Maxence completed his BSc and MSc. in Bioengineering at EPFL, Switzerland where he initially trained with Prof. Jeffrey Hubbell’s, developing fusion proteins with enhanced ECM affinity for controlled growth factor delivery. He then joined Prof. David Mooney’s group at Harvard University, where he completed his PhD in Bioengineering. His thesis work focused on the development and application of spontaneously assembling Mesoporous Silica Rods (MSR) scaffolds as a cancer vaccine platform. Using the ability of the MSR’s 3D micro-environment to recruit dendritic cells and locally deliver them with immunostimulatory molecules, he studied and optimized the system for the generation of robust and long-lasting T and B-cell responses against small peptides and protein domains. In collaboration with Prof. Kai Wucherpfennig at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute, they investigated the effect of MSR immunization against MICA/B, a stress-inducible membrane-bound NKG2D ligand that is abnormally shed from cancer cells as an immune escape mechanism. Vaccine-induced anti-MICA/B antibodies stabilized the ligand at the cell surface and rescued NK and T-cell mediated cytotoxicity in vivo. Compared to monoclonal antibody therapy, the vaccine approach could engage multiple arms of the immune system, drastically altering the tumor microenvironment and improving therapeutic benefits in various solid tumor models. After graduating, he became the Immunology Team Lead at a Boston-based biotech startup where he worked 2 years on the development of iPSC-derived cell therapies. In 2023, Maxence joined the Yarmarkovich lab as a Senior Scientist where he’s using his experience to contribute to the lab’s mission of translating research into safer and more efficacious cancer immunotherapies.

Guangyuan is a computational biologist specializing in algorithm and pipeline development within the field of cancer immunotherapy. He's completed his PhD in the Biomedical Informatics Program at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center (CCHMC) between 2019 and 2023. Guangyuan's career goal is to combine his computational training with his enthusiasm for cancer biology. Outside of work, you can find him indulging in rock climbing, basketball, and all things outdoorsy.

Minkyung graduated from University of Florida in 2018 majoring in Biology with a concentration in veterinary medicine. She's worked as a veterinary and nurse technician where she grew her passion for working in medicine. After working in inpatient rehabilitation working with variety of patients with different comorbidities such as oncological, neurologic, cardiac, and musculoskeletal injuries and through working closely with pediatric oncology patients, she wishes to pursue a doctorate degree in pediatric oncology. With the Yarmarkovich Lab, she wishes to learn and pursue her interest in cancer immunotherapy. In her spare time, Minkyung likes to cuddle with her cats Dwight and Mo with a nice book, or go to the gym to lift weights with her friends.

Xinya is from Wuhan, China. He majored in biotechnology at Guangdong Technion before attending the biotechnology M.S. program at NYU Tandon School of Engineering. His previous research was about nanoplasmonic immunoassay microarray chips, where he accumulated relevant knowledge of cancer treatment and CAR T therapy. He's interested in CAR T therapy, and his current project is developing a logic-gated CAR/BiTE platform. Outside of work, his interests are working out and video games.

Profile bio in progress

Profile bio in progress

Dr. Kim is widely experienced in government, biotechnology, and academia. He’s received his Ph.D. in Cancer Biology, Immunology, Pharmacology, and Chemotherapy at the Laboratory of Biomedical Research in the Department of Pharmaceutical Science, University of Tokyo, Japan in 1991 through 1996. His post-doctoral fellowship investigated PSD95 and its interaction with NMDA receptor subtype during synaptogenesis from the National Institute of Bioscience and Human Technology, Department of Biomolecular Engineering (today known as Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST)) in Tsukuba, Japan. You can find his published studies from 1999 in Nature Neuroscience. Dr. Kim has also worked at the University of Rochester (UR), UAB in Alabama, and UIC at IL, in the USA in 2000 through 2008, where he’s joined an NIH-funded study that focused in the development of a detection and evaluation system of pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine- a CRM conjugate vaccine for geriatric patients in clinical immunology. In addition, he’s participated in an NIH-funded project, “Alzheimer vaccines, Non-invasive vaccination by DNA-based vectors,” which focused on cellular aging in Alzheimer's disease and CNS vaccine development. A couple of his other experiences include biotech research in gene therapy, adjuvant development in sendal virus and new drug discovery using fermentation with pharmaceutical companies in Korea, and cell therapy by utilizing a multi-discipline strategy by exploring neoantigen and a delivery system to improve the Quality of Life in patients. Dr. Kim is happy to carry his robust background in research and R& D work, biomedical science, and translational research to working with the Yarmarkovich Lab in CAR-T cell development.

