Speaker Profile
M.D., Ph.D., Distinguished Chair for Cancer Research Professor of Medicine Medical Director, Stem Cell Transplant, MD Anderson Cancer Ctr.
Biography
Dr. Katy Rezvani is a pioneering physician scientist whose work has helped define and advance the field of engineered natural killer cell therapy. She has driven the development of cord blood-derived, off-the-shelf NK cell platforms from early discovery through manufacturing and clinical translation, helping establish a new class of cellular immunotherapies and a platform with the potential to expand access, improve scalability and reduce barriers to adoption.
Her group provided the first clinical evidence that CAR NK cells can induce meaningful anti-tumor responses with a favorable safety profile, a landmark advance that helped accelerate the field’s growth. She has since led efforts to enhance persistence, in vivo expansion and anti-tumor activity, advancing engineered NK cell therapies for both hematologic malignancies and solid tumors.
Beyond these scientific contributions, Dr. Rezvani has built one of the leading translational programs in cellular therapy, integrating discovery science, manufacturing and clinical investigation to accelerate the development of new treatments. Her work has helped move engineered NK cell therapy from promising concept to clinical reality and has played an important role in shaping the future of scalable cell therapy.
Through these contributions, Dr. Rezvani has helped broaden the impact of cellular immunotherapy and open new possibilities 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.
