmPACT in November 2021, Dr. Ramachandra was most recently Chief Science, Technology and Medical Officer for Baxter International since June 2017. In addition to these responsibilities, he was appointed President of Baxter Pharmaceuticals in mid-2019 and was appointed as Baxter’s Chair for the Global Inclusion Council focused on inclusion and diversity. Previous to Baxter, he worked with Pfizer, most recently as Senior Vice President, Head of Research & Development, Pfizer Essential Health. He served as Chief Scientific Officer at Hospira from 2008 to 2015 prior to Pfizer’s acquisition of Hospira in 2015. Earlier in his career, Sumant worked with Pfizer and Merck & Co. in various senior-level oncology global product development, medical affairs and business development & licensing roles and as a clinical pharmacologist. Before entering the industry in 2000, he was an intern and resident physician, medical services, at Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School.

Dr. Ramachandra completed his undergraduate degree in biochemistry, graduate degree (Ph.D.) in experimental pathology in the study of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and his medical degree (M.D.) at Rutgers University. In addition, he earned his M.B.A. at Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

Board Member

Biren Amin

Biren Amin

Board Member

Mr. Amin’s addition to the Board of Directors of ImmPACT Bio adds a seasoned executive who is highly experienced in capital markets, finance, and corporate strategy.

Biren Amin is the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and Chief Strategy Officer of Pyramid Biosciences since August 2022. Mr. Amin also serves as a co-director on the Board of Trustee of Axiom REACH Foundation, a non-profit organization focused on addressing public health disparities. Previously, Mr. Amin was CFO of Immuneering Corporation and led its IPO in mid-2021. From 2011 to 2021, Mr. Amin was Managing Director and Senior Biotechnology Analyst at Jefferies Financial Group and earned industry recognition from Financial Times/StarMine and Institutional Investor and spent nearly two decades on Wall Street building a strong track record covering small and mid-cap biotechnology companies. Earlier in his career, Mr. Amin also held positions within business development and medical affairs functions at Aventis Pharmaceuticals. Mr. Amin holds a M.B.A. from the Stern School of Business at New York University and earned his M.S. in pharmacy from Long Island University, and a B.S. in pharmacy from the University of Sciences in Philadelphia.

Board Member

Yvonne Chen, Ph.D

Yvonne Chen, Ph.D

Board Member

Yvonne is an Associate Professor of Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics at the University of California, Los Angeles. Prior to joining UCLA in 2013, she was a Junior Fellow in the Harvard Society of Fellows, having received her B..Sc in Chemical Engineering from Stanford University and her Ph.D in Chemical Engineering from the California Institute of Technology. She performed postdoctoral research at the Seattle Children’s Research Institute and the Department of Systems Biology at Harvard Medical School. Her lab’s work on engineering next-generation T-cell therapies for cancer has been recognized by the NIH Director’s Early Independence Award, the NSF CAREER Award, the Hellman Fellowship, the ACGT Young Investigator Award in Cell and Gene Therapy for Cancer, the Mark Foundation Emerging Leader Award, and the Cancer Research Institute Lloyd J. Old STAR Award. Yvonne is also a Member Researcher in the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy.

Board Member

Erez Chimovits

Erez Chimovits

Board Member

Erez is a Partner on the OrbiMed Israel team with 14 years of operational experience, including ten years of senior managerial experience in public companies. Prior to joining OrbiMed, Erez was the CEO of NasVax (TASE: NSVX). NasVax acquired Protea and struck agreements with GlaxoSmithKline and Novartis. Previously, Erez spent more than seven years with Compugen (NASDAQ: CGEN), as President, Compugen USA Inc. and Executive V.P., Commercial Operations. At Compugen, he had P&L responsibility for more than 100 people and led multiple transactions with companies including J&J, Novartis, Teva, Abbott, Medarex, and others. Erez earned his MBA, MSc in Microbiology and his BSc from Tel Aviv University.

Board Member

Min Cui

Min Cui

Board Member

Dr. Min Cui is the Founder and Managing Director of Decheng Capital.

