Genetics & Gene Therapy

Dr. Xiaojiang S. Chen is a professor of Molecular and Computational Biology/Norris Cancer Center, and the director of Center of Nanobiophysics and Structural Biology at the University of Southern California (USC) at Los Angeles. Dr. Chen uses Structural and biochemical approaches to study DNA replication, genomic mutations and DNA repair, and addresses important questions in genomic stability, cancer biology and immunology. Dr. Chen’s accolades include the HHMI young faculty start-up award, the Qian Ren award, elected of AAAS (American Association for the Advancement of Science).

Gene mutation, DNA repair, Structural Biology

Clélia Rejane Antonio Bertoncini is Associate Professor at the Federal University of São Paulo (UNIFESP), Brazil, since 1998. She received her Bachelor Science and Master degree titles in Chemistry from the Federal University of Santa Catarina (UFSC). She obtained her Ph. D. in Biochemistry from the University of São Paulo (USP) and did Postdoctoral work at USP in collaboration with the National Synchrotron Light Laboratory (LNLS). Her research are focused on oxidative stress, DNA damage, antioxidant and antiapoptotic mechanisms, and application of stem cells as therapy for diseases associated with infertility and neurodegeneration.

Her research interest are on oxidative stress, DNA damage, antioxidant and antiapoptotic mechanisms, and application of stem cells as therapy for diseases associated with infertility and neurodegeneration.

Prof. Dr. Fikrettin Şahin obtained his master's degree and PhD degree in 1994 and 1997, respectively, from the Department of Plant Pathology, College of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, the Ohio State University. He worked as a postdoctoral researcher in the 1997-1998 period at the Ohio State University, Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center, Wooster, USA and at the Western Ontario University/Agri-Food CANADA, London with a focus on Clinical Microbiology. He started teaching as Ass. Prof. Dr. at Atatürk University in 1999. He became an Associate Professor in 2000 and a Professor in 2005. He took part in establishment of Yeditepe University's Department of Genetics and Bioengineering under the Faculty of Engineering and Architecture and its R&D laboratories since 2004 as well as the Yeditepe University's Biotechnology Institute in 2007 and the establishment of Internationally Accredited Central R&D and Analysis Laboratories in 2013. Prof. Dr. Fikrettin Şahin conduct scientific studies on molecular diagnosis and characterization of clinic, food, environmental and plant-driven micro-organisms, development and production of biological formulations and antimicrobial materials for industrial, on stem cells, gene therapy and cancer. Prof. Dr. Fikrettin Şahin still serves at Yeditepe University as the Head of the Genetics and Bioengineering Department under the Faculty of Engineering and Architecture in addition to being the Director of the Biotechnology Institute and the Coordinator for the R&D and Analysis Central Laboratories. Prof. Dr. Fikrettin Şahin was a founding member of the Turkish Academy of Sciences (TÜBA) in 2012 and was selected as a TÜBA council member in 2013.

Detection, identification and characterization of plant, food and clinical microorganisms. Development of biological formulations for industrial uses Stem cells and gene therapy and cancer research

Dr. Uday Kishore, a cellular and molecular immunologist, is the Director of the Centre for Infection, Immunity and Disease Mechanisms, Brunel University, London. He researches on the role of innate immunity in a range of disease processes and therapeutic interventions. He earned his MSc and PhD from University of Delhi, India. He has previously been a NASA Fellow at Salk Institute, USA, MRC Fellow at Oxford, and Humboldt Fellow in Germany. He has authored over 100 research papers, 20 book chapters, 2 patents and edited 3 books. He is also the recipient of MRC Inventor’s prize, European Commission Young Scientist prize, and, more recently, Mother Teresa Excellence Award 2014.

