Speaker Profile
PMWC LUMINARY AWARD
M.D., Ph.D., Chief of Stanford BMT and Cell Therapy Program, Stanford
Biography
David Miklos is a leading figure in cellular immunotherapy and central to the clinical development of CAR-T cell therapy. He led the trials supporting FDA approval of axicabtagene ciloleucel (axi-cel) in large B-cell lymphoma and brexucabtagene autoleucel (brexu-cel) in mantle cell lymphoma. He directs one of the largest cell therapy programs in the country, and his lab identified antigen loss as the major cause of CAR-T failure and pioneered circulating tumor DNA for lymphoma minimal residual disease. His work on the biology and safe management of CAR-T continues to make the therapy more precise and durable for patients.
Session Abstract – PMWC 2027 Silicon Valley
Track Chair:
Cindy Perettie, Kite Pharma
PMWC Award Ceremony
• Katy Rezvani, MD Anderson (Luminary)
• David Miklos, Stanford (Luminary)
• Frederick Locke, Moffitt Cancer Center (Luminary)
Featured Speakers
• Katy Rezvani, MD Anderson
• David Miklos, Stanford
• Frederick Locke, Moffitt Cancer Center
• Arie Belldegrun, Allogene Therapeutics
• Paul Hastings, Nkarta Therapeutics
• Priti Hegde, Kite Pharma
• Andrew Scharenberg, Umoja Biopharma
• Brett Staahl, Scribe Therapeutics
• Marcela Maus, Mass General Brigham / Harvard
• Antoni Ribas, UCLA
• Saul Priceman, USC
• Sabine Heitzeneder, Stanford
Off-the-Shelf Cell Therapies
NK, iPSC, and allogeneic T cells: what wins beyond autologous CAR-T.
AI in Cell Therapy: Research to Commercialization
How AI is reshaping discovery, product design, manufacturing, and clinical translation.
The Bottleneck: Manufacturing at Scale
Capacity, automation, cost of goods, and the realities of getting engineered cells to patients.
In Vivo Delivery: The Make-or-Break Layer
Targeting the right tissue safely enough to make in vivo engineering real.
Why Cell Therapies Fail in Solid Tumors and What Works
The microenvironment, antigen escape, and programs showing real responses.
Approved to Effective
Real-world outcomes, access, and what CAR-T still gets wrong after approval.
PMWC Hall of Impact
Previous Speakers Include
Nobel laureates, technology founders, regulators, CEOs and scientific pioneers who have taken the PMWC stage.
