Executive Advisory Board
The Executive Advisory Board plays a vital role in supporting the institute’s strategic direction by providing oversight and guidance, approving direction and monitoring progress. Membership is drawn from experts outside of MD Anderson who have made significant contributions in the fields of cell therapy, immunotherapy, cell engineering and translational research.
Stephan Mielke, M.D.
Chair
Professor and Senior Physician at Karolinska Institutet
Helen Heslop, M.D.
Co-Chair
Dan L Duncan Chair, Professor of Medicine and Pediatrics and Director of the Center for Cell and Gene Therapy at Baylor College of Medicine, Houston Methodist Hospital and Texas Children’s Hospital.
Deputy Director of the Dan L Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center at Baylor College of Medicine
Dr. Heslop is a physician-scientist engaged in translational research focusing on adoptive immunotherapy with gene-modified effector cells, and she has extensive experience as a sponsor of cell therapy trials conducted under IND.
John DiPersio, M.D., Ph.D.
Virginia E and Sam J Golman Professor of Medicine
Director, Center for Gene and Cellular Immunotherapy
Washington University School of Medicine
Dr. DiPersio's research focuses on fundamental and translational aspects of leukemia, lymphoma and stem cell biology. These studies include identification of genetic abnormalities in human leukemias, understanding processes involving stem cell and leukemia cell trafficking and clinical and translational programs in both leukemia/MDS, lymphoma/myeloma and stem cell transplantation. He is developing chimeric antigen receptor T cell (CAR-T) therapies for the treatment of AML, multiple myeloma, T ALL and T/B-NHLs and developing novel ways to enhance their activity and reduce their toxicities.
Nicholas Huntington, Ph.D.
AAS Jacques Miller Medallist
NHMRC Leadership Fellow at Monash University, Australia
Co-founder & Chief Scientific Officer of oNKo-Innate
Dr. Huntington is an international leader on cytokine and natural killer (NK) cell biology. With more than 20 years experience in academia and more recently biotech, his research programs have defined human NK cell development & differentiation pathways, regulatory mechanisms of IL-15 signalling & multiple checkpoints limiting NK cell anti-tumour immunity.
Carl June, M.D.
Richard W. Vague Professor in Immunotherapy
Professor of Medicine
Director, Center for Cellular Immunotherapies
Director, Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy
University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine
Lewis Lanier, Ph.D.
J Michael Bishop Distinguished Professor Emeritus
Founding Director Emeritus of the Parker Institute of Cancer Immunotherapy at the University of California San Francisco
Dr. Lanier has studied Natural Killer cells since 1981 and discovered many of the receptors, ligands and signaling pathways used by NK cells for host defense against cancer and viral infections.
Pavan Reddy, M.D.
Professor and Director of the Dan L Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center, Baylor College of Medicine
Bipin Savani, M.D.
Professor of Medicine, Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center
Dr. Savani’s area of specialization is in the treatment of hematological malignancies, stem cell transplantation and cellular therapy, and his primary field of research is in the long-term follow-up after transplantation/cellular therapy, including regimen-related toxicity/supportive care, and outcomes analysis of hematological malignancies, transplant and cellular therapy recipients.
Keith Sullivan, M.D.
James B. Wyngaarden Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Medicine in the Division of Hematologic Malignancies and Cellular Therapy at Duke University Medical Center
Dr. Sullivan is a renowned expert in blood and marrow transplantation and is widely published on the subject. His research focuses on the late effects of high-dose chemotherapy and stem cell transplantation, graft-versus-host disease, and the use of transplantation as a treatment for sickle cell and autoimmune diseases.