Our Speakers

Hope Is Not A Workflow

KEYNOTE SPEAKERS | ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSIONS | RAPID-FIRE SESSIONS

There's never been a more exciting—or interesting—time to be a cell therapy developer!

Advancements and breakthroughs abound alongside regulatory and legislative changes that impact every stage of therapeutic development. And while some days seem like it's "one step forward, two steps back", we remain a passionate, committed community focused on helping people live longer, healthier lives.

Listen and learn from the wonderfully diverse group of thought leaders and experts joining us from across the industry, as we continue to find ways to move our work forward.

KEYNOTE SPEAKERS

[INDUSTRY PERSPECTIVES - IN PRESENTATION ORDER]

Grant Schoneman

Vice Chairman - Life Sciences Group

As Vice Chairman with JLL’s San Diego office, Grant Schoneman focuses on lease and sales transactions with a concentration in the life sciences sector. Since 2007, he has actively worked with some of San Diego’s strongest biotechnology tenants and landlords. Grant’s intimate knowledge of the San Diego life sciences community and his attention to detail give him key insight into market trends that enable him to provide valuable guidance to his clients. He is an active member of JLL’s global life sciences practice group, giving him a national and global perspective of the sector.

José Morachis, PhD

Founder and Managing Partner

Dr. Morachis has 15+ years of experience in life science tools and co-founding startups. He co-founded NanoCellect, a global leader in cell sorting technology, and Defined Bioscience for stem cell research. Currently, he serves on the Board of Directors at Defined Bioscience and Lynx Bio, focusing on novel immuno-oncology therapeutics. As managing partner of ScholarNexus, he co-founded Arima Genomics, a leading 3D genomics company. With a PhD from UCSD and postdoctoral research at UCSD's Laboratory of Bioresponsive Materials, Dr. Morachis contributed to nanotechnology and cancer research.

Carl Schoellhammer, PhD

Partner

Carl leads DeciBio’s advanced therapies practice. He brings experience across biopharma, manufacturing/bioprocessing, and supply chain considerations for his clients. He has executed on projects ranging from pipeline prioritization/life cycle management, indication road mapping, growth strategy, and M&A projects across healthcare, life science tools, and pharma (cell and gene therapies). Carl holds a B.S. from the University of California, Berkeley, and a Ph.D. from MIT where he trained with Professor Robert Langer.

Robert Tressler, PhD

Co-Founder and Chief Scientific Officer

Rob Tressler has authored over 30 peer-reviewed articles and publications and is an inventor on numerous patents. Previously he was the CSO at the San Diego Blood Bank and has held executive scientific roles at Geron, Inc. and Cellerant Therapuetics. Robert’s scientific focus is stem cell biology, oncology, and anti-aging. Robert achieved his Ph.D. from University of Texas in Cancer Biology and has a Masters Degree in Microbiology. He is a member of the American Association of Blood Banks, The International Society of Cell Therapy, and the American Society of Hematology.

Stephen Gunstream

President and Chief Executive Officer

Stephen Gunstream has served as Teknova’s President and Chief Executive Officer since May 2020, after joining the company in December 2019 as Chief Business Officer. Stephen has more than 20 years of sales, marketing, research and development, and general management experience in the life sciences industry.

From June 2015 to December 2019, Stephen served in multiple roles at Becton, Dickinson and Company (“BD”), a global medical technology company, most recently as Vice President and General Manager of BD Biosciences, where he was responsible for leading BD’s flow cytometry and genomics business.

From 2008 to 2015, he served in multiple roles at Integrated DNA Technologies, Inc. (“IDT”), a leading supplier of custom nucleic acids, most recently as Chief Commercial Officer, where he was responsible for product development, global sales, and global marketing. Under Stephen’s leadership, IDT took advantage of its core DNA manufacturing strengths and launched several highly innovative products that re-positioned the company in the market, including the xGen® Exome Panel and gBlocks® Gene Fragments, the latter for which he was also named a co-inventor. Prior to IDT, from 2001 to 2008, Stephen held multiple product development and business development roles with Applied Biosystems, Inc. (now part of Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc.), a biomedical technology company.

Stephen received a bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering from Northwestern University and an MBA from the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University. He is a named inventor on 10 issued patents and more than 25 pending patents.

Benjamin Fryer, PhD

Chief Executive Officer

Ben Fryer received his Doctorate in Pharmacology from the University of Pennsylvania Medical School. He has spent 18 years in industrial research, including 14 years as a stem cell scientist on innovative cellular therapeutic project ranging from basic research to translational R&D and clinical manufacturing. He is experienced in cross-functional team management, technical transfers to GMP environment, and managing large and diverse teams. Dr. Fryer has multiple issued and pending patents regarding processing, expanding and differentiating stem cells, and is a co-inventor on the foundational patent application for Semma Therapeutics, Inc.