Aman is from India. He has the academic background in Bioprocess Engineering and Biotechnology. He earned his Master’s degree from IIT Madras, and his Bachelor’s degree in Biotechnology from VIT Vellore. For his Master's thesis, Aman delved into a research project titled "Production of Omega-3 & 6 Fatty Acids from Supplement of Lactic Fermented Culture & Stoichiometric-Modelling-Based Analysis of Docosahexaenoic Acid (DHA) Production", conducted in collaboration with Polytech Clermont-Ferrand, Auvergne, France. Currently, Aman's research interests lie at the intersection of cancer biology, bioinformatics, and immunology. In his leisure time, Aman enjoys immersing himself in the world of entertainment, often found binging Netflix. Additionally, he has a keen interest in culinary exploration.

Michele Palamenghi graduated in 2017 in “Pharmaceutical Biotechnology” at the University of Pavia, Italy. Here, Michele started to grow interest in the combined use of cell and gene therapy to treat different types of diseases. This led him to enroll to the “Regenerative and Molecular Medicine” PhD program at the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Italy, under the supervision of Professor De Luca, where in 2021 he graduated. During his PhD, Michele participated to the development of novel safety assays and gene therapy approaches to tackle rare genetic epithelial disorders, such as epidermolysis bullosa and ectrodactyly-ectodermal dysplasia clefting syndrome (EEC). In this time, he was able to use his passion for art to draw several of the scientific article illustrations that were published by De Luca’s lab.

Profile bio in progress

Uriel double majored in Pharmaceutical-Biological Chemistry and Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Biology at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México in 2017. His degree at the UDIBI lab from Instituto Politécnico Nacional focused on obtaining human CDRH3 from healthy donors, to generate a semi-synthetic library called “ALTHEA Gold Libraries”. As an analyst chemist he's worked in the development and validation of new libraries based on the "ALTHEA Gold Libraries", discovery of novel therapeutic antibodies against different target (TNF alfa, Chikungunya Virus, CD20, CD36, hPD1), and in the development of therapeutic antibodies against COVID-19 in Mexico. Afterwards, as the "Head of Discovery of Therapeutic Antibodies Area", he worked internationally in finding antibodies against interest protein. Currently, his research interest is in developing novel techniques in panning and screening to find antibodies with high therapeutic potential. Personal interests: find/visit new places to enjoy the connection with the nature. Meet new people to share experiences and stories. Learn to cook new dishes, as well as going out dancing with friends.

Ben graduated cum laude from Northwestern University in the spring of 2023 with a B.S. in biomedical engineering and a minor in chemistry. While at Northwestern, Ben conducted research with the Mrksich group and advanced development of a prostate cancer theranostic. His research culminated in an undergraduate honors thesis entitled, "Targeting Small Molecule Inhibitors: Optimization of Synthesis Routes and Characterization via MALDI-TOF MS and NMR Spectroscopic Analysis." Ben has completed multiple internships including one at YCHAROS, an open-science company dedicated to characterizing commercially available antibodies. Additionally, he interned at Regeneron Pharmaceuticals where he aided scientists developing cancer vaccines and accumulated salient knowledge of cancer treatments and immunotherapies. This experience encouraged him to pursue cancer research as a career. Currently, Ben's primary research interests are cancer biology, immunology, and cancer therapeutic development. Outside of the lab, his interests are playing the drums, pick-up basketball, and travel.