Agenda

Autoimmunity Meets Innovation: Cell Therapies

Thursday, April 30, 2026, 8:30 AM - 5:00 PM

8:30 AM - 9:00 AM
Check-in and Breakfast
9:00 AM - 9:45 AM
Session I: Welcome Remarks and Opening Keynote

9:00 AM
Welcome Remarks
Megan Prescott, PhD,
The New York Academy of Sciences

9:15 AM
Keynote Presentation: B Cells as a Therapeutic Target in Autoimmune Diseases
Betty Diamond, PhD,
Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research

9:45 AM - 10:35 AM
Networking Break
10:35 AM - 12:05 PM
Session II: Therapeutic Alterations in Immune Cell Composition

10:35 AM
Targeting Lymphocytes With CAR T Cells to Treat Autoimmunity
James N. Kochenderfer, MD,
National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health

11:05 AM
Strategies to Decrease CAR-T Cell Toxicity
Christopher M. Jewell, PhD,
University of Maryland

11:35 PM
Strategies to Promote Regulatory T Cell Function in Autoimmunity
Megan K. Levings, PhD,
University of British Columbia 

12:05 PM - 1:35 PM
Networking Lunch
1:35 PM - 1:55 PM
Session III: Short Talks From Submitted Abstracts

1:35 PM

Challenges in Manufacturing CAR-T Therapeutics for Autoimmune Diseases and  Cancer 

B. Wayne Bequette, PhD, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute 

 

1:45 PM 

BCR-CART: A Precision CAR T Cell Platform Targeting B Cell Receptors (BCR)  Selectively Eliminates Self-Reactive B Cells in Multiple Autoimmune Diseases 

Ivan Cohen, PhD, University of Pennsylvania 

1:55 PM - 2:40 PM
Session IV: Keynote Presentation

1:55 PM
Keynote Presentation: Chimeric Receptors Broaden the Therapeutic Landscape for Autoimmune Disease
Marko Radic, PhD,
University of Tennessee Health Science Center 

2:40 PM - 3:15 PM
Networking Break
3:15 PM - 4:45 PM
Session V: Next Generation T Cell Therapies

3:15 PM

Off-the-Shelf and On-Target: How iPSC-Derived CAR T Cells Could Democratize  Autoimmune Cell Therapy 
Bobby Goulding
Fate Therapeutics  

3:45 PM
Development and Characterization of iPSC-Derived Regulatory T cells – Towards an Allogenic Cell Therapy for the Treatment of Autoimmunity and Inflammatory Conditions
Marc Martinez Llordella, PhD,
Quell Therapeutics Ltd 

4:15 PM

Designing the Best CARs, Lessons from Cancer
Naomi Taylor, MD, PhD, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health   

4:45 PM - 5:25 PM
Session VI: Panel Discussion: Opportunities and Challenges

Moderator: George Zavoico, PhD, Northwest Biotherapeutics 

Panelists: 
Betty Diamond, PhD, The Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research 
Marc Martinez Llordella, PhD, Quell Therapeutics Ltd 
Bobby Goulding, PhD, Fate Therapeutics  

5:25 PM - 5:30 PM
Closing Remarks

Megan Prescott, PhD, The New York Academy of Sciences

Submit Your Abstract

Deadline: April 20, 2026

Are you interested in being considered for a short talk or poster session? Researchers can advance their work in a welcoming environment designed to encourage dynamic dialogue and meaningful exchange, propelling their research and science forward.