Early Stage Professionals (ESP) Committee

Charter

The Early Stage Professionals Committee strives to:

• Promote regional and global interaction and networking for early stage professionals (within 10 years of terminal degree or entry into the field of cell therapy) and to establish future leaders for ISCT.
  
  

Projects & Objectives

• Increase the number of early stage professionals in ISCT across all regions
• Increase the engagement of early career stage individuals to become ISCT members
• Provide networking opportunities for early stage professionals within ISCT
• Increase abstract and manuscript submissions from ESPs
• Foster ISCT loyalty and long-term membership retention
• Provide resources, career guidance, and support for early stage professionals to help ensure their success
• Secure corporate funding for the activities of the ESP subgroup
  
  

Virtual Events

• Webinar - Early Stage Professionals: How to Develop Competitive Proposals for Securing Independent Research Funding (2025)
  
  

Selected Publications

• Navigating Workforce Needs in the Field of Cell and Gene Therapy: Results of Workforce Survey Performed by the ISCT Early-Stage Professionals (ESP) Committee (2025)
• Early Stage Professionals Committee proceedings from the International Society for Cell & Gene Therapy 2022 Annual Meeting (2023)
  
• Scientific venturing for early-stage professionals (ESPs), a key concept in the innovation ecosystem (2023)
  
  

Resources

• K12 Resources Compilation by Age
  
  

The Committee

Co-Chair

Rachel Burga, PhD

Obsidian Therapeutics
Cambridge, MA, United States

Co-Chair

Nisha Durand, PhD

Vitalant
Charlotte, NC, United States

Arwa Zakariya Al Riyami, BSc, MD, FRCPc
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA, United States

Alejandro Barquero, MPharm, MSc
DanausGT Biotech Ltd
Madrid, Spain

Laura Barrachina, DVM, MSc, PhD
Regenerative Medicine Institute (REMEDI) National University or Ireland Galway
Galway, Ireland

Chesarahmia (Dojo Soeandy) Bouhs, PhD
Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network
Toronto, ON, Canada

Raniero Chimienti, PhD
Università Vita-Salute San Raffaele
Italy

Michael Creane, BSc, MSc, PhD
National University of Ireland Galway
Galway, Ireland

Rajdeep Das, MD, PhD, FIBMS
CWRU School of Medicine
Cleveland, OH, United States

Alicia Didsbury, PhD
University of Auckland
Auckland, New Zealand

Ashley Geiger, MSc
Childrens National Medical Center
Washington, DC, United States

Elizabeth George, MS, MEM
Nationwide Children’s Hospital
United States

Mahlegha Ghavami, PhD
Dalhousie University
Canada

Monica Klein, MD
Mayo Clinic Rochester
Rochester, MN, United States

Ibrahim Muhsen, MBBS
Houston Methodist Hospital/Weill Cornell College of Medicine
Houston, TX, United States

Albeena Nisar, MPhil, PhD
Tata Memorial Centre
Mumbai, India

Maryam Pasdar, BSc
Children's National Hospital
Washington, DC, United States

Nikita Patel, MSci, PhD
INmune Bio
London, United Kingdom

Colleen Richards, MSc
Thermo Fisher Scientific | PSG-STT
San Diego, CA, United States

Manuela Romano, PhD
University of Auckland
Auckland, New Zealand

Geoffrey Rouin, BSc, M.Eng
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA, United States

Palak Sekhri, MSc
Children’s National Hospital
Washington, DC, United States

Ali Shokoohmand, PhD, AFHEA
The University of Queensland
St. Lucia, Brisbane, QLD

Thomas Spoerer, BSc
University of Georgia
United States

Pierre Springuel, PhD 
University College London 
United Kingdom

Jessica Sue, BSc, MHSM
Sydney Cord Blood Bank
Sydney, NSW, Australia

Jack Tremblay, BSc
Baylor College of Medicine
United States

Ben Weil, EngD
Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust
London, United Kingdom

Elani Wiest, PhD
Mayo Clinic
Jacksonville, FL, United States

Piriya Yoganathan, PhD, MBA
Ottawa Hospital Research Institute
Ottawa, ON, Canada

Shiraz Ziya, PhD
Sartorius
Liverpool, United Kingdom