Epitopea strengthens Scientific Advisory Board
Epitopea, which has facilities in Cambridge UK and Montreal, Canada is developing accessible, off-the-shelf RNA-based immunotherapies. It has onboarded Prof. Nahum Sonenberg, Dr. Nina Bhardwaj, Dr. Maggie Callahan, and Dr. Craig Slingluff to its SAB.
Together, they bring deep expertise in immuno-oncology, translational research and vaccine development, supporting Epitopea as it advances its novel Cryptigen™-targeting immunotherapies towards the clinic.
Dr. Sonenberg is a James McGill Professor and Gilman Cheney Chair in the Department of Biochemistry and the Rosalind and Morris Goodman Cancer Institute at McGill University.
A world leader in translational control in health and disease, he is renowned for his discovery of the mRNA 5’ cap-binding protein eIF4E. His research has revealed critical links between translational control, cancer, autism and other diseases.
Nina Bhardwaj is Professor of Medicine (Hematology and Medical Oncology) and Urology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, where she holds the Ward Coleman Chair in Cancer Research. She serves as Director of Immunotherapy, Medical Director of the Vaccine and Cell Therapy Laboratory, and Co-Director of the Cancer Immunology Program at The Tisch Cancer Institute.
An internationally recognised leader in human dendritic cell biology, she has made seminal contributions to understanding their immunobiology, antigen presentation, and use in cancer vaccines. Dr. Bhardwaj has developed Toll-Like Receptor agonist- and dendritic cell-based vaccines for cancer and infectious diseases, and pioneered neoantigen vaccine studies at The Tisch Cancer Institute.
Dr. Callahan is Professor of Medicine and Immunology, Chief of the Division of Hematology/Oncology, and Medical Director of the Clinical Trials Office at the Carole and Ray Neag Comprehensive Cancer Center, UConn Health.
A medical oncologist and NIH-funded physician scientist, she is focused on advancing immuno-oncology research to impact patient care. Her expertise spans immuno-oncology, clinical trial design, and translational research, with a strong track record of bringing novel therapies from the laboratory into clinical testing.
Craig Slingluff is Professor of Surgery at the University of Virginia and Director of the Human Immune Therapy Center, which he established to integrate laboratory discoveries with clinical translation. An internationally recognised expert in melanoma immunology and cancer vaccine development, his research focuses on developing and optimising melanoma vaccines, often in combination with immune modulators.
Jon Moore, Chief Scientific Officer of Epitopea was thrilled with the quadruple coup. He said: "We are honoured to welcome Nahum, Nina, Maggie, and Craig to our Scientific Advisory Board to join co-founder Pierre Thibault and SAB Chair Michael Kalos.
"Each of the newly appointed members brings exceptional expertise and a proven track record of innovation in cancer immunology and immunotherapy or the underlying science and technology relevant to RNA-based immunotherapies. Their combined insights will be instrumental in guiding Epitopea as we translate our Cryptigen™ discoveries into accessible, off-the-shelf immunotherapies for patients with difficult-to-treat cancers."
The expansion of Epitopea’s SAB, reflects the company’s commitment to broaden its world-class scientific foundation beyond that provided by its scientific-founders Claude Perreault and Pierre Thibault to support the clinical development of its pipeline.