Speaker Profile
Ph.D., CEO and Co-Founder, Shape Tx
Biography
Prior to Shape, François co-founded AbVitro with Harvard Medical School Professor George Church, where he pioneered the development of high throughput immune single-cell sequencing. AbVitro was acquired by Juno Therapeutics, where François became VP of Research until its acquisition by Celgene and shortly after by Bristol Myers Squibb. Francois completed a postdoctoral Fellow in George Churchs lab at Harvard Medical School and holds a PhD in molecular biology, as well as a BA in microbiology. François also served for a decade as a Maritime Warfare Officer in the Canadian Navy.
Session Abstract – PMWC 2025 Silicon Valley
Track 1 - February 5 9.00 A.M.-4.30 P.M.
Track Co-Chairs:
Yael Weiss, Mahzi Tx
Morten Sogaard, Astellas Gene Therapies
- PMWC 2025 Award Ceremony
Pioneer Honoree: James M. Wilson, University of Pennsylvania
Luminary Honoree: Carolyn Bertozzi, Stanford
- Keynote: Bioorthogonal Chemistry, from Basic Science to Clinical Translation
- Carolyn Bertozzi, Stanford
- Keynote: The Promise of Genetic Medicines Unless You're Too Poor or Too Rare
- James M. Wilson, University of Pennsylvania
- Reimbursement for Genetic Medicines in Rare Diseases
Chair:
- Erin Satterwhite, Optum Specialty Pharmacy
- Next-Generation Delivery Systems for Gene Therapies (PANEL)
Chair: Morten Sogaard, Astellas
- Mathieu Nonnenmacher, Voyager Therapeutics
- Kevin Friedman, Kelonia Therapeutics
- Kunwoo Lee, GenEdit
- Haig Aghajanian, Capstan Therapeutics
- James M. Wilson, University of Pennsylvania
- Beyond the Genome: Harnessing Epigenetics in Rare Disease Treatment (PANEL)
Chair: Charles Gersbach, Duke
- Prashant Mali, UCSD
- Nadav Ahituv, UCSF
- Blythe Sather, Tune Therapeutics
- Fyodor D Urnov, Berkely University
- Navigating the Regulatory Landscape for Gene and Cell Therapies (PANEL)
Chair: Yael Weiss, Mahzi Tx
- Courtney Silverthorn, Bespoke Gene Therapy Consortium (BGTC)
- Peter Marks, FDA
- Ben Dewees, Kyverna Therapeutics
- AI-driven Improvements in Gene and Cell Therapy (PANEL)
Chair: Morten Sogaard, Astellas
- Francois Vigneault, Shape Therapeutics
- John Androsavich, Ginkgo Bioworks
- Yogev Debbi, mana.bio
