Cesar Sommer

Evaluating CAR T cells and Bispecific antibodies for cancer immunotherapy

Preclinical development of CAR-T cell therapies for the treatment of hematological malignancies - Fostered a collaborative approach to advance research and development of CAR-T cell products. - Optimized gene editing in primary T cells using TALENs and CRISPR/Cas9. - Designed and performed in vitro assays to validate suicide gene systems for safer T cell therapies. - Supervised two scientists.

• Established a reprogramming platform for the generation of clinical-grade iPSC lines • Generated and characterized mouse and human iPSCs and their differentiated progeny • Examined the downstream effects of Wnt, Akt and BMP signaling on stem cell differentiation • Demonstrated that transgene-free iPSCs exhibit improved developmental competence • Constructed a library of lentiviral vectors expressing liver and intestinal transcription factors • Engineered TALENs and CRISPR/Cas systems for efficient genome editing in mammalian cells • Investigated the mechanisms of cancer initiation using genetically-engineered cell lines • Developed phenotypic assays to characterize the activity of tumor suppressor genes • Assessed the chemopreventive action of NSAIDs in 3D cultures of precancerous tissue • Supervised graduate and undergraduate students toward successful completion of projects • Developed fruitful scientific collaborations to unlock the full translational potential of iPSCs

• Performed genome-wide expression profiling of normal and diseased human cells • Devised expression and purification systems for functional studies of recombinant human proteins • Conducted structural and functional studies of UBE2G2, a component of the proteostasis network • Evaluated the effects of cysteine protease inhibitors on breast cancer cell invasion • Gained in-depth knowledge of a wide range of molecular and cellular biology techniques

Thesis: “The transcriptome of lymphocytes from children with Down Syndrome by Serial Analysis of Gene Expression (SAGE)”