cellular and molecular immunology

Dr. Nadia Benkirane is Research director and head of the “ Osteoarticular and Dental regenerative Nanomedicine” laboratory, at INSERM (French National Institute for Health and Medical Research), UMR 1109, Strasbourg, France. She was leader of “Active Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering” team INSERM 977. She received her Ph.D. from University Louis Pasteur, ULP, Strasbourg, France for the work on Development of pseudopeptides as synthetic vaccines. Dr. Jessel (Benkirane) then held a postdoctoral position in collaboration with the Institut Pasteur, Paris, France, working on Immunotherapy HIV, and another postdoctoral position on the application of modified peptides as vaccines against FMDV (Plum Island Animal Disease Center, ARS, USDA, Greenport, NY 11944-0848, USA). She joined the INSERM U595 in 2002 as a post-doc, and received the diploma to direct the research (HDR) in 2004. Dr. Jessel got the permanent position (CR1) in the INSERM 595 laboratory in 2004 and Research Director (DR2) position in the INSERM 977 and head of “active Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering team from 2009 until 2012). Currently Research Director (DR1) in the INSERM UMR 1109 (Osteoarticular and Dental Regenerative Nanomedicine" and heads the team. Dr. Jessel possesses expertise in diverse fields of molecular and cellular biology, immunochemistry, tissue engineering and biomedical engineering. In the last 10 years, she focused her research on the bio-functionalization of multilayered polyelectrolyte architectures with emphasis on the use of these architectures to induce specific cellular responses and gain control over cell proliferation and differentiation. Dr. Benkirane-Jessel have 138 publications (h index: 36) with peer-reviewed publications in high impact factor journals (Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. USA; Adv. Mater.; Adv. Funct. Mater.; Small; Nanoletters, Biomaterials, ACS Nano), 5 chapters reviews and 5 international patents, she is a regular referee for a number of scientific journals (Nature nanotechnology, Nature Materials, ACS nano, Biomaterials, Nanoletters…). She is under the contract (Interface INSERM/Clinic 2008-2013) and she got also “Prime d’Excellence Scientifique” from the INSERM, 2010-2014 and the PEDR from the INSERM on 2016 for 4 years.

Dr. Benkirane-Jessel have 138 publications (h index: 36) with peer-reviewed publications in high impact factor journals (Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. USA; Adv. Mater.; Adv. Funct. Mater.; Small; Nanoletters, Biomaterials, ACS Nano), 5 chapters reviews and 5 international patents, she is a regular referee for a number of scientific journals (Nature nanotechnology, Nature Materials, ACS nano, Biomaterials, Nanoletters…).

Manager, Development & Commercialisation TekCyte (A business unit of CTM CRC) Tony is responsible for overseeing the translation of technologies from the laboratory to pilot-scale, adding value prior to their commercialisation. He is also responsible for seeking contract research, collaborative and/or licensing opportunities for the organisation.

Cell Therapy ,Therapeutic Applications

Dr. Alexander Birbrair started his scientific career from B.S. in Biomedical Sciences from Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz, UESC, Ilheus, Brazil. He completed his Ph.D. in Neurosciences Program, particularly in the field of Stem Cell Biology, from Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, USA. Dr. Birbrair received his Post-Doctoral Degree from Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA in Stem Cell Biology and joined as a Professor at Department of Pathology, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil in 2016. He is a recipient of several notable awards and honours, which includes, Gordon A. Melson Outstanding Doctoral Student Award for 2015 and Editor's choice Award in Journal of Gerontology Biological Sciences Volume 69 Issue 12 December 2014 for the manuscript “Human Slow Troponin T (TNNT1) Pre-mRNA Alternative Splicing is An Indicator of Skeletal Muscle Response to Resistance Exercise in Older Adults.” by Zhang T, Choi SJ, Wang ZM, Birbrair A, Messi ML, Jin J-P, Marsh AP, Nicklas B, and Delbono O. He is an active member of American Heart Association, Western NC Chapter of the Society for Neuroscience and International Society for Stem Cell Research with more than 30 publications in peer-reviewed journals and serves as an ad hoc reviewer for 14 Journals related to pathology and stem cell biology.

Cell therapies, Drug toxicology, Cell characterisation and Nanotechnology.

Damian Marshall is the head of analytical development for the Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult and has almost 20 years of industrial gained working for SME’s and large companies. He leads a team of ~30 scientists working with a wide range of therapy developers helping to de-risk their route to commercialisation. This is achieved through advanced product characterisation, helping companies to manage sources of variability and gain a high level of products and process knowledge. His team is also supporting the development of new adaptive manufacturing approaches by integrating technologies to allow real-time product monitoring and enable feedback control during product manufacture.

Cell therapies, Drug toxicology, Cell characterisation and Nanotechnology