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G-Rex® Grant Tour

Supporting the Emily Whitehead Foundation
PHILADELPHIA

Location

The Franklin Institute
222 North 20th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103

Date

Feb 19, 2026
11:00 AM - 09:00 PM

Event Agenda

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G-Rex Grant Tour Philadelphia

Hear from leaders bringing hope to patients through advanced cell & gene therapies

Meet Dr. Boro Dropulić

Boro received his PhD from the University of Western Australia and his MBA from the Johns Hopkins University (JHU). He has been in the gene therapy field since the late1980s. After a Fogarty Fellowship at the NIH, he joined the faculty at JHU where he worked on developing Lentiviral vectors as delivery systems for gene therapy. After 4 years in academia, he founded his first company ViRxSys and led the team that first demonstrated the safety of Lentiviral vectors in humans with his UPenn colleagues. Later he founded Lentigen, which first developed the Lentiviral vector used to produce Kymriah™, the first FDA-approved gene therapy product. Later, Boro saw an opportunity to integrate Lentiviral vector technology with closed-system automated cell processing devices to enable distributive place-of-care manufacturing at hospitals, potentially improving the affordability and accessibility of gene therapy products like CAR-T cells. He therefore spearheaded the acquisition of Lentigen by Miltenyi Biotec in 2014 and led the development of a global place-of-care network of clinical centers that were able to successfully manufacture CAR-T cell products and demonstrate their therapeutic benefits in clinical trials. Seeing a need for improved business models to support the affordability and accessibility of gene therapy products, Boro co-founded Caring Cross and serves as the Executive Director.

Meet Dr. Saba Ghassemi

Dr. Saba Ghassemi is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine and a Principal Investigator at the Center for Cellular Immunotherapies at the University of Pennsylvania. Her research integrates engineering and T cell immunology to develop next-generation CAR T cell therapies with enhanced potency, durability, and translational feasibility. Dr. Ghassemi pioneered abbreviated CAR T cell manufacturing strategies that produce less differentiated, highly functional T cells, contributing to a successful Penn clinical trial using a 3-day manufacturing process. More recently, her laboratory developed a platform for efficient gene delivery into quiescent, non-activated T cells, enabling the generation of potent CAR T cells within 24 hours. This ultra-rapid approach holds promise for expanding patient access to CAR T therapy and is being advanced toward first-in-human clinical testing at Penn. Her current research focuses on streamlining, standardizing, and automating CAR T cell manufacturing through simplified workflows, dedicated bioreactors, and high-resolution functional assays. These efforts aim to reduce manufacturing complexity, improve reproducibility, and broaden access to cellular immunotherapies. Dr. Ghassemi’s work has been recognized through numerous research awards, peer-reviewed publications, and patent filings.
Dr. Michael Lotze

Meet Dr. Michael Lotze

Michael T. Lotze, MD, FACS is Professor of Surgery, Immunology, and Bioengineering; Director of the DAMP Laboratories at the UPMC Hillman Cancer Center; and Sr. Advisor for the Immune Transplant and Therapy Center within the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Enterprises. His research work includes modern immunotherapy and gene therapy, dendritic cell, T cell, and cytokine therapies, and investigation of the role of mitochondria, metabolism, and unscheduled cell death in cancer. Dr. Lotze has worked in the field of immunology and clinical medicine for over 30 years and has had the opportunity to personally review and advance the work of individuals developing translational research, particularly within cancer. Dr. Lotze is a clinician scientist who has spent the last decade assembling teams to work on the extraordinary problem of pancreatic cancer, renal cancer, and lung cancer. He is a long-time SITC enthusiast, attending his first meeting in Williamsburg, presiding in 1998, and launching both the Primer on Tumor Immunology as well as the SITC Clinical Immuno-Oncology Network to advance the most rigorous and robust clinical protocols in immunotherapy of cancer. Dr. Lotze is the co-inventor of 10 patents in dendritic cell vaccines and antigen discovery, 13 patents in tumor infiltrating lymphocyte therapy (while at Iovance), additional patents at Nurix Therapeutics where he served as Chief Cell Therapy Officer 2020-2023. He is an award-winning NCI-trained scientist (1978-1990), the inaugural Director of Surgical Oncology at Pitt (1990-2000), former Vice President of Research at GlaxoSmithKline (2001), founding director of the UPCI Academy, former Chief Scientific Officer at Lion/Iovance Biotherapeutics, former CCO at Nurix Therapeutics, and innovative educator as a prolific clinician-scientist/tumor immunologist with over 500 publications and several books.
Tom Whitehead

Meet Mr. Tom Whitehead

President & Co-founder, Emily Whitehead Foundation. Tom Whitehead is a keynote speaker, author, and journeyman lineman for an energy company. He is also the proud father of Emily and the co-founder of the Emily Whitehead Foundation, which is dedicated to raising awareness and funds for pediatric cancer immunotherapy research. Tom, his wife Kari, and their daughter Emily founded the Emily Whitehead Foundation to share their story and support families facing pediatric cancer. At age five, Emily was diagnosed with an aggressive form of leukemia that did not respond to standard treatments. As a last resort, she was enrolled in a groundbreaking clinical trial and became the first pediatric patient in the world to receive CAR T-cell therapy. The treatment was a success—Emily has been cancer-free for over 13 years and is now considered cured.

