Steven Evans

Biography
Dr. Steven Evans is the Chief Scientific Officer at NTx, bringing over 20 years of innovation-driven drug discovery and development experience across multiple therapeutic modalities and disease indications. He has been pivotal in advancing solutions that bridge the gap between cutting-edge research and clinical application. NTx has made significant strides in continuous flow synthesis, leading to the production of next-generation RNA and protein platforms. These advancements offer the speed and scalability necessary to cost-effectively address unmet needs, from global pandemic responses to personalized precision medicines. Dr. Evans has authored numerous peer-reviewed publications and holds several patents in the field.

Emerging Therapeutics Showcase:
Nature's Toolbox (NTx)
NTx, based in Rio Rancho, NM, is developing innovative systems like NTxpress® and NTxscribe® to enable manufacturing of mRNA vaccines and protein therapeutics in an eco-friendly and sustainable way. These easily scalable processes enable NTx’s platform to scale from personalized medicine dosage to pandemic volume.

Michael Chavez

Biography
Michael co-founded Enoda Cellworks Inc. in 2022 after graduating from Stanford Bioengineering. In Professor Stanley Qis lab, he pioneered multiple lentiviral, CRISPR, and receptor technologies to realize the next generation of cell therapies. As a student, he led biology at Fifty Years, a venture capital firm that supports early-stage deep tech startups.Michael has received several prestigious awards, including the Siebel Scholarship, the NIH Predoctoral National Research Service Award, and the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship. His commitment to using synthetic biology for societal benefit reflects his passion for addressing significant global challenges through scientific innovation.

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Talk
Harnessing Unexplored Cytokine Signals for Solid Tumor Cell Therapies
Enoda engineers cells with MIMICs, synthetic cytokine receptors that controllably and safely harness previously inaccessible and unknown signals. Screening all of cytokine space with MIMICs identified assets that enable T cells to resist immunosuppression, improving efficacy for both ex vivo and in vivo cell therapies compared to state-of-the-art armoring tools.

Emerging Therapeutics Showcase:
Enoda Cellworks
Enoda Cellworks is a team of synthetic biologists and immunologists whose mission is to expand the curative power of in vivo and ex vivo engineered therapeutic cells by arming them with cytokine signaling pathways unreachable and unknown to other technologies

Sherine Chan

Biography
Sherine Chan leads Neuroene Therapeutics, a biotech company developing novel mitochondrial small-molecule therapies for difficult-to-treat neurological diseases, including pharmacoresistant epilepsies, Parkinsons disease, and those resulting from toxic exposures. Trained as a mitochondrial biologist, Dr. Chan previously served as an Associate Professor at the Medical University of South Carolina, where her academic lab developed new animal models and assays to study mitochondrial dysfunction. During this time, she co-founded Neuroene with medicinal chemist Dr. James Chou. Dr. Chan now leads Neuroene full-time from the Washington, DC region. Neuroene is as a JLABS and Blue Knight company, validating its CNS and medical countermeasure strategy.

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Talk
Mitochondrial protective therapies for neurological diseases
This talk will present Neuroenes path from academic discovery to commercialization of patented mitochondrial therapies addressing a fundamental driver of neurological disease. We will discuss our dual-use approach, commitment to rigorous science and partnerships, and how this strategy can deliver new options for patients and caregivers facing diseases with limited effective treatments.

Emerging Therapeutics Showcase:
Neuroene Therapeutics Inc
Neuroene Therapeutics is an early-stage biotech company advancing first-in-class, brain-penetrant mitochondrial small-molecule therapies for severe neurological diseases with high unmet need, including drug-resistant epilepsy, Parkinson’s disease, and toxin-induced brain injury.

Armon Sharei

Biography
Dr. Armon Sharei is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Portal, a company dedicated to solving the massive challenge of cell permeability to advance drug discovery and cell therapy. Portal's approach uses mechanical disruption for intracellular delivery of diverse cargossuch as RNA, CRISPR, protein, and small moleculesinto various cell types, including hard-to-transfect patient-derived cells, without disrupting underlying cell function.Dr. Sharei is a proven biotech entrepreneur in the cell engineering field. Before founding Portal, he was the Founder and former CEO of SQZ Biotech, a company he led from its invention stage to a post-IPO status. His work at SQZ Biotech resulted in securing over $300 million in equity financing and establishing a collaboration with Roche valued at more than $1 billion. His deep scientific and business experience is central to Portal's mission to provide a simple, scalable, and universal platform for intracellular delivery for cell therapies, fundamental research, and bioproduction.

