Cell therapies are an emerging and expanding field. While there have been major successes in using engineered T cells to treat hematologic cancers, many immediate challenges remain about how to program more precise and effective cellular behaviors, how to better manufacture and deliver cell products, and how to navigate a complex regulatory and clinical landscape.  Discussions will include bedside-to-bench stories that provide a critical state-of-the-art view and lessons learned to help drive continued advances. 

There is also growing interest in expanding the range of cell therapies: how to apply them to diseases beyond cancer, including autoimmunity and regeneration, and how to harness a broader set of cell types, including other immune cells, microbes and stem cells.  We will discuss the long-term questions of what types of diseases cellular agents are uniquely suited to treat, and what kinds of programmable functions we need to endow in cells to achieve this vision. 

This meeting is aimed at a wide range of basic and translational researchers, ranging from synthetic biologist and cell engineers to clinicians in diverse areas.  There will be ample opportunities for attendees to network and share cross-disciplinary insights, which will support new collaborations, drive more rapid clinical implementation, and help define a road map for cell therapies in the future.