Michael McCutchen

Product Manager

Michael McCutchen is a Product Manager at Invert, a software company building AI and data management tools to accelerate biomanufacturing. Prior to Invert, he was a Senior Engineer at Resilience where he led a team building digitally-accelerated biomanufacturing platforms for viral vectors. Michael has worked in diverse technical settings, from research and development in polymer membranes to supply chain in clinical-stage gene therapy. He focuses on working at the junction of hardware, software, and biological systems to operationalize science. Michael earned his BS in Chemical Engineering from the University of Maryland, College Park.

Lori Ellis

Head of Insights

Lori is the Head of Insights at BioSpace. She analyzes and comments on industry trends for BioSpace and clients. She creates engaging content for clients to support their marketing objectives. She has been part of an award-winning marketing team and has won a Muse Creative award, a Vega award and several Adobe awards in collaborative team projects for her audio narration work. Her experience in the television/film and audio industries benefits both BioSpace and partners through her moderation and hosting of live and virtual events. While she has covered all elements of the drug development process, her primary focuses are women’s health issues, the economic climate, and the ever-evolving impact of technology – specifically artificial intelligence – on the pharmaceutical industry.

ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSIONS

[IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER]

Ian Burdick

Director, Business Strategy

Ian Burdick is an executive leader with deep expertise in regenerative medicine, biopharma, and advanced drug delivery, currently serving as Director of Business Strategy at Solesis. He leads strategic growth initiatives, M&A, and partnership development across biopharma platforms, driving double-digit revenue and EBITDA growth. Ian has led multi-million-dollar licensing deals, established R&D centers focused on next-gen regenerative technologies, and secured critical commercialization partnerships. His prior roles span product management and market strategy in biotech and pharma, with a track record of launching innovative products, optimizing portfolios, and aligning commercial strategies to long-term growth. Ian also serves on several nonprofit and advisory boards, including the Piedmont Triad Regenerative Medicine Engine, where he supports ecosystem-building and innovation. He holds an MBA from UNC Kenan-Flagler and a BS from Western Michigan University. Ian is passionate about forging strategic and creative partnerships that accelerate innovation, market access, and impact.

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DISCUSSION TOPIC: Strategic and Creative Partnerships in CGT

In the fast-paced cell and gene therapy sector, standard strategic partnerships are often not enough to drive true innovation. Creative collaboration is required to unlock unexpected value, accelerate progress, and navigate the complex challenges unique to CGT development. This roundtable will explore what makes a partnership truly creative, how to manage common points of tension, and how the collaborative landscape is evolving with emerging tech and patient advocacy players.As the CGT landscape matures, how do you see partnerships evolving – especially with emerging players like platform tech companies, AI-driven discovery, or patient advocacy groups?

Dominic Clarke, PhD

Vice President, Technical Operations

Dominic Clarke is a recognized authority in the Cell and Gene Therapy (CGT) industry, bringing over 20 years of leadership and innovation to the field. As Vice President of Technical Operations at IntegriCell, Cryoport, he oversees technical development, MSAT, and operational services, driving forward the company’s mission to advance cell therapy manufacturing and delivery. Throughout his career, Dominic has held key executive roles at leading biotech organizations including HemaCare (Charles River Laboratories), Charter Medical, and BioLife Solutions. His deep technical knowledge and strategic insight have consistently delivered operational excellence, enhanced visibility, and commercial growth.

Dominic earned his Ph.D. in Cell and Molecular Biology from the State University of New York, with a specialization in cryopreservation and low-temperature biology, followed by postdoctoral research in developmental biology at Syracuse Upstate Medical University.

 A long-standing contributor to the CGT community, Dominic has served for over 15 years on the International Society for Cell & Gene Therapy (ISCT) Process Development and Manufacturing Committee, where he currently leads as Chair—helping shape global standards and best practices in advanced therapy manufacturing.

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DISCUSSION TOPIC: The Supply Chain Workflow - Bulletproofing Your Process from Patient/Donor to Dose

The success of cell and gene therapies is highly dependent on the quality and integrity of the starting cellular material. A single disruption in the supply chain can lead to the loss of a valuable, often irreplaceable, therapeutic dose. Relying on "hope" that critical raw material arrives on time and in good condition is an outdated and high-risk strategy. The industry is now moving toward workflows that replace hope with control and decouple the unpredictable timing of the clinic from the manufacturing schedule, ensuring a consistent, high-quality starting material is always ready. This roundtable will explore how partnering with specialized providers for the entire collection-to-cryopreservation process creates a truly reliable and scalable foundation for any therapy.

