Join us in Seattle, a leading center for groundbreaking immune cell therapies, for an insightful event featuring some of the field’s top experts. Discover the pioneering advancements in engineered T-cell therapies for cancer, delve into the successes and challenges faced by the industry, and gain a glimpse into the future directions of this transformative field. Don't miss this opportunity to engage with leaders and innovators shaping the future of cancer treatment.

Program

5:30 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.  Check-in and light refreshments
6:00 p.m. – 7:15 p.m.  Introductions and panel discussion
7:15 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.  Networking

Speaker Bios

Aude Chapuis, MD, Fred Hutch Cancer Center

Dr. Aude Chapuis is head of a laboratory focusing on developing a translational pipeline designed to improve T cell receptor (TCR) gene therapy. This spans target identification, generation of high-affinity TCRs, cell process methodologies to translate these constructs into effective products for patients, clinical trial development and execution, and sophisticated high-dimensional immune monitoring to maximize the information that can be derived from each treated patient. A non-exhaustive list of diseases being targeted by the lab includes virally-driven tumors (targeting Merkel-cell polyomavirus antigens in Merkel cell carcinoma), solid tumors (targeting the cancer-testis antigen MAGE-A1 in non-small cell lung cancer, triple-negative breast cancer, and bladder cancers; and targeting Wilms’ tumor antigen 1 [WT1] in thoracic and gynecological cancers), and leukemias (targeting two epitopes of WT1 in acute myeloid leukemia). The lab is embedded within a highly collaborative network to implement these translational strategies, including investigators in basic science, oncology disease-specific clinicians, and cancer immunology labs. Additionally, Dr. Chapuis is an oncologist and attends in the bone marrow transplant and immunotherapy services.

Katie Newhall, PhD, Executive Director, Biomarkers at Immunome

Katie is a pharmacologist and immunologist with twenty years of experience conducting preclinical and clinical translational/biomarker research for programs from pre-IND through lifecycle management. Katie’s focus has always been to deliver real-time, actionable translational data to drive decisions across early and late-stage clinical trials. Katie received her undergraduate degree in Biology at the University of California, San Diego. She then went on to get an MS in toxicology at San Diego State University. Katie received her PhD in pharmacology at the University of Washington and did her postdoctoral research in Immunology at the Benaroya Research Institute. After her postdoc, Katie went to Amgen, where she drove translational biology and biomarker discovery and development efforts for nine years in inflammatory diseases and oncology indications. Katie transitioned to Celgene in 2014 to build the Immuno-Oncology Translational Development group, where she led cross-functional teams in developing and implementing biomarker strategies for this promising new class of therapeutics. Over time, the portfolio that Katie’s team supported expanded from immuno-oncology to include cellular therapy, and she served as Director of Immuno-Oncology and Cellular Therapy Translational Research when Celgene was acquired by BMS. After her role at BMS, Katie took a position as Senior Program Officer in Translational Sciences at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. At the Foundation, she worked to develop and implement translation research strategies for a wide range of therapeutic areas, including host-directed therapies for COVID-19, neglected tropical diseases, reproductive health technologies, and maternal and child health. Katie’s most recent role was at Cellectis, where she served as Vice President of Translational Development, leading a global team focused on translational research for Cellectis’ clinical-stage allogeneic CAR T-cell programs. In her free time, Katie enjoys spending time with her husband and two teenage boys outside mountain biking as well as watching soccer and live music.

Leanne Peiser, DPhil, Executive Director, Cellular Immunology and Cell Therapy Thematic Research Center at Bristol Myers Squibb

Leanne is an accomplished immunologist with 18 years of experience in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industry. Her expertise lies in the development of novel immunotherapeutics in the fields of oncology, chronic viral disease, and autoimmunity and inflammation. Currently, Leanne serves as a leader of a translational research group in BMS's Cellular Immunology and Cell Therapy Thematic Research Center (CICT). Her team focuses on the translational development of early cancer immunology and cell therapies, from the first-in-human stage through human proof of concept for cancer immunology and registration for cell therapies. Her team supports clinical translational efforts for CICT assets in lymphoma, AML, solid tumors, and autoimmune disease. Leanne oversees the translational research of Breyanzi® and next-generation CAR T cells in autoimmune diseases and solid tumors at BMS. Additionally, Leanne's team conducts lab-based research to gain a deeper translational understanding of mechanism of action and combinations for CICT clinical-stage programs. Throughout her career, Leanne has held positions at renowned companies such as Amgen, Gilead, and FLXBio. In these roles, she contributed to the discovery and development of novel cell therapies, immune cell engages, and large and small-molecule immunotherapeutics for the treatment of cancer, Hepatitis B, and autoimmunity and inflammation. Her primary focus has been on modulating immune cell function in disease, including myeloid cell modulators, T cell targets, and immune cell engages. Leanne's educational background includes a DPhil in immunology from the University of Oxford, as well as undergraduate and graduate degrees in microbiology, biochemistry, and medical biochemistry from the University of Cape Town. She further honed her expertise through post-doctoral fellowships in Immunology at the University of Washington and the University of Oxford. Leanne leverages her extensive knowledge and experience from discovery through to BLA submissions and approvals to bring a unique perspective to the field of immunology and drug development.

Blythe Sather, PhD, VP, Head of Research at Tune Therapeutics

Dr. Sather is currently on the leadership team at Tune Therapeutics. She has dedicated her career to advancing the understanding and application of genetic and epigenetic modifications to treat disease. She received her PhD in immunology from the University of Washington, where she focused on the function of regulatory T cells. Her postdoctoral work at Seattle Children’s Research Institute focused on developing lentiviral gene therapies for a variety of diseases. Prior to joining Tune, Dr. Sather was a Senior Director at Lyell Immunopharma, where she built the pipeline research group and developed several CAR and TCR next-generation products for solid tumors. She also served as an Associate Director of Research at Juno Therapeutics, where she was instrumental in building the CAR T cell platform and led the multiple myeloma CAR T cell program. Additionally, she led the research collaboration with Editas Medicine to bring CRISPR-mediated gene editing to CAR and TCR T cell products. Now at Tune Therapeutics, Dr. Sather focuses on developing cutting-edge technologies that harness the power of the epigenome to precisely regulate gene expression. Her work aims to create innovative therapeutic solutions for viruses, cancer and rare genetic disorders.

Pricing Information

• Members/Guests: $10
• Non-members*: $15

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Maximum Capacity

135