The Insight Exchange on Cell Line Development (CLD):

Dr. Dorraji is a highly experienced cancer immunologist focusing on cell and antibody therapies. He currently serves as a co-founder of a preclinical stage company in Oslo, a Scientific Advisor at Guidepoint, and an Innovation Project leader at SPARK Norway, UiO:Life Science. Dr. Dorraji is also a researcher and former postdoc at the Immunotherapy Against Solid Cancers Group, Department of Cancer Immunology, Institute for Cancer Research, Oslo University Hospital.

He has several patents in cancer immunology, including HER2 VARIANT CAR and antibody, P95HER2 antibody variants, and two more patent applications in preparation. Dr. Dorraji has received numerous grants and awards, such as the Novo Nordisk Pioneer Innovator Grant, Innovation Grants from Norwegian Heath Region South-East and SPARK Norway, UiO:Life Science.

Dr. Neniskyte is a skilled and accomplished Principal Investigator and Group Leader at the Partnership Institute of European Molecular Biology Laboratory and Life Sciences Center, Vilnius University, Lithuania.

She has held various positions, including a Marie Sklodowska Curie Researcher and Principal Investigator, Postdoctoral Marie Curie Fellow, and Research Associate at esteemed institutions in Lithuania, Italy, and the UK. She also has secured research funding from the European Regional Development Fund and Vilnius University Science Advancement Fund

Dr. Neniskyte has contributed significantly to biochemistry and neuroscience as an author of multiple research publications. She has also filed a patent application for a genetically encoded Lact-fluor biomarker system for visualizing phosphatidylserine.

Dr. Jones was born and trained in the United States. He earned his doctorate in Molecular Biology, Cellular Biology and Biochemistry at Brown University with Dr. Richard Bennett. He produced his postdoctoral research in CRISPR biochemistry and cellular aging with Dr. Ilya Finkelstein at the University of Texas. In 2021, he established his research group at the EMBL Partnership Institute in Vilnius University's Life Sciences Center, where he leads the group in their search to discover and characterize CRISPR and other programmable nucleases with next-generation biochemistry.

Stephen lives in Vilnius, Lithuania, with his wife, Eva and their greyhound, Audrey Sparkles. Beyond science, Stephen is also a musician, mechanic, adventurer and lover of life.

Patrick obtained his PhD from Philipps University Marburg, Germany, after which he pursued a Postdoc at UC Berkeley, USA, before leading the Pausch Lab at the VU LSC-EMBL Partnership Institute for Genome Editing Technologies in Vilnius, Lithuania. During his Ph.D. and postdoctoral work, Patrick investigated a range of nucleic acid interacting stress response factors and adaptive immune systems from bacteria, also contributing to developing novel CRISPR genome editing tools derived from jumbo bacteriophages.

Beyond science, Patrick enjoys cycling in and around Vilnius and occasionally tours on his motorcycle. Patrick's other passions are traveling and rock climbing.

Jonathan Arias, Ph.D., pursues the creation of Advanced Therapeutic Medicinal Products (ATMPs) with a special focus on onco-immunology and orphan diseases. His R&D leverages the technologies of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) and genome engineering.

He obtained his MSc in Karolinska Institutet (Sweden) and PhD in Kyoto University (Japan). He conducted two postdoctoral fellowships at Karolinska Institutet (Sweden) and the University of Oslo (Norway). He is the author of 15 scientific articles in regenerative medicine and genome engineering.

Dr. Arias is an inventor on three granted patents, one of which is in genome engineering. He is a lecturer on graduate courses at Karolinska Institutet and Vilnius University.

Dr. Michael Launspach, MD, is a dedicated clinician-scientist with a solid academic background and impressive experience in oncology and hematology. He has held a postdoctoral position at AG Künkele since August 2019 and is affiliated with Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Department of Pediatrics, Division of Oncology and Hematology since August 2018.

Dr. Launspach has received prestigious fellowships, such as the Clinician Scientist Fellowship from BIH Berlin, which he has participated in since September 2022.

Besides his clinical and academic work, Dr. Launspach has received numerous accolades and recognitions for his contributions to the field. The Berlin Cancer Society awarded him a research grant from July 2020 to June 2022.

Dr. Maik Luu is a dedicated researcher and academician with extensive experience in translational medicine and biomedical sciences. He is currently serving as a W1 Tenure Track Assistant Professor for Translational Medicine since May 2023. He has a solid academic background, completing his Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Biomedical Science and Biology of Infection at Philipps-University Marburg.

Actively involved in scientific community work, Dr. Luu serves as a Guest Editor for Frontiers in Genetics and a reviewer for several prestigious journals such as Frontiers in Immunology, Developmental and Cell Biology, and Nature Biomedical Engineering. Furthermore, he holds a patent for "Short-chain fatty acid pentanoate as an enhancer for cellular therapy and anti-tumor therapy.”

Dr. Domenica Martorana is an R&D senior scientist working on gene regulation product development at QIAGEN, Hilden, Germany. She studied Molecular and Cellular Biology at the Georg-August University in Göttingen (Germany), where she received her PhD in 2019. Her PhD research focused on the transcriptional regulation of the unfolded protein response in both fungi and higher eukaryotes. Along the way, she has gathered extensive experience in gene editing and gene regulation in different international projects. Since joining QIAGEN in 2019, Dr Martorana has been involved in developing CRISPR- and functional gene regulation-related products.