At Decheng Capital, Dr. Cui has been focusing on partnerships with entrepreneurs and building biotechnology and medical technology companies globally. He is currently a board member of AccuGen Group, Alpine Immune Sciences (NASDAQ: ALPN), Ariagen, Bioheng, CardiMED, Cue Health (NASDAQ: HLTH), EpimAb Biotherapeutics, Immpact Bio, Mammoth Biosciences and Shape Therapeutics. He previously served on the boards of 3SBio (HK Stock Exchange: 1530), ARMO BioSciences (acquired by Eli Lilly), China Biologic Products (NASDAQ: CBPO), Cirina (acquired by GRAIL), Epizyme (NASDAQ: EPZM), GeneWEAVE Biosciences (acquired by Roche), GenturaDx (acquired by Luminex), GRAIL (acquired by Illumina), Ion Torrent Systems (acquired by Life Technologies), Sino Medical (688108.CH) and Velos Biopharma (acquired by Merck).

Prior to founding Decheng Capital in 2011, Dr. Cui was an Investment Partner at Bay City Capital, a leading international life science venture capital firm in San Francisco. At Bay City, he led investment opportunities in US as well as all its initiatives in China. Dr. Cui was previously Director of Strategic Investment for the Southern Research Institute, an organization that discovered and developed six anti-cancer drugs that approved by the US Food and Drug Administration. Prior to that, Dr. Cui co-founded Pan Pacific Pharmaceuticals and Hucon Biopharmaceuticals, where he led efforts in discovery and development of several key technologies in the fields of oncology, cardiology, infectious and inflammatory diseases.

Dr. Cui received his Ph.D. in Cancer Biology from Stanford University and his BS and MS in Molecular Biology from Peking University. He currently serves as a member of Board of Trustees at Western University of Health Sciences. Dr. Cui was also a co-founder of CNetwork, a San Francisco based non-profit organization dedicated to serving Chinese communities in North America.

Board Member

Michal Silverberg

Michal Silverberg

Board Member

Michal is a Managing Director at the Novartis Venture Fund in Cambridge, MA, USA. Prior to joining NVF, she was a Senior Partner at Takeda Ventures and, before that, worked at Novo Nordisk in roles of increasing responsibility including as Senior Director Business Development and New Product Commercialization, serving as a member of the BioPharm leadership team. Since 1998, Michal has held positions in various sectors of the life science industry including in the Office of the Chief Scientist of Israel (The Incubator program), venture capital (Ofer Brothers Hi Tech) and global pharmaceutical and biotech companies, including various positions at MGVS, an Israeli biotech company, and at OSI Pharmaceuticals in a business development role. She received her BA in Economics and Business Management from Haifa University, her MBA from Tel Aviv University in Israel and her Master’s degree in Biotechnology from Columbia University in New York.

Board Member

Cindy Xiong

Cindy Xiong

Board Member

Cindy Xiong, Ph.D. is a Director at Foresite Capital, with more than a decade of investing and research experiences in the biotech industry. Cindy serves board observer roles at Xinthera Inc., Remix Therapeutics, Kira Pharma and Kriya Therapeutics. Prior to Foresite, Cindy earned her MBA in Healthcare Management from the Wharton school. She received her Ph.D. in Neurobiology from the University of Michigan, and was a Helen Hay Whitney postdoctoral fellow at UCSF, developing new technologies for genome and cell engineering.

Board Member

Yvonne Yamanaka

Yvonne Yamanaka

Board Member

Yvonne Yamanaka, Ph.D., is a Principal at venBio Partners with a background in biological engineering and life science company creation. Prior to joining venBio, Yvonne was a member of the venture creation team at Flagship Pioneering. She began her research career leading the development of a novel immunotherapy technology at EMD/Merck Serono. Yvonne received her Ph.D. in Biological Engineering from MIT, where she was a Siebel Scholar and NSF Graduate Research Fellow, and her B.S.E. in Biomedical Engineering from Duke University, where she was an Angier B. Duke and Goldwater scholar.

