MGB Gene and Cell Therapy Institute Second Annual Symposium

Join us November 12-13, 2024 for the 2nd Annual Gene and Cell Therapy Research Symposium. This event is a part of our ongoing journey towards groundbreaking scientific discoveries. With the goal of bringing novel therapies to patients and accelerating clinical translation, we strive towards advancing innovations by supporting the academic research as well as the physician community.

Following the success of our inaugural symposium in 2023, which attracted over 500 registrants and featured keynote speakers such as Siddhartha Mukherjee, MD, DPhil, and Jude Samulski, PhD, we are anticipating an even larger event this year. Immerse yourself in this two-day event with engaging discussions given by the leading pioneers in gene and cell therapy research. The symposium will feature another poster session, providing a great opportunity to showcase the ongoing work and advancements in the field of gene and cell therapy.

Erik J. Sontheimer, Ph.D., is the Pillar Chair in Biomedical Research and Professor at the University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, where he is also Vice Chair of the RNA Therapeutics Institute. He earned his Ph.D. from Yale in 1992, where he studied pre-mRNA splicing mechanisms in Joan Steitz’ laboratory. Following postdoctoral work with Joe Piccirilli at the University of Chicago, Sontheimer joined the faculty at Northwestern in 1999. He continued his work on the roles of RNA molecules in gene expression, including RNA interference mechanisms as well as the study of CRISPR immune systems in pathogenic bacteria. Among other advances, in 2008 his group reported that CRISPR systems target DNA molecules directly, and they became the first to recognize and articulate CRISPR’s potential for RNA-guided genome engineering. He has been honored with a CAREER Award from the National Science Foundation, a New Investigator Award in the Basic Pharmacological Sciences from the Burroughs Wellcome Fund, a Basil O’Conner Award from the March of Dimes, a Scholar Award from the American Cancer Society, a Distinguished Teaching Award from the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences at Northwestern, the Nestlé Award from the American Society for Microbiology, the Mid-Career Award from the RNA Society, and election to the American Academy of Microbiology. He recently completed a term as Co-chair of the Steering Committee for the NIH Somatic Cell Genome Editing Consortium, and he currently serves as Co-chair of the Board of Scientific Counselors at the National Cancer Institute and as a member of the Scientific Advisory Board at Tessera Therapeutics. In 2014 he co-founded Intellia Therapeutics, Inc. for the development of clinical applications of CRISPR gene editing. That same year he also moved to UMass Chan Medical School, where he is continuing his research on the uses of RNA molecules in biomedical research and the treatment of human disease.

The MGB Gene and Cell Therapy Institute is pleased to announce that Crystal Mackall, MD from Stanford University will be one of the keynote speakers at the Second Annual MGB Gene and Cell Therapy Research Symposium.

Crystal Mackall is the Ernest and Amelia Gallo Family Professor of Pediatrics and Medicine at Stanford University, the Founding Director of the Stanford Center for Cancer Cell Therapy, and Director of the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy @ Stanford. During a 27-year tenure at NCI and since 2016 at Stanford, she has led an internationally recognized translational research program focused on immune-oncology. Her work has advanced understanding of fundamental immunology and translated this understanding for the treatment of human disease with a major focus on children’s cancers. Her group advanced understanding of T cell exhaustion and developed approaches to prevent or reverse the phenomena, identified major mechanisms of resistance to CAR T cell therapies and has conducted trials with very promising results in CAR19 refractory diseases and brain tumors. She is a Member of the National Academy of Medicine, the Academy of Immuno-oncology and AACR, and is the recipient of numerous awards.

for the 2024 Gene and Cell Therapy Research Poster Session

MGB research faculty, staff, and trainees are invited to submit an abstract for the Gene and Cell Therapy Research Symposium Poster Session on Tuesday, November 12, 2024. Graduate students, research assistants, research scientists, fellows or postdocs, instructors, and assistant professors within MGB may submit abstracts related to:

• Gene Therapy
• Gene Editing
• Cell Therapy
• Platform Technologies 
• RNA Therapeutics

Abstract submissions will be accepted in chronological order with eligibility meeting criteria. The symposium poster session will be limited to 30 posters and the author presenting the poster must be a current MGB employee.

If your abstract has been chosen, you will receive an email to forward your poster presentation to a separate portal. The top 3 presentations will receive awards (further details to follow). Please submit all abstracts here.

The deadline is Wednesday, September 4, 2024, 11:59 PM EST.  

If you have any questions or need further details, please contact [email protected].

Host or Publisher MGB Gene and Cell Therapy Institute