Chimeric Therapeutics Ltd (ASX:CHM) has signed up Dr Stephanie H Astrow to the position of vice president, Translational Sciences.
Dr Astrow joins the clinical-stage cell therapy company with more than two decades under her belt in the key clinical areas of cell therapy and biotechnology.
Adoptive cell therapy roles
She led the translational development programs for CAR T, TCR and NK cell therapies at both Kite Pharma and Fate Therapeutics (NASDAQ:FATE), where she oversaw teams focused on the mechanistic understanding of engineered cell therapy products.
At Kite, Dr Astrow was responsible for the solid tumour programs, including strategic collaborations with the National Cancer Institute.
Prior to her work in adoptive cell therapy, Dr Astrow was vice president of R&D at Response Genetics, where she was responsible for novel oncology biomarker assay development, participating in the approvals of numerous clinical assays, including molecular and companion diagnostics used in cancer therapy selection.
She has also held leadership positions at Quest Diagnostics, Pathway Diagnostics and Impath, Inc.
Dr Astrow holds a Bachelor of Arts in Biology and Medicine from Brown University and earned her Ph.D. in Molecular and Cell Biology from the University of California, Berkeley.
She also holds a Masters of Business Administration from Pepperdine University.
Inventor on several patents
Dr Astrow is named as an inventor on several patents and has published papers in the fields of oncology therapy and diagnostics development, among others.
Chimeric CEO and managing director Jennifer Chow said: “Dr Astrow has extensive experience in the development of translational strategies for solid tumour and hematologic malignancies for adoptive cell therapies in both autologous and allogeneic settings.
“She will be a valuable addition to the Chimeric team as we continue to advance our deep clinical pipeline.”
Chimeric chief medical officer Dr Jason B Litten said: “This is a critical role on our team and Dr Astrow is a great scientist with deep cell therapy experience.”