Speaker Profile
Ph.D., Professor, USC
Biography
Dr. Saul Priceman is an Associate Professor in the Department of Medicine at USC, and the Founding Director of the KSOM/Norris Center for Cancer Cellular Immunotherapy Research. Over the last 14 years, his research has focused on T cell immunobiology and cancer immunotherapies. Dr. Priceman’s laboratory develops CAR T cell therapies and combinatorial approaches for the treatment of solid cancers, bringing several therapies to phase 1 clinical testing. His research has led to high-impact publications in Nature Medicine, Nature Biomedical Engineering, Science Translational Medicine, and Nature Communications, with numerous patents and technologies licensed for further clinical development. Dr. Priceman’s research has been funded with grants from the National Cancer Institute, Department of Defense, California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, and the Prostate Cancer Foundation. He received his B.S. in microbiology at UCSB, his Ph.D. in molecular and medical pharmacology at UCLA, and his postdoctoral research at City of Hope.
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.
