Developing Predictive Cancer Models and More Persistent CAR T-cell Therapies through Enhanced Metabolic Fitness

James Lim, PhD, Chief Scientific Officer, Xcell Biosciences

Dr. James Lim is the Co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer at Xcell Biosciences. He is leading the company’s scientific effort in the development of an advanced cell therapy manufacturing and analytics platform.

Dr. Lim received his BSc in Cell Biology from McGill University and his PhD in Biophysics from The Scripps Research Institute. He conducted his post-doctoral studies at Harvard Medical School and launched Xcellbio while working as a researcher at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

Ningchun Liu, PhD, Director of Enterprise Cell and Gene Therapy, Labcorp

Dr. Ningchun Liu provides leadership and guidance to integrated global teams on clients’ cell and gene therapy programs. Dr. Liu applies expertise in drug discovery, translational research, immuno-oncology, biomarker identification, assay development and technology implementation, in addition to cell and gene therapy, to lead the development of new products for clients.

He also delivers training to team members and other stakeholders on cell and gene therapy and other innovations in cancer research. Before joining Labcorp, Dr. Liu was Principal Scientist and Senior Manager for Global Product Development and Supply at Bristol Myers Squibb, where he led the ideation, technical development and launch of T-cell (CAR T) therapies. His PhD is in Pathology and Laboratory Medicine from the University of Rochester.

Anita J. Zaitouna, PhD, Scientist, Scientific Development, Assay Development (Research), Labcorp

Dr. Anita J Zaitouna has over 15 years of experience as a scientist with broad focuses in immunology and bioanalysis. At Labcorp, Dr. Zaitouna has been a leader in the discovery oncology in vitro services space, focusing on developing assays to characterize cell and gene therapy, antibody drug conjugates and more. Additional focus has been on development of assays that can be paired with preclinical models.

Dr. Maryland Franklin, PhD, Vice President and Enterprise Head, Cell and Gene Therapy, Labcorp

Dr. Maryland Franklin has more than 20 years of experience in preclinical and early clinical development spanning therapeutic types, including small molecules, antibodies and CGTs. She leads a matrixed team of CGT experts supporting the depth and breadth of drug development.

She is responsible for strategic vision, thought leadership and collaborations across CGT. She has partnered on numerous multidisciplinary teams delivering therapeutic candidates from discovery into early clinical development, including playing a key role in bringing four drugs into Phase I oncology clinical trials.

Brian Feth, Co-founder and CEO, Xcell Biosciences

Brian Feth is Co-founder and CEO of Xcell Biosciences Inc., a San Francisco-based life science company. Brian has led the company through the product development and launch of several platforms in the cell therapy space and has raised over $50M in financing since inception from several notable investors, including Casdin Capital, Viking Global, HBM Healthcare, Lightspeed, Dynamk Capital and Labcorp.

Prior to Xcellbio, Brian worked with Strategyn Equity Partners, a mid-market private equity firm and with L.E.K. Consulting, a business strategy management consulting firm where he focused on advising life science diagnostic and research tools clients in corporate strategy, product strategy and planning, and transaction support.

Brian has also lived and worked in several countries in Africa with the non-profit, TechnoServe, where he wrote a grant for and led the launch of a $13M program funded by the Gates Foundation and Coca-Cola to double the incomes of 54,000 farmers.

Brian earned his MBA from UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business, his MS in Bioscience from the Keck Graduate Institute of Applied Sciences and BS with honors in both Molecular Biology and Chemistry from Purdue University.