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The Science of Hope: Exploring Cell Therapy
Schedule
September 19, 2025
Carl June, MD: Director, CCI
Welcome
Brief introduction to the series and welcome remarks.
Daniel Goodman, PhD: Assistant Professor, Cancer Biology
Session: The Immune System
"Beyond protecting you from infections, your immune system has an important regulatory role in your body and plays a central role in many diseases, including cancer. This session introduces the key cell types and pathways of the immune system, and how innate and adaptive responses work together."
October 17, 2025
Andrew Rech, MD, PhD: Instructor, Pathology & Laboratory Medicine
Session: Cancer
Microscopic Battlegrounds: A Pathologist’s View of the Cancer-Immune War
Cancer isn't just a disease of rogue cells; it’s an active battlefield where the body's immune system constantly fights back. Join Andrew Rech, an Instructor and immunotherapy researcher from the University of Pennsylvania, for a visual journey into this microscopic war. We will explore the "Rules of Engagement"—how the immune system identifies and attacks tumors, and the clever ways cancer evades detection. We will look at cells in patient samples to visualize how pathologists determine if the immune system is winning, providing a foundational look at the science powering cutting-edge treatments like CAR T-cell therapy.
November 21, 2025
Julie Jadlowsky, PhD: Director, Translational Research Operations
Session: Cell Engineering - Part 1
An introduction to types of cell therapies, therapeutic target selection, vector options for cell engineering, and an overview of validating safety for human administration
Andrew Fesnak, MD: Deputy Director, CACT
Session: Cell Engineering - Part 2
Good-manufacturing practices, manufacturing cell products for clinical use, quality control of engineered cell products
December - NO SESSION - Happy Holidays!
January 16, 2026
Elizabeth Hexner, MD: Medical Director
Session: Cell Therapy for Blood Cancers
This will be an interactive session introducing stem cell transplantation as the first cell therapy and the first immunotherapy. Using a patient’s journey with acute leukemia, we will introduce decision making about proceeding with a transplant, various sources of blood forming stem cells, and some of the complications that can be encountered.
February 20, 2026
Daniel Baker, PhD
Session: Cell Therapy for Solid Tumors
Dr. Baker will provide a comprehensive overview of state-of-the-art cell therapy strategies for solid tumors, including CAR T cells and other adoptive immunotherapies. He will delineate the principal obstacles posed by the tumor microenvironment and showcase emerging translational approaches devised to overcome these barriers.
March 20, 2026
Friederike Herbst-Nowrouzi, PhD: Director, HGEL
Session: Gene Therapy
In this session, students will explore how gene therapy treats genetic diseases by correcting or replacing defective genes.
We'll focus on sickle cell disease (SCD), a blood disorder caused by a single mutation, and learn how scientists are developing ways to "fix" this mutation using cutting-edge tools like CRISPR.
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Students will also learn about lipid nanoparticles (LNPs), tiny bubbles that deliver gene-editing tools into cells. We'll highlight research from Dr. Musunuru’s lab, where LNPs were used to deliver a customized base editing machinery to an infant’s liver to correct a CPS1 mutation. This was the first personalized, in vivo CRISPR therapy in a human, and the patient, KJ, is doing remarkably well.
By the end of the session, students will understand the basics of gene therapy, why it holds so much promise for diseases like SCD or CPS1 deficiency, and how innovation in delivery technologies is shaping the future of medicine.
April 10, 2026
James Riley, PhD: Professor, Microbiology
Session: Cell and Gene Therapy for Indications Beyond Cancer
Success of CAR T cell therapy in cancer has sparked interest in how this approach can be used to treat other chronic conditions like HIV and autommune disease. This lecture will show how the principles of cancer CAR T cell therapy are being translated to other disease states.
Details
The Center for Cellular Immunotherapies invites you to join us for our 2025-2026 educational series titled: The Science of Hope: Exploring Cell Therapy.
About the Series:
- Open to all high school and undergraduate students interested in learning about CCI.
- Series will occur once a month via Zoom (see schedule below).
- RSVP by filling out this form
- You will get an email confirmation that will allow you to register for the Zoom link for the series, and provide all details regarding the educational series.
*Please note* Most sessions will be one hour in length (Cell Engineering session will be two hours).
Register for the Zoom Link
Contact
CCI Educational Series
Chelsey Molineaux
3400 Civic Center Blvd, SCTR
Philadelphia, PA 19104
mchelsey@upenn.edu