Left to right: Laura Barrachina, Pierre Springuel, Elani Wiest, Thomas Spoerer, Raniero Chimienti, Nikita Patel, Manuela Romano, Gemma Moir-Meyer, Tamas Laufer and Ashley Geiger.
Gemma Moir-Meyer, PhD
ISCT ESP ANZ Regional Subcommittee Co-Chair
ISCT ESP Committee Member
Christchurch Heart Institute, Department of Medicine
University of Otago
New Zealand
When I first joined the Early Stage Professionals Committee in 2023 I umm’d and ahh’d about which working group to join. Should I go with Mentoring…? Their program is impressive! Workforce Development? I am a data junkie after all…
I joined the Community Engagement Working Group in the end (obviously - no plot twists there) with a feeling that it would be a platform for growing CGT from multiple different angles. Led by Co-Chairs Elani Wiest and Nikita Patel, we’ve been developing projects that strengthen ISCT community connection while also engaging outside of the organisation to provide support for ESPs entering the field and fostering the next generation of scientists.
Let me fill you in!
Opening Doors to Discovery
After I joined the group, the first project we embarked on was a resource hub for ISCT members who are passionate about community outreach at schools. Considering that my first pocket-money purchase was a toy microscope in Grade 2, this was the perfect project to dive into! Fellow outreach enthusiast, Laura Barrachina, believes that, “Outreach is a key responsibility of all scientists in order to inspire young minds and demonstrate how science contributes to society”. With Laura in the lead, and support from Thomas Spoerer and former member Jessica Sue, the Working Group trawled the internet for videos, books, games and experiment protocols that we’ve curated into a K12 Resource Hub.
It can be challenging (not to mention time consuming…) to generate educational content for different audiences and subject matter, so when you’re headed into the community - check out the hub! It’s full of ready-to-use, age-tailored materials to help CGT professionals engage with young minds, from kindergarten to high school.
Outreach and Education Resource Hub flyer. Access the K12 hub here!
Following the successful launch of the K12 resources, Thomas, Ashley Geiger, and our newest member, Tamas Laufer, began helping Laura to compile the next stage of our Resource Hub – this time, dedicated to undergraduate students wishing to explore and (hopefully) join the CGT field. Tamas now has his eye on building an ISCT ESP presence on Instagram and other social media, and we’re excited to see where his ideas may lead!
CGT Career Conversations
For those young minds who choose to continue into science careers, we often come upon a time when our inner Hamlet asks, To PhD or not to PhD…? Kathryn Strange (former Working Group Co-Chair alongside Elani) launched a video series where ESPs can get a glimpse into life as a CGT scientist. She interviewed freshly graduated (and decidedly un-Hamletian in her optimism) Maggie Kennedy to find out about academia versus industry, and what it takes to do a PhD.
With the not-so-secret agenda of trying to navigate my own journey into CGT, I then had the pleasure of interviewing Melanie Domingues from Cell Therapies. Melanie took me on a tour of the contract development and manufacturing organisation based in Melbourne, Australia, and we had a great discussion about transitioning into industry and career progression as a manufacturing scientist.
Of course, some of the most transformative career conversations you can have will be with a professional mentor, so keep an eye on our friends over at the Mentoring and Career Development Working Group – as their Telegraft article details, the Mentoring Program is second to none!
Pathways Into Practice
Within our own working group, a common theme during mentoring conversations was that ESPs found the CGT field disorienting to navigate since there aren’t many fixed career trajectories. “We decided it would be useful to map out the field so that ESPs could scout the landscape and chart a course” says Nikita. Manuela Romano now spearheads the project and, with help from Cheska at Head Office, the Working Group has developed a clickable guide that provides a sector-wide overview of the field. Manuela explains that, “this CGT Career Atlas details different positions available across each of the CGT specialties, from entry-level to executive, and can help ESPs to position themselves among the many pathways into practice.”
Since learning how other ISCTers have navigated their journeys can be both illuminating and inspiring, we then reached out to members and asked them to share their career journeys with us. These Career Maps are still being compiled, but you can check out Manuela and Rachel Burga’s examples below! “We hope the career maps will help colleagues to be reassured that many of us had to take similar winding pathways, with even some leaps of faith!” says Manuela. If you’re ready to share your journey with us, get in touch via isct@isctglobal.org – we’d love to feature your story.
Manuela Romano’s journey across academia, companies…and continents!
Rachel Burga’s journey from academia to small biotech and into an industry leadership position.
Sharing Our Stories
Pierre Springuel and Raniero Chimienti then joined our crew in 2024 and 2025 respectively and have been massively upstaging my video production efforts ever since! Alongside Elani, they acted as ISCT 2025 Annual Meeting field correspondents and roamed the halls of the New Orleans Convention Centre armed with mics, a camera, and just enough charm to catch even the busiest scientists off guard. The aim was to engage with the ISCT community, capture the energy of the meeting, and highlight the varied voices that contribute to our society. The team spoke to scientists, clinicians, industry leaders, regulatory experts and students, and asked about their professional backgrounds, what attracted them to the conference, and how they would describe ISCT in one word.
“The enthusiasm and openness of the interviewees truly stood out, reflecting a strong sense of community among like-minded professionals who support one another to advance the CGT field”, says Pierre. “By blending science communication with personal narratives, we showcased the human side of cell and gene therapy and helped strengthen the society’s global identity”, adds Raniero.
Communicating for Connection
Another important element of engagement is being able to connect with various stakeholders, whenever the (often fleeting) opportunity arises. So, after its success in 2024, Cytotherapy and the Community Engagement Working Group paired up again to host another interactive Elevator Pitch Workshop designed to help members sharpen their science communication skills. “Since all of us are specialists in our specific niche, we accumulate a lot of knowledge and experience that can be hard to squeeze into a 2-minute pitch”, explains Manuela, but “like a Wi-Fi router with no signal, being technically brilliant yet unable to communicate your message can create disconnect”, adds Elani.
In recognition of the importance of these skills, the ISCT 2025 Annual Meeting included a Pitching Competition for which the webinar was excellent preparation. With expert moderation by Pierre, Dan Weiss and Paul Beavis broke down the art of the pitch, from structure to delivery, offering concrete strategies to stand out from the crowd. Participants also had access to Manuela and Raniero’s Practical Pitching Toolkit illustrating the dos and don’ts of pitching for anyone brave enough to take the stage during the annual meeting!
Connecting People, Growing Science
So that’s us - the ESP Community Engagement Working Group. Our mission is to engage with the community both inside and outside of ISCT. We aim to inspire budding scientists, increase awareness of the sector, and support CGTers to feel more connected by sharing stories, resources, and a sense of community.
If you’re interested in knowing more, or getting involved, look out for the annual ISCT ESP intake or contact us at isct@isctglobal.org.