Mark Kay

Biography
Mark A. Kay, is the Dennis Farrey Family Professor in the Departments of Pediatrics and Genetics, and Head of the Division of Human Gene Therapy in Pediatrics at the Stanford University School of Medicine. Dr. Kay was an assistant/associate professor at the University of Washington in the Department of Medicine from 1993-1998 before moving to Stanford. Dr. Kay’s group has published over 275 papers in leading journals. Dr. Kay is most well-known for his contributions in the field of gene-based therapeutics and non-coding RNA biology specifically related to microRNA biogenesis and tRNA derived small RNAs. Dr. Kay is one of the founders of the American Society of Gene and Cell Therapy and served as the President in 2005-2006 and received the society’s outstanding investigator award in 2013. In 2021, he was elected to the National Academy of Inventors. He spends much of his spare time doing landscape and nature photography.

Daniel Powell

Biography
Dr. Daniel J. Powell Jr. is a leading translational immunologist whose work has helped shape the development of cancer immunotherapy, particularly for gynecologic malignancies and other solid tumors. As a faculty member at Penn Medicine, he has played a central role in advancing immune-based approaches that move beyond conventional treatment strategies, with an emphasis on therapies that can be both mechanistically rational and clinically actionable. His lab is known for combining rigorous basic science with a clear translational mission, creating a research program that is deeply rooted in tumor immunology while remaining focused on the needs of patients with difficult-to-treat cancers. A major strength of Dr. Powell’s program is its breadth across the immunotherapy pipeline. His team has contributed to the development and refinement of adoptive cell therapies, including CAR T cell and T cell receptor-based strategies, as well as cancer vaccination and other immune-directed approaches designed to improve anti-tumor activity in solid tumors. This work has been especially important in cancers such as ovarian and other gynecologic malignancies, where durable responses to immunotherapy remain challenging and where new biological insights are urgently needed. By pursuing both discovery and translation, the lab has helped define new therapeutic concepts while also testing how those concepts can be brought into the clinic.

Mark Genovese

Biography

Miriam Merad

Biography
Dr. Merad is Director of the Precision Immunology Institute at Mount Sinai in New York. She is an internationally acclaimed physician-scientist and a leader in the fields of immunology and oncology. Her discoveries have reshaped immunology textbooks by revealing previously unrecognized complexity within the immune system and redefining its role in several major human diseases. She is particularly renowned for her pioneering research on macrophages and their contributions to cancer, inflammatory conditions, and age-associated diseases. Her laboratory now focuses on developing macrophage-targeted therapies to treat cancer and inflammatory diseases and to prevent age-related disorders. Dr. Merad is an elected member of the National Academy of Sciences and National Academy of Medicine, and a fellow of the AACR and the Academy of Immuno-Oncology. She received numerous prestigious honors, including the William B. Coley Award, the Leopold Griffuel Cancer Prize, the INSERM International Prize, the Sjöberg Prize, and she was Knighted by the French Republic.

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Talk
Macrophages: Key Targets in Cancer, Inflammatory Diseases & aging
Macrophages are master regulators of tissue health and inflammation, yet their diverse roles in physiology and disease have only recently become fully appreciated. In this lecture, I will discuss how understanding macrophage biology is transforming therapeutic strategies for cancer, inflammatory diseases, and aging.

Megan Levings

Biography