Stem Cell Engineering Committee

Aims & Scope

The ISCT Stem Cell Engineering Committee provides a forum to discuss and advance the field of ‘standard bone marrow transplantation’, engineered stem cells (including T cell depletion techniques) and bridges to more advanced cell and gene therapy solutions for definitive cure of malignant and non-malignant life-threatening disorders.

The Committee tries to identify and promote advancements in stem cell research, enabling technologies, and emerging applications of engineered stem cell products to drive the translation of safe and effective engineered stem-cell therapies worldwide.

The Committee also considers the variability of clearance of agents given in the conditioning regimen as well as the immune reconstitution/immune milieu after transplant as predictor for outcomes. To that end, the Stem Cell Engineering Committee participates in the planning of the Roundtable Programs at the ISCT Annual Meeting and ISCT Regional Meetings and the review of submitted abstracts, develops reviews to capture the status of current and new developments in stem cell engineering, and publishes position papers as necessary to advance the field. 

Selected Publications

• International Society for Cell & Gene Therapy Stem Cell Engineering Committee report on the current state of hematopoietic stem and progenitor cell–based genomic therapies and the challenges faced (2024)
  
  
• Strategic Infection Prevention after Genetically Modified Hematopoietic Stem Cell Therapies: Recommendations from the International Society for Cell & Gene Therapy Stem Cell Engineering Committee (2024)
  
  
• International Society for Cell & Gene Therapy Stem Cell Engineering Committee: Cellular therapies for the treatment of graft-versus-host-disease after hematopoietic stem cell transplant (2023)
  
  
• Transplant for non-malignant disorders: an International Society for Cell & Gene Therapy Stem Cell Engineering Committee report on the role of alternative donors, stem cell sources and graft engineering (2023)
  
  
• Viral infection in hematopoietic stem cell transplantation: an International Society for Cell & Gene Therapy Stem Cell Engineering Committee review on the role of cellular therapy in prevention and treatment (2022)
  
  
• Curative therapy for hemoglobinopathies: an International Society for Cell & Gene Therapy Stem Cell Engineering Committee review comparing outcomes, accessibility and cost of ex vivo stem cell gene therapy versus allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (2022)
  
  
• An ISCT Stem Cell Engineering Committee Position Statement on Immune Reconstitution: the importance of predictable and modifiable milestones of immune reconstitution to transplant outcomes (2022)
  
  

The Committee

Members

Allistair Abraham, MD
Children's National Hospital
Washington, United States

Jaap Jan Boelens, MD, PhD
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
New York, United States

Stephanie Clugston, MBBS, FRACP, FRCPA
Fiona Stanley Hospital
Perth, Australia
ESP Leadership Development Program

Amy DeZern, MD, MHS
John Hopkins Medicine
Baltimore, United States

Friederike Kogel, MD
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
New York City, United States
ESP Leadership Development Program

Madhavi Lakkaraja, MD, MPH
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center
Seattle, United States
ESP Leadership Development Program

Chrystal Louis, MD, MPH
CRISPR Therapeutics
Cambridge, United States

Martin Maiers, MSc
NMDP/Be The Match
Minneapolis, United States

Mara Pavel-Dinu, PhD
Stanford University
Redwood City, United States

Susan Prockop, MD
Boston Children's Hospital
Boston, United States

Akshay Sharma, MBBS
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
Memphis, United States