Committees

Early Stage Professionals Committee (ESP)

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

The Committee

Co-Chair

Kevin Bosse, PhD RAC

Nationwide Children’s Hospital
Columbus, OH, United States

Co-Chair

Rachel Burga, PhD

Obsidian Therapeutics
Cambridge, MA, United States

Members

Mahzad Akbarpour, PhD
The University of Chicago Medical Center
Chicago, IL, 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

Shashwati Basak, PhD
Independent Consultant, Freelancer
Bangalore, India 

Anna Boada, MD
Universitat d’Andorra
Escaldes-Engordany, Andorra 

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

Frances Compton, MD
Carter BloodCare
Bedford, TX, United States 

Elana Cooper, BSE
Georgia Tech and Emory School of Medicine
Atlanta, GA, United States 

Pedro Couto, MEng
University College London
London, United Kingdom

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 

Nisha Durand, PhD
Center for Regenerative Medicine, Mayo Clinic
Jacksonville, FL, United States

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

Giulia Golinelli, PhD
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA, United States

Tiffany Hood, BSc
University College London
London, United Kingdom

Gloria Kim, PhD
University of Pennsylvania
Desher, PA, United States

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

Desiree Kosan, MS, RN, CDCES (CDE)
Janssen Pharmaceuticals
Melbourne, FL, United States

Theodros (Teddy) Mamo, MD, PhD
University of Minnesota Medical School
Minneapolis, MN, United States

Bechara Mfarrej, PhD
Center for Cell Therapy, Institut Paoli Calmettes
Marseille, France

Gemma Moir-Meyer, MSc
Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research
Melbourne, VIC, Australia

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, MSc, PhD
Inmune Bio
London, United Kingdom

Virginia Picanco-Castro, PhD
University of Sao Paolo
Ribeirão Preto, Brazil 

Sudheendra Rao, MBBS, PhD
IQVIA
Bangalore, India

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

Kathryn Strange, MSc
University College London Cancer Institute 
Anthony Nolan Research Institute 
London, United Kingdom 

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

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