Scientific Advisory Board

Chair

Antoni Ribas, M.D., Ph.D

Antoni Ribas, M.D., Ph.D

Chair

Antoni Ribas, M.D., Ph.D, is professor of medicine, surgery, and molecular and medical pharmacology at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), director of the Tumor Immunology Program at the Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center (JCCC) and director of the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy (PICI) Center at UCLA. His research is focused on laboratory and clinical studies to address primary and acquired resistance to melanoma therapies, and in the development of gene-engineered adoptive T cell transfer therapies for cancer. He has been instrumental in the clinical development of several agents approved by the FDA, including pembrolizumab (Keytruda), vemurafenib (Zelboraf), cobimetinib (Cotellic), dabrafenib (Tafinlar) and trametinib (Mekinist). He is the immediate-past president of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR). He is an elected Fellow of the AACR Academy, the Royal Academy of Medicine of Catalonia, the American Society of Clinical Investigation, and the National Academy of Medicine.

Member

Prasad S. Adusumilli, M.D., Ph.D

Prasad S. Adusumilli, M.D., Ph.D

Member

Physician-scientist Prasad Adusumilli studies solid tumor immunology and the development of T-cell‒mediated immunotherapy for thoracic malignancies. Prasad Adusumilli is Deputy Chief and Attending, Thoracic Service; Vice Chair for Translational Research, Department of Surgery; Co-Director, Mesothelioma Program; Head, Solid Tumors Cell Therapy, Cellular Therapeutics Center.

Board Member

Yvonne Chen, Ph.D

Yvonne Chen, Ph.D

Board Member

Yvonne is an Associate Professor of Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics at the University of California, Los Angeles. Prior to joining UCLA in 2013, she was a Junior Fellow in the Harvard Society of Fellows, having received her B..Sc in Chemical Engineering from Stanford University and her Ph.D in Chemical Engineering from the California Institute of Technology. She performed postdoctoral research at the Seattle Children’s Research Institute and the Department of Systems Biology at Harvard Medical School. Her lab’s work on engineering next-generation T-cell therapies for cancer has been recognized by the NIH Director’s Early Independence Award, the NSF CAREER Award, the Hellman Fellowship, the ACGT Young Investigator Award in Cell and Gene Therapy for Cancer, the Mark Foundation Emerging Leader Award, and the Cancer Research Institute Lloyd J. Old STAR Award. Yvonne is also a Member Researcher in the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy.

Member

Saar Gill, MBBS, Ph.D, FRACP

Saar Gill, MBBS, Ph.D, FRACP

Member

Dr. Gill obtained his medical degree and Ph.D in immunology from the University of Melbourne, and trained in haematology at St Vincent’s Hospital, the Royal Melbourne Hospital and the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre. In 2008 he moved to the United States, first to pursue a post-doctoral fellowship in cellular therapy at Stanford University, and then in 2011 to the University of Pennsylvania where he is now an associate professor of medicine. Dr. Gill’s clinical practice is in leukemia and bone marrow transplantation. He has led clinical trials of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells for chronic and acute leukemias. Dr. Gill’s research laboratory focuses on the interface between adoptive cellular therapy and genetic engineering.

Member

Gideon Gross, Ph.D

Gideon Gross, Ph.D

Member

Gideon obtained his Ph.D from the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel, where together with Prof. Z. Eshhar and colleagues he developed the prototypes of double-chain and single-chain chimeric antigen receptors (CARs). He was then a research fellow at the National Cancer Institute in MD, USA, and a postdoctoral fellow at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge, UK. From 1995 he has headed the Immunology Laboratory at MIGAL – Galilee Research Institute in Kiryat Shmona, Israel, and he is a full professor and former Dean of the Faculty of Sciences and Technology of the Tel-Hai College in the Upper Galilee. In his research Gideon focuses on the development of new gene-based immunotherapies for multiple clinical applications.