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Talk
Portal: The Universal Platform for Intracellular Delivery
Portal is a universal platform solving the major challenge of cell permeability in drug discovery and cell therapy. Our simple, scalable mechanical disruption technology enables seamless intracellular delivery of diverse cargoes like CRISPR, RNA, and protein into various cell types. This is achieved while maintaining high cell viability, dramatically expanding therapeutic and research possibilities.

Emerging Therapeutics Showcase:
Portal Bio
Portal Biotechnologies is a cell engineering company dedicated to advancing drug discovery and cell therapy by overcoming the challenge of cell permeability. It employs a proprietary mechanical delivery platform that enables efficient, multiplexed intracellular delivery of diverse cargoes like RNA, CRISPR, and proteins into various cell types while maintaining high cell viability.

David Krag

Biography
International leader of surgical oncology. Developed radiotracer guided sentinel node biopsy used worldwide. Led world's largest surgical randomized trial in breast cancer. Founder of 3 companies. Holder of multiple patents. Leader of team developing new category of cancer therapy (this proposal)

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Talk
Personalized panels of antibodies to cure cancer
Cancers grow and continue to mutate. Each cancer generates a vast, highly unique set of mutated proteins on the cell surface. Moonshot makes the ultimate personalized medicine, custom antibodies to bind each patients unique mutated proteins. Powerful preclinical results have led to FDA approved Phase 1 trial.

Emerging Therapeutics Showcase:
Moonshot Antibodies, Inc
Moonshot is a new cancer treatment company that has developed the ultimate personalized therapy by making small batch custom antibodies that target the unique signature of cell surface mutated proteins.

Tracy Ryan

Biography
Tracy Ryan is an award-winning entrepreneur, pediatric cancer advocate and global public speaker that is a driving force behind NKore, a cutting-edge immunotherapy company commercializing a non-toxic, supercharged natural killer (NK) cell therapy for cancer and immune-related diseases. Tracy is a regular speaker on Capitol Hill, shes been an invited guest to the White House 5 times, and shes raised millions in capital for her companies. Tracys journey began when her infant daughter, Sophie, was diagnosed with an incurable brain tumor at 8 ½ months old. Sophie later became patient number 2 and now her incurable brain tumor is crumbling without any adverse effects. With a path set to file for FDA clearance to treat patients in the US in 2026, Tracy

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Talk
Engineering Scalable Immunotherapy: A Mission-Driven Path to Market Transformation
Born from a personal catalyst but built for global scale, this talk reveals how our engineered NK-cell platform overcomes the cost, toxicity, and manufacturing barriers limiting todays immunotherapies. We present a de-risked path to commercialization, strong early clinical signals, and a strategy to unlock a multibillion-dollar market with safer, more accessible cancer treatments.

Emerging Therapeutics Showcase:
NKore BioTherapeutics
NKore is advancing a first-in-class preventative immunotherapy platform powered by natural killer (NK) cells, initially targeting a major unmet need in oncology. Our lead candidate, NK101, is designed to eliminate both cancer cells and cancer stem-like cells, while uniquely restoring immune regulatory balance critical for durable disease control.

Zoya Gluzman-Poltorak

Biography
A biotech veteran with 25+ years of experience leading drug development in gene and cell therapy, genome editing, and targeted biologics. She has taken multiple programs from early research to the clinic, serving as lead on seven FDA INDs and overseeing development across immunology, oncology, hematology, neurology, rare diseases, and cardiology. Shes built and led cross-functional teams, secured over $250M in public and private funding, and managed key partnerships with NIH, DoD, BARDA, and research collaborators.

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Talk
ODC: A Novel Class of Targeted and Programmable Medicines
1.Introduction of ODC a new class of naked, targeted oligonucleotide therapeutics combining precision delivery, switchable cytotoxicity, and programmable immunomodulation.2.ADC concept, upgraded: simpler, programmable oligo platform, backed by a validated MoA, strong preclinical efficacysafety, and a clear path to the clinic.3.Integrated FortaGuideAI engine for generative, multi-objective ODC design and optimization

Emerging Therapeutics Showcase:
Forta Bio
Forta Bio is a next-generation biotech company developing ODC™, a new class of precision and programmable DNA/RNA medicines that selectively eliminate pathogenic cells - without compromising healthy immunity. Backed by validated science from City of Hope and led by a team with a track record of execution, Forta Bio is on a mission to bring smarter, safer, and more targeted therapies.