Next-Generation Cell Therapy: Innovations, Personalization, and Clinical Expansion

Dr. Neil Sheppard, Director/Head of the Therapeutic Innovation in Natural Killer cells (THINK) Lab, Center for Cellular Immunotherapies, University of Pennsylvania

Neil C. Sheppard, D.Phil. (Oxon), leads a lab focused on Natural Killer (NK) cell biology and cancer therapies at the University of Pennsylvania’s Center for Cellular Immunotherapies (CCI). Educated in the UK at the Universities of Bristol and Oxford, Neil has over 20 years of international experience with immunotherapies and vaccines in academia and industry. He has led programs, teams, and labs in the UK, Australia, and the USA, and has advanced multiple cell therapy programs through successful INDs into Ph1 FTIH or Ph1b combination studies. Neil was commended by SITC in 2020 and Marquis Who's Who in 2022 for Innovation in Immunotherapy.

Dr. Kate Rochlin, Chief Operating Officer, IN8bio

Kate has served as IN8bio’s Chief Operating Officer since December 2021 and previously as their VP, Operations and Innovation. IN8bio is a clinical stage gamma-delta T cell company with programs in Oncology and Autoimmune disease. She has 20+ years of expertise in strategic company development & operations, IP, CMC, and clinical manufacturing of advanced therapies. She was previously the Chief Business Officer at Curadigm, a Cambridge-based spin-out of Nanobiotix focused on RNA therapeutic bioavailability. Dr. Rochlin earned a Ph.D. in Molecular Biology and Genetics from Weill Cornell Medical College, researched at Sloan Kettering Institute, and a BA from the University of Pennsylvania.