Member

Marcin Imieliński, M.D., Ph.D

Marcin Imieliński, M.D., Ph.D

Member

Marcin is a Core Faculty Member at the New York Genome Center. He holds a joint appointment as Associate Professor of Computational Genomics and Associate Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine, working directly with its Meyer Cancer Center and Englander Institute for Precision Medicine. He is also an Attending Molecular Pathologist at New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center, as well as a board-certified molecular genetic pathologist. His research includes more than 80 peer-reviewed publications across cancer genomics, human genetics and computational biology. His lab uses cutting-edge sequencing technology and genomic data science to study patterns of complex and noncoding somatic DNA variation in cancer. Marcin’s research interests lie in the application of high-throughput sequencing and computation to study these patterns. He is specifically interested in probing long-range cancer genome structure through the use of cutting-edge sequencing protocols and the development of novel machine learning and data visualization approaches. Marcin is committed to expanding the role of computation and data science in laboratory medicine, and envisions a future in which “quantitative pathologists” help direct treatment choices through the application of statistical intuition and sophisticated multivariate analyses. He is a recipient of a Burroughs Wellcome Career Award for Medical Scientists, a Clinical Scientist Development Award from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, and The Black Family-MRA Team Science Award. Marcin’s BS in Computer Science is from Rutgers College and his Ph.D in genomics and computational biology and MD are from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. He completed his residency in pathology at the Massachusetts General Hospital, and a fellowship in molecular genetic pathology at Harvard Medical School. Prior to joining the New York Genome Center, he was a postdoctoral fellow in computational cancer genomics at the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, under the mentorship of Drs. Matthew Meyerson and Gad Getz.

Member

David Lebwohl, M.D.

David Lebwohl, M.D.

Member

David’s career spans three decades in the biopharmaceutical industry, successfully bringing novel medicines through all phases of clinical trials and global regulatory approvals. He has overseen multiple full-scale development programs with more than 200 clinical studies across myriad indications. Currently, David is chief medical officer at Intellia Therapeutics. Before Intellia, David was chief medical officer at Semma Therapeutics Inc., a subsidiary of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc., where he was leading the company’s regenerative medicine efforts using stem-cell-derived pancreatic islets to cure type I diabetes. Prior to his role at Semma Therapeutics, David held numerous senior-level positions leading drug development at the global healthcare company Novartis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. There, he was most recently Senior Vice President and franchise global program head, CAR-T, Promacta and SEG101 Global Program Teams, responsible for the development of the breakthrough therapy Kymriah® (tisagenlecleucel), approved for the treatment of B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia and diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. During his time at Novartis, David was responsible for numerous oncology drug development programs. Under his leadership, the blockbuster drug Afinitor® (everolimus) was approved for five indications including metastatic breast, neuroendocrine, and kidney cancer as well as the rare genetic disease tuberous sclerosis. Prior to working at Novartis, David led oncology development teams at the Bristol Myers Squibb Inc. Pharmaceutical Research Institute for five years. He is a well-recognized medical oncologist, with certifications in hematology and internal medicine. David received an undergraduate degree in Biochemical Sciences from Harvard College and an MD from the Yale University School of Medicine. He completed his fellowship training at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and his residency in Internal Medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. David has authored more than 50 peer-reviewed publications and is a member of the American Society of Clinical Oncology.

Member

Cristina Puig-Saus, Ph.D

Cristina Puig-Saus, Ph.D

Member

Cristina Puig-Saus, Ph.D., is a Scientific Co-Founder of Kalthera and Scientific Advisor at ImmPACT Bio. She is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), a member of the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy (PICI), the Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center (JCCC), and the Broad Stem Cell Research Center (BSCRC) at UCLA. Her laboratory focuses on studying the T cell responses elicited against solid tumors and the design and clinical translation of gene-engineered adoptive T cell therapies. She is the recipient of a Next-generation Star Award from the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), a senior Parker Fellow Award from PICI, and an Ablon Scholar Award, among others.