Meet Dr. Patrick Hanley

Patrick Hanley, PhD, is the chief and director of the Cellular Therapy Program and an associate professor of Pediatrics at Children’s National Hospital and the George Washington University, respectively. He oversees processing for standard of care stem cell transplantation as well as the development, manufacture, quality and testing of novel cell and gene therapies. Over the past 19 years he has helped to translate more than 600 products on over 25 cell therapy protocols – ranging from mesenchymal stromal cells to cord blood virus-specific T cells and tumor-associated antigen specific T cells – into the clinic. In 2020 Dr. Hanley was elected VP-North America of the International Society for Cell and Gene Therapy (ISCT) where he also served on the board of directors, co-founded and served as the inaugural co-chair of the Early-Stage Professionals committee which focuses on workforce development, and is the commissioning editor of the society’s journal, Cryotherapy. Representing ISCT, he serves on the Regenerative Medicine Forum of the National Academies where he co-leads the workforce working group. He also serves on the board of directors of the Foundation for the Accreditation of Cellular Therapy (FACT) and is a FACT representative at the Cell Therapy Liaison Meeting, serving as a thought leader in a forum with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Dr Hanley also serves as an advisor for a number of cell and gene therapy biotech companies.
Raymond Luke

Meet Mr. Raymond Luke

Raymond holds a B.A. in Genetics from Rutgers University and is based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He is a cell therapy leader with experience supporting both early- and late-phase programs, with strengths in process analytics, product characterization, process development, CMO management, and technical support. Raymond currently serves as Senior Director, MSAT and Head of CMC at Verismo Therapeutics. He previously held the role of Director, MSAT and Head of CMC at Verismo, supporting MSAT and CMC leadership across the organization. Prior to Verismo, Raymond spent several years at Adaptimmune, progressing through MS&T roles including Senior Scientist, Principal Scientist (Process Sciences, Manufacturing Science and Technology), and Associate Director (Process Sciences and Engineering – MS&T). Earlier in his career, he held research roles including Research Specialist at the University of Pennsylvania and Research Assistant at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, where he supported research on the effects of dexamethasone on glioblastoma cells.
Smita Chandran

Meet Dr. Smita Chandran

Smita Chandran is a Scientific Research Lead at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC), where she focuses on developing T cell–based immunotherapies targeting shared public neoantigens in solid cancers. Her work bridges immunology and cancer immunotherapy, translating fundamental T cell biology into next-generation cellular therapies. Smita earned her Ph.D. in Immunology from the University of Maryland, Baltimore, where her graduate research examined how early immune priming can influence the development of long-term CD4 T cell memory. She trained as a Research Fellow at the National Cancer Institute and was the research lead on two independent clinical trials using T cell clones targeting melanocyte-differentiation antigens for the treatment of metastatic melanoma and the adoptive transfer of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes for the treatment of metastatic uveal melanoma. In her current role, Smita Chandran is leading the preclinical to clinical development of T cell therapies targeting public neoantigens derived from mutated PIK3CA and RAS. Through her research leadership at MSKCC, Smita Chandran continues to advance cellular immunotherapy and expand the potential of T cell–based cancer treatments.
Ignacio Nunez, M.Sc., MBB

Meet Ignacio Nunez, M.Sc., MBB

Ignacio Nunez is a seasoned operator and manufacturing executive with deep expertise in biologics, cell and gene therapies, and complex GMP manufacturing systems. He has spent his career helping organizations translate breakthrough therapies into scalable, reliable operations. Most recently, Ignacio served as Chief Operating Officer of CellReady, where he led the company’s operational expansion in the cell and gene therapy space. He drove large-scale organizational and manufacturing transformations, delivering material reductions in capital expenditure and development timelines while strengthening GMP manufacturing, quality systems, and supply chain performance across collaborations with global biopharma, emerging biotech, academic institutions, investors, and CDMOs/CROs. Earlier, Ignacio contributed hands-on to the industrialization and commercialization of next-generation therapies, including some of the first FDA-approved cell and gene therapies. He founded BioExcellence to bring operator-led execution to clients—developing high-throughput manufacturing and operational excellence models adopted in the design and optimization of large-scale cell therapy production facilities. Ignacio holds B.S. and M.Sc. degrees in Chemical Engineering from the University of Granada and is a certified Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt.
Betsy & Beau Larrabee

