NMDP BIOTHERAPIES - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Scientific Advisory Council Member
Aileen brings over 25 years of experience in the life sciences industry, with a strong track record in business operations, program management, and supply chain strategy. As Senior Vice President of Business Operations at Landmark Bio, she oversees Program Management, People Operations, and Corporate Communications, ensuring alignment across functions to support the company's mission and growth. Aileen joined Landmark Bio, a cell and gene therapy manufacturing company, as one of its early employees, helping to establish key operational foundations during the company's formative stages.
Before joining Landmark Bio, Aileen served as Vice President of Global Supply Chain & Business Operations at Orchard Therapeutics, where she led the design and implementation of global commercial distribution and site qualification processes for one of the first approved ex-vivo autologous gene therapies.
Earlier in her career, Aileen held progressively senior roles in project management and supply chain at Dermira, Jazz Pharmaceuticals, and Johnson & Johnson. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, and an MBA from the University of San Francisco.
Job Titles:
- Chief Scientific Officer at Adicet Bio, Inc
- Scientific Advisory Council Member
Blake Aftab, Ph.D., is the Chief Scientific Officer at Adicet Bio, Inc., a biotechnology company focused on developing allogeneic gamma-delta T cell therapies for cancer and autoimmune conditions. Prior to Adicet, he served as Vice President and Head of Preclinical Science and Translational Medicine at Atara Biotherapeutics, where he played a key role in building and leading the research and translational medicine organizations while supporting initial in-licensing and development of EBVALLO® to a milestone as the first approved allogeneic T cell therapy for cancer. Earlier in his career, he led research programs at the University of California, San Francisco, focusing on drug discovery and clinical translation in multiple myeloma, contributing to early research on diverse targets and molecules, including the phase 1 development of Sarclisa® and other targets of interest for antibody-drug conjugates and CAR-T therapies. Prior his academic research, he contributed to the advancement of multiple small molecule assets while at Exelixis, including the initial discovery and preclinical development of Cotellic®. With nearly 20 years of experience in academia, biotech, and pharmaceutical industries, Dr. Aftab has successfully advanced multiple therapeutic modalities, spanning small molecules, biologics, antibody-drug conjugates, and cell therapies. Dr. Aftab earned his Ph.D. from The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and a B.Sc. in Pharmacology and Drug Discovery from the University of California, Santa Barbara.
Damola is a seasoned Biotechnology Quality Assurance and Compliance professional with over 15 years of experience in biopharmaceutical drug development and manufacturing. He has extensive knowledge and experience in effectively leading Quality organizations supporting the development and commercialization of new products, including supply of materials for clinical trial programs, and life cycle management of existing products. His experience also includes development and implementation of Quality Management Systems governing drug development activities within a Good Manufacturing Practices environment. Damola has a broad knowledge of pharmaceutical development and the expertise to lead and collaborate for the effective commercialization of quality pharmaceutical products.
With a significant portion of Damola's background in the niche field of Cell and Gene Therapy (CGT), Damola started his career with Dendreon Corporation, where he helped the company receive the first FDA-approved therapeutic cancer vaccine, starting out in the Manufacturing Lab and then moving on to lead companywide continuous improvement, training, and site commission efforts. He has since worked at PCT Cell Therapy Services (now Minaris Regenerative Medicine), Bellicum Pharmaceuticals, Lonza (a globally recognized CDMO) and most recently as the Director of R&D Quality Assurance for a Gene Therapy company based out of San Diego, all staples in the field of Cellular and Gene Therapy. Damola has also consulted for several startup Biotech companies who operate in the CGT space, as his passion is to bring more of these therapies to the market.
Damola received his B.A. in Biological Sciences from the State University of New York, in Plattsburgh, NY, and is an MBA from the C.T Bauer College of Business, where he also serves as an MBA Alumni Ambassador due to his outstanding leadership as an alumnus of the MBA program from the College.
Job Titles:
- Scientific Advisory Council Member
- Vice President of Development at Made Scientific
David Smith is the Vice President of Development at Made Scientific, bringing over 15 years of specialized experience in regenerative medicine and engineering. David has demonstrated a solid track record in advancing cell therapy manufacturing through his expertise in areas such as design of experiments, quality-by-design, and cross-functional leadership. In his role, David oversees Manufacturing Science & Technology (MS&T), Process Development, and Analytical Method Development, ensuring Made Scientific's capabilities align with industry needs and maintain rigorous quality standards. Before joining Made, David was Vice President of Technical Operations at Ori Biotech, where he spearheaded the technical strategy for Ori's first cell therapy manufacturing technology, aligning it with industry demands and supporting its adoption through a multi-faceted approach. His previous roles include Director of Research and Development at Minaris Regenerative Medicine, where he contributed to pioneering advancements in cell therapy. David holds a Ph.D. in Regenerative Medicine from Loughborough University and has served on multiple influential committees, including as chair of ARM's Cell Therapy Advisory Committee and roles within ISCT, ISO, ASME, and PDA. His extensive involvement with these organizations highlights his commitment to advancing cell therapy standards and innovation across the industry.
As Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Stefanski is responsible for evaluating the science behind cell therapies and their potential clinical impact, as well helping to determine opportunities to leverage the assets of our organization to partner with cell and gene therapy companies who are bringing therapies to patients. She is also Vice President of CIBMTR & Clinical Services at NMDP and board certified in pediatrics and pediatric hematology/oncology.
Previously, Dr. Stefanski was an associate professor of pediatrics at the University of Minnesota, providing clinical care and conducting research involving children with life-threatening blood and immune system disorders. One focus area was using cord blood units in hematopoietic cell transplants and CAR T-cell therapy. Currently, she is focused on overcoming HLA barriers in stem cell transplant and ensuring all patients can receive their life-saving cell therapy.
Dr. Stefanski earned her medical degree and PhD from the University of Minnesota.
Job Titles:
- Senior Director, Operations
As Senior Director, Operations, Jeni leads the Supply Chain (logistics and supply chain management), Donor (donor screening and workup), Collection Network (onboarding and expertise associated with apheresis), Process Documentation & Improvement and Vendor teams. She and her teams are dedicated to the flawless delivery of services for cell and gene therapy developers.
Prior to her current role, Jeni held leadership positions in the NMDP parent organization as a leader in the Donor Contact teams, Director of Case Management and Senior Director of Operational Excellence, where she most recently provided strategic direction and leadership to a group that maintained relationships with over 140 domestic transplant centers and led the relationship with 80 international partners. Growing that team to support increasing volumes while strategically changing how they supported the NMDP vision, she delivered a 98% satisfaction rating with customers.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Jeni led many operational initiatives while maintaining global operations. Additionally, Jeni led the deployment of new functionality for our customers, increasing customer satisfaction with the application from 70% to 97% in 5 years.
Jeni earned a bachelor's degree in Biology from the University of Minnesota Duluth.
Job Titles:
- Director of Product Management and Strategy
- Member of the ISCT 's Emerging Regenerative Medicine
As Director of Product Management and Strategy for NMDP BioTherapies, Joy leads the product management and product development team. Her team works to design and implement products and services that enable our cell and gene therapy partners to accelerate access to their innovative therapies.
Prior to joining NMDP BioTherapies, Joy held a variety of positions at Bio-Techne over 13 years, where she focused on the development of cell biology products geared toward cell culture, stem cells and cell therapy. She started her career at Bio-Techne as a Research Scientist in Stem Cells and later transitioned into leading product development for Bio-Techne's stem cell and cell culture business before finally transitioning into product management.
Joy is a member of the ISCT's Emerging Regenerative Medicine subcommittee and has authored multiple publications in the areas of cell therapy, cell characterization and developmental biology.
Joy obtained her PhD in Molecular, Cellular, Developmental Biology and Genetics from the University of Minnesota, where she studied the role of the TGFβ pathway during embryonic development.
Job Titles:
- Owner
- Scientific Advisory Council Member
Kirstin Powel is owner of and principal consultant at Clearview Consultants LLC. Prior to forming Clearview Consultants, Kirstin served as Vice President of Quality and Regulatory at Talaris Therapeutics until their divestiture and closing. Kirstin previously held positions at Novartis Cell and Gene Therapy Unit where she served most recently as Global Head of Quality Operations. In that role she had quality responsibility for the overall supply chain including the apheresis centers providing apheresis starting material and played a key role in pre-approval inspection preparation and global launch processes for the first FDA-approved CAR-T cell therapy, Kymriah. Ms. Powel was previously employed by Lonza, AG in positions with increasing levels of responsibility in Quality, including in the Global Quality organization with global quality oversight for biologics as well as cell and gene therapy products. Ms. Powel holds a B.A. in biochemistry from Rutgers University and an M.S. in physiology from North Carolina State University.
Job Titles:
- Director of Client Success
Job Titles:
- Scientific Advisory Council Member
Rob Tressler has authored over 30 peer-reviewed articles and publications and is an inventor on numerous patents. Previously he was the CSO at the San Diego Blood Bank and has held executive scientific roles at Geron, Inc. and Cellerant Therapuetics. Robert's scientific focus is stem cell biology, oncology, and anti-aging. Robert achieved his Ph.D. from University of Texas in Cancer Biology and has a Masters Degree in Microbiology. He is a member of the American Association of Blood Banks, The International Society of Cell Therapy, and the American Society of Hematology.