I am a physician scientist, who is interested in the immunotherapy of malignancies. I was a member of the Center for Cell and Gene Therapy (CAGT) and Texas Children’s Cancer Center (TCCC) at Baylor College of Medicine from 2001 to 2017. Since 2017 I have been the Chair of the Department of Bone Marrow Transplant and Cellular Therapy at St Jude Children’s Research Hospital. My current research focuses on the development of T-cell therapies for hematological malignancies, sarcomas, and brain tumors. I am actively conducting investigator-initiated Phase I clinical studies with antigen-specific T cells for cancer patients. I have substantial experience with regulatory issues, having conducted 5 trials as a Principal Investigator and more than 20 as a Co-investigator. In the laboratory, I am overseeing a group of MD and PhD researchers working on several peer-reviewed preclinical research projects focused on overcoming current limitations of T-cell therapies for cancer using genetic approaches and other biotherapeutics such as oncolytics. Lastly, I have administrative experience as the former Director of TCCC’s Basic and Translational Research Division, and in my current role as Department Chair.