Meet Betsy & Beau Larrabee

Betsy and Beaudin Larrabee are a mother–son speaking and advocacy duo focused on childhood cancer survivorship, clinical innovation, and life after treatment. Beaudin was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) at age six following recurrent fevers and hospitalizations. His initial course of treatment proceeded as expected, with a strong early response. Despite this, Beaudin later experienced a CNS-only relapse, shifting his care from established protocols into the uncertain terrain of trial medicine. While preparing to begin relapse therapy, his family connected with the Emily Whitehead Foundation, which supported access to emerging treatment options and clinical trials. Through that pathway, Beaudin enrolled in a CAR T-cell clinical trial at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, receiving his first infusion in March 2021. When CAR T persistence declined, he went on to participate in a humanized CAR T-cell (huCART) trial, receiving a second infusion in August 2021. Although the cells eventually faded, Beaudin’s leukemia did not recur. His family entered a period of watchful waiting, and today Beaudin is a teenager celebrating more than four years cancer-free. Now on the far side of treatment, Betsy and Beaudin speak together about survivorship, clinical decision-making, and the lived experience behind emerging cancer therapies—offering clarity, perspective, and humanity to conversations about medicine, uncertainty, and what comes after survival.

Meet Mr. George Eastwood

George Eastwood is the Executive Director of the Emily Whitehead Foundation, an organization created by the Whitehead family after their daughter Emily became the first pediatric patient to receive CAR-T cell therapy. Under his leadership, the foundation is focused on expanding access to advanced therapies, influencing policy to remove barriers to care, and supporting patients and families throughout their treatment journey, work that builds on its original mission of funding groundbreaking research for less-toxic cancer treatments. A mission-driven innovator in cell and gene therapy, George has spent much of his career creating products, tools, and services to accelerate the development and delivery of cell-based therapeutics. As an early employee at HemaCare, he partnered with pioneering CAR-T companies like Kite and Novartis to help bring their therapies from development to commercialization. He later held leadership roles in the start-up space, including Vice President of Business Development and Partnerships at Kytopen and co-founder of Excellos, a cell and gene therapy company spun out of the San Diego Blood Bank. In addition to his role at the Emily Whitehead Foundation, George serves on the Board of Directors for the Alliance for Regenerative Medicine, where he works alongside global leaders to advance policies, standards, and innovations that ensure more patients can benefit from next-generation therapies.

Meet Mr. Jim Bowen

Jim Bowen is the Executive Director of Corporate Alliances at the University of Pennsylvania, a role he has held since 2016. Prior to this position, he served as Director of Licensing and Director of Corporate Alliances, and previously as Associate Director of Licensing and Director of the CAR T-Cell Alliance Group. He also held earlier roles in life science licensing at Penn, including Assistant Director of Life Science Licensing and Life Sciences Licensing Officer. Bowen is a U.S. Patent Agent (Registration No. 62,271). He earned his Ph.D. in Neurobiology from the University of Chicago and holds a BA/BA in Biology and Economics from the University of Virginia.

Meet Dr. Ekaterina Doubrovina

Ekaterina Doubrovina MD, PhD, is a Director of the Immune, Cell and Gene Therapy GMP Service at Rutgers Cancer Institute and an Associate Professor at the Department of Medicine of Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. She is an accomplished medical researcher in the field of Cancer Immunology and Immune Cell Therapies with extensive experience in implementation and oversight of the GMP process development, manufacturing, quality control and quality assurance for first-in-human cell and gene therapy clinical trials and for the transfer of the developed technology to biopharmaceutical companies. Her research work contributed to setting the grounds of new paradigm in mechanisms of response to tumors and viral infections resulting in development of a breakthrough technologies that were implemented in clinical trials for treatment of hematologic malignancies and viral complications. Dr. Doubrovina also led development and implementation of the off-shelf approach for immediate treatment of cancer patients and immuno-compromised patients with T-cells generated from third party donors. Dr. Doubrovina is a co-inventor of 8 patents on antigen discoveries, methods and approaches for adoptive cellular therapies. Over more than 25 years at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and more recently over 5 years at Rutger's Cancer Center Dr. Doubrovina established GMP Facilities and enabled initiation of the Immune Cell Therapy programs by the investigators at those centers. She assisted with development and implementation of different GMP manufacturing processes for multiple clinical trials testing safety and efficacy of virus specific T-cells, NK cells, CAR modified T-cells and TCR engineered T-cells at MSKCC and RCI. Under administration of Dr. Doubrovina, the MSKCC GMP facility generated one of the biggest banks of the pre-characterized EBV, CMV and WT-1 specific T-cells available as off-the-shelf immediate treatment for the 3rd party recipients all over the world.

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February 19 Thursday

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G-Rex Grant Tour Philadelphia

G-Rex Grant Tour

If you're building the future of cell therapy - this is your place

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