Emerging Cell Therapies (K2)
February 1-4, 2026
| Fairmont Banff Springs, Banff, AB, Canada
Wendell A. Lim, Ashley K. Koegel and Robbie G. Majzner
Scholarship Deadline: Oct. 29, 2025 | Abstract Deadline: Jan. 9, 2026 | Early Registration Deadline: Dec. 3, 2025
| 4:00–8:00 PM |
Registration |
Riverview Lounge |
| 6:00–8:00 PM |
Welcome Mixer |
Riverview Lounge |
| 7:00–8:00 AM |
Breakfast |
Alberta/New Brunswick |
| 8:00–8:10 AM |
Welcome Remarks |
Alhambra Ballroom |
| 8:10–9:00 AM |
Keynote Address |
Alhambra Ballroom |
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Uri Alon, Weizmann Institute of Science
Systems Medicine: Cell Therapies as Agents to Rewire the Physiological Circuits of Disease |
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| 9:00–11:15 AM |
New Cell Types for Therapy |
Alhambra Ballroom |
| |
Nicholas Arpaia, Columbia University Irving Medical Center
Engineered Probiotic Bacteria for Cancer Immunotherapy |
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Yiyin Erin Chen, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard
Skin Microbiota to Manipulate Immune Responses |
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Frederick Bennett, University of Pennsylvania
Microglia Replacement |
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Short Talk(s) Chosen from Abstracts
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| 9:30–9:50 AM |
Coffee Break |
Riverview Lounge |
| 11:15–1:00 PM |
Poster Setup |
Alberta/New Brunswick |
| 11:15–5:00 PM |
On Own for Lunch |
|
| 1:00–10:00 PM |
Poster Viewing |
Alberta/New Brunswick |
| 2:30–4:30 PM |
Symposia Spotlight 1 |
Alhambra Ballroom |
| |
Short Talks Chosen from Abstracts
|
|
| 4:30–5:00 PM |
Coffee Available |
Riverview Lounge |
| 5:00–7:00 PM |
Cell Therapies for Autoimmunity and Inflammation |
Alhambra Ballroom |
| |
Georg A Schett, Uniklinikum Erlangen
Cell Therapies for Lupus |
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Ashley K. Koegel, Bristol Myers Squibb
Autoimmune Cell Therapies |
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Megan K. Levings, University of British Columbia
CAR Tregs |
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Short Talk(s) Chosen from Abstracts
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| 7:00–8:00 PM |
Social Hour with Dinner |
Alberta/New Brunswick |
| 7:30–10:00 PM |
Poster Session 1 |
Alberta/New Brunswick |
Tuesday, February 3, 2026
| 7:00–8:00 AM |
Breakfast |
Alberta/New Brunswick |
| 8:00–11:00 AM |
Foundational Synthetic Biology Tools for Cell Engineering |
Alhambra Ballroom |
| |
Adrian Bot, AbbVie
In vivo Immune Engineering Paves the Way Towards a New Therapeutic Modality |
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Wendell A. Lim, University of California, San Francisco
Cells as Integrators of Complex Functions |
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Amanda Iniguez, Moonlight Bio
Potency Enhancement Strategies for Cell Therapies |
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Xiaojing Gao, Stanford University
Biomolecular Circuits as Medicine |
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Short Talk(s) Chosen from Abstracts
|
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| 9:00–9:20 AM |
Coffee Break |
Riverview Lounge |
| 9:20–9:25 AM |
Award Recipient Acknowledgement |
Alhambra Ballroom |
| 11:00–1:00 PM |
Poster Setup |
Alberta/New Brunswick |
| 11:00–5:00 PM |
On Own for Lunch |
|
| 1:00–10:00 PM |
Poster Viewing |
Alberta/New Brunswick |
| 1:45–2:45 PM |
Career Roundtable (Joint) |
Alhambra Ballroom |
| 3:00–4:30 PM |
Panel Discussion: Regulatory Hurdles for Cell Therapies |
Alhambra Ballroom |
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Vijay Kumar †, Georgia Regents University
Panelist |
|
| 4:00–5:00 PM |
Coffee Break with Hot Chocolate, Firepits & Mountain Views |
Conservatory Terrace |
| 5:00–7:00 PM |
Cancer Cell Therapies: Preclinical |
Alhambra Ballroom |
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Emily Beura, Kelonia Therapeutics
in vivo Engineering using iGPS Technology |
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Robbie G. Majzner, Dana Farber Cancer Institute
Cancer Cell Therapy |
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Mark Yarmarkovich, New York University
Peptide Centric CARs |
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Short Talk(s) Chosen from Abstracts
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| 7:00–8:00 PM |
Social Hour with Dinner |
Alberta/New Brunswick |
| 7:30–10:00 PM |
Poster Session 2 |
Alberta/New Brunswick |
Wednesday, February 4, 2026
| 7:00–8:00 AM |
Breakfast |
Alberta/New Brunswick |
| 8:00–11:00 AM |
Cancer Cell Therapies: Clinical |
Alhambra Ballroom |
| |
Claudia Rossig, University of Münster
GD2-Targeted CAR T Cell Therapies for Solid Cancers |
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Kristen Hege, Independent board member, Adaptimmune, Mersana, Kelonia, KSQ, EvolveImmune.
GART Lessons Learned Guiding Next Gen Cell Therapies |
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Marcela V Maus, Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center
Cell Therapies for Glioblastoma and Beyond |
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Andras Heczey, Seattle Children's Research Institute
GPC3-CAR T Cells for Patients with Solid Tumors |
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Short Talk(s) Chosen from Abstracts
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|
| 9:00–9:20 AM |
Coffee Break |
Riverview Lounge |
| 11:00–5:00 PM |
On Own for Lunch |
|
| 2:30–4:30 PM |
Symposia Spotlight 2 |
Alhambra Ballroom |
| |
Short Talks Chosen from Abstracts
|
|
| 4:30–5:00 PM |
Coffee Available |
Riverview Lounge |
| 5:00–6:45 PM |
Cell Therapies for Regeneration |
Alhambra Ballroom |
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Stefan Irion, BlueRock Therapeutics
Cell Therapy for Neurodegenerative Disease |
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Faranak Fattahi, University of California, San Francisco
Peripheral Nerve Regeneration |
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Jacob H Hanna, Weizmann Institute of Science
Utilizing Synthetic Embryo Models for Enhanced Stem Cell Differentiation |
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Short Talk(s) Chosen from Abstracts
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| 6:45–7:00 PM |
Meeting Wrap-Up: Outcomes and Future Directions (Organizers) |
Alhambra Ballroom |
| 7:00–8:00 PM |
Social Hour with Dinner |
Alberta/New Brunswick |
| 8:00–11:00 PM |
Entertainment |
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Thursday, February 5, 2026