Benjamin Fryer, PhD

Chief Executive Officer

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DISCUSSION TOPIC: Integrating NAMs and Organoid Technologies into Existing Research and Development Workflows

This session will delve into the transformative potential of these innovative platforms to revolutionize research and development by providing more human-relevant data, reducing reliance on traditional animal models, and ultimately accelerating the path to clinical trials. We will explore the practicalities of integrating these complex 3D, self-organizing "mini-organs" and other NAMs into existing workflows. The conversation will address the significant impact of these technologies on drug discovery, disease modeling, and personalized medicine. Discover how organoids and NAMs are poised to de-risk drug development, lower costs, and increase the predictive accuracy of preclinical studies, heralding a new era of biomedical innovation.

Rohin Krishnan Iyer, PhD

Senior Director, Global Cell and Gene Therapy Operations

Dr. Rohin Krishnan Iyer is a seasoned leader in the advanced therapies space, currently serving as the Senior Director of Global Cell and Gene Therapy (CGT) Operations at Marken. With over 15 years of industry experience and more than two decades of hands-on expertise in stem cell biology, tissue engineering, autologous and allogeneic cell and gene therapy process optimization, and regenerative medicine, Dr. Iyer brings a rare blend of scientific depth and operational excellence to the field.

At Marken, he leads a global team responsible for the orchestration of complex CGT logistics, ensuring seamless delivery from clinical to commercial stages. Under his leadership, the team is uniquely positioned to handle the complex supply chain needs of advanced therapies, including logistics, operations, operational excellence, project management, and a 24/7 global control tower, all working seamlessly to ensure the safe passage of both clinical and commercial cell therapies, gene therapies, starting cellular materials such as apheresis and other blood products, viral vectors, and nucleic acid therapies across the globe.

Dr. Iyer holds a Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Toronto. He has held numerous senior industry roles in process development and biomanufacturing including at TRT Inc., GE Healthcare, CCRM, and Cytiva.

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DISCUSSION TOPIC: From Disruption to Delivery - Forging a Robust CGT Logistics Strategy

Advanced therapy supply chains face constant threats, from geopolitical disruptions to the inherent risk of becoming a rate-limiting bottleneck for life-saving treatments. As logistics directly impacts patient outcomes, professionals are increasingly held to clinical standards of precision and reproducibility. This discussion will examine strategies for building resilience and leveraging advanced technologies like AI to overcome current challenges and support future commercial growth.

William Lloyd, PhD

Senior Director, R&D

Dr. Bill Lloyd is the head of R&D at Akadeum Life Sciences with the mission to improve cell and gene therapy with Buoyancy-Activated Cell Sorting™. Akadeum has pioneered the first new GMP cell separation modality in 40 years, improving cell viability and therapeutic efficacy through a paradigm shift in cell isolation technology with a rapid and equipment free workflow that scales with your development. Bill holds a Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Michigan, trained as a Post Doc in Chemistry at the University of Michigan, consulted in innovation and creativity theory with the Innovatrium, and previously worked in medical device design.

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DISCUSSION TOPIC: The Foundational Workflow - Autologous vs. Allogeneic Models

Explore critical operational challenges and design considerations in cell therapy manufacturing through the examination of workflow bottlenecks in autologous therapies, strategies for building consistent and scalable sourcing and cell banking systems in allogeneic models, and the complexities of tech transfer when shifting from centralized to decentralized, point-of-care manufacturing. The discussion will emphasize how thoughtful workflow design can preserve cell health and ultimately lead to more effective and reliable therapeutics.

Carl Schoellhammer, PhD

Partner

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DISCUSSION TOPIC: Navigating the Path to Market - Policy, Advocacy, and the Future of CGT

The path to market for cell and gene therapies is profoundly influenced by a complex and dynamic legislative and regulatory landscape. These policies directly impact clinical trial design, manufacturing standards, and patient access, creating significant hurdles for therapy developers. This session will demystify the current legislative and regulatory environment and explore how industry stakeholders can proactively engage in advocacy to help shape a more effective framework for the future.

Victoria Zellmer, PhD

Director, Strategic Accounts

Victoria Zellmer is the Director of Strategic Accounts at Invert, a software company building AI and data management tools to accelerate biomanufacturing. Prior to Invert, she held commercial and business development roles at leading life sciences companies, including MaxCyte and Harvard Bioscience, where she worked closely with bioprocessing and cell and gene therapy innovators. Victoria brings a unique blend of scientific insight and strategic acumen, with experience spanning early research tools, clinical-stage technologies, and commercialization strategy. She focuses on driving collaborative partnerships that help operationalize complex science. Victoria earned her BS in Biological Sciences from the University of Notre Dame.

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DISCUSSION TOPIC: The AI-Powered Workflow - Replacing Hope with Data in Process Development

Traditional process development in cell and gene therapy often relies on slow, expensive, and unpredictable trial-and-error methods. By leveraging AI and digital twins, developers can replace this uncertainty with predictive, data-driven decision-making to accelerate timelines and de-risk their CMC strategies. This roundtable will explore the practical applications and challenges of implementing these advanced digital tools, discussing real-world use cases and the infrastructure needed for success.