Cell Therapies in the Treatment of Autoimmune Diseases

Meet the experts:

Maryland Franklin, PhD 

Vice President and Enterprise Head of Cell & Gene Therapy, Labcorp 

• Has more than 20 years of experience in preclinical and early clinical development spanning therapeutic types including small molecules, antibodies and CGTs 
• Partnered on numerous multidisciplinary teams delivering therapeutic candidates from discovery into early clinical development including playing a key role in bringing four drugs into Phase I oncology clinical trials 
• Leads a matrixed team of CGT experts supporting the depth and breadth of drug development 
• Responsible for strategic vision, thought leadership and collaborations across CGT 

Akanksha Gupta, PhD 

Executive Director, Enterprise Cell & Gene Therapy, Labcorp  

• More than 20 years of experience in both preclinical and clinical development of large molecules and CGTs across multiple therapeutic areas  
• Led translational and precision medicine strategies including biomarker discovery, clinical trial testing and companion diagnostic development 
• Responsible for the scientific strategy and thought leadership across CGT 
• Authored numerous peer-reviewed research publications, abstracts and patent submissions 

Pegah Mehrpouya-Bahrami, PhD 

Associate Director, Immunology and CGT Therapeutic Area Lead 

Biomarker Solution Center, Labcorp 

• More than 10 years of combined industry and academic experience in immunology, immunotoxicology, precision medicine, CDx, and cell and gene therapy 
• Leading expert in biomarker selection and development strategies for clinical trials, as well as a key contributor to successful RFP/RFI proposals through strategic biomarker application 
• Bridges the gap between cutting-edge technology and clinical application, ensuring efficient biomarker discovery and validation 
• Has authored more than 17 peer-reviewed journal articles and patents. 

Sanda Ljubicic, PhD

Senior Scientist, Cardiometabolic Biomarkers TA Lead, Biomarker Solution Center, Labcorp Medical & Scientific Affairs, Geneva, Switzerland

Dr. Sanda Ljubicic leads the cardiometabolic therapeutic area for the Biomarker Solution Center. Dr. Ljubicic provides scientific expertise to build cardiometabolic biomarker strategies for the development of clinical programs and provides scientific expertise for optimal biomarker test selection, characterization and development, leveraging the broad capabilities of the Labcorp laboratory network across multiple therapeutic indications, including diabetes, obesity and chronic weight management, cardiovascular diseases, fatty liver diseases, renal diseases. Sanda also supports biomarkers in the field of cell and gene therapies, as well as rare diseases.

Dr. Ljubicic brings more than 15 years experience of combined drug discovery, preclinical drug development, translational medicine and clinical CRO experience in the cardiometabolic field. Sanda possesses a PhD in Life Sciences and has a certificate in Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products. Her experience is shared in multiple peer-reviewed articles on a wide range of topics, including cell, molecular and structural biology, biochemistry, glucose metabolism, cell survival pathways, physiology and pathophysiology of transgenic and pharmacologically treated animal models, translational medicine, and cell therapy (pancreatic islets transplantation).