Chimeric Therapeutics Ltd (ASX:CHM) has appointed associate professor of microbiology, immunology, and molecular genetics at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Dr Yvonne Chen to its scientific advisory board.
Chen is focused on applying synthetic biology and biomolecular engineering techniques to develop robust cell-based therapies for otherwise intractable diseases.
“Unique and valuable perspective to the scientific advisory board”
Chimeric’s executive chairman Paul Hopper said: “Yvonne is an extremely impressive and well-credentialed researcher, with her lab having achieved some outstanding breakthroughs in cancer research.
“We expect she will bring a unique and valuable perspective to the Scientific Advisory Board as we develop our CLTX-CAR T technology.”
Previous experience
Before joining UCLA, Chen was a Junior Fellow in the Harvard Society of Fellows.
She performed postdoctoral research at the Seattle Children’s Research Institute and the Department of Systems Biology at Harvard Medical School.
Her research include a particular interest in engineering multifunctional T cells that can accurately identify and effectively target tumour cells – in part by overcoming the various defence mechanisms associated with cancers and their microenvironments.
Chimeric’s CLTX-CAR T therapy uses a peptide derived from scorpion toxin to direct T cells to target glioblastoma (GBM) and is currently being used in Phase 1 clinical trial.