News & Events
Two LCGM Principal Investigators Elected to the National Academy of Medicine
- Oct 2022
Crystal Mackall, MD, Ernest and Amelia Gallo Family Professor, professor of pediatrics and medicine, founding director of the Stanford Center for Cancer Cell Therapy, and co-Executive Director of the Laboratory for Cell and Gene Medicine and Anthony Oro, MD, PhD, a professor of dermatology, the Eugene and Gloria Bauer Professor of Dermatology, and the co-director of the Stanford Center for Definitive and Curative Medicine and of the Stanford Maternal and Child Health Research Institute are among six Stanford professors elected to the National Academy of Medicine.
Read more about the National Academy of Medicine Election
Young Man Becomes First in World to Be Cured of FSGS With New Treatment
- Oct 2022
- Traejen Kingston is the first in world to be cured of FSGS using a combined stem cell transplant and kidney transplant. The process included using a revolutionary strategy called alpha/beta T-cell depleted haploidentical stem cell transplantation.
Read more about Traejen's story
Celebrating Dr. Maria Grazia Roncarolo
- Sep 2022
- Earlier this year Dr. Maria Grazia Roncarolo announced her decision to step-down as Director of the Center for Definitive and Curative Medicine and Co-Executive Director of the Laboratory for Cell. In her memorandum Dr. Roncarolo praised the successes brought forth by these centers stating, “The incredible results we have achieved together over the past 8 years are a testament to our collective commitment and determination to curing the incurable. We have built unique infrastructures and incredible teams...together, we have succeeded in closing the gap from the bench to the bedside, proving that translational medicine in stem cell and gene therapy is possible at Stanford Medicine.” In closing Dr. Roncarolo noted that “this is just the beginning”.
Learn more about Dr. Maria Grazia Roncarolo here
New publication describing cell-based product (T-allo10) enriched in antigen specific regulatory type 1 T (Tr1) cells
- Oct 2021
- The Roncarolo lab has published a paper in Science Translational Medicine “Alloantigen-specific type 1 regulatory T cells suppress through CTLA-4 and PD-1 pathways and persist long-term in patients,” describing how antigen specific T regulatory type 1 (Tr1) cells, which are the active component of T-allo10 cell therapy product, can be used to induce prevent graft-versus-host disease, with significant improvement in the outcome of stem/progenitor cell transplantation from HLA incompatible donors. In the paper, lead authors Pauline Chen, MD, Alma-Martina Cepika, MD, PhD, and their colleagues reveal the molecular identity and mechanism of suppression of Tr1 cells, and report immune monitoring data from the first three patients with leukemia treated in a clinical trial with the T-allo10 product prior to stem/progenitor cell transplantation from an HLA mismatched donor. They show that the antigen specific Tr1 cells persist up to one year post-transplant. The type 1 regulatory T (Tr1) cells were originally discovered by the Roncarolo/Bacchetta team by studying tolerant SCID patients after fetal stem cell transplantation. This study is the first to describe the transcriptome and T cell receptor (TCR) repertoire of human alloantigen-specific Tr1 cells, show that these Tr1 cells suppress through IL-10, CTLA-4 and PD-1 pathways, and demonstrate their persistence in the blood of patients treated with T-allo10 cell therapy.
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LCGM co-Executive Director Honored with Three Prestigious Awards!
- Apr 2021
- Dr. Crystal Mackall, LCGM co-Executive Director and professor of pediatrics and medicine at Stanford School of Medicine, was honored in recognition of her “pioneering contributions to the fields of pediatric oncology, immunology, and immunotherapeutics including [her] discovery of the role of IL-7 in T cell homeostasis, significant efforts to advance the use of CAR-T cell therapies, and for consistent and ongoing translational research dedicated to establishing novel treatments for pediatric cancer patients.”
Atara Biotherapeutics Announces Appointment of Cell & Gene Therapy Expert Maria Grazia Roncarolo, MD to Board of Directors
May 2022
Atara Biotherapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATRA), a pioneer in T-cell immunotherapy leveraging its novel allogeneic EBV T-cell platform to develop transformative therapies for patients with severe diseases including solid tumors, hematologic cancers and autoimmune diseases, today announced the appointment of immunology and cell & gene therapy expert Maria Grazia Roncarolo, MD, to the Board of Directors.
FDA Continues Strong Support of Innovation in Development of Gene Therapy Products
Jan 2020
This is a pivotal time in the field of gene therapy as the FDA continues its efforts to support innovators developing new medical products for Americans and others around the world. To date, the FDA has approved four gene therapy products, which insert new genetic material into a patient’s cells. The agency anticipates many more approvals in the coming years, as evidenced by the more than 900 investigational new drug (IND) applications for ongoing clinical studies in this area. The FDA believes this will provide patients and providers with increased therapeutic choices.
Stanford LCGM hosts Santa Clara High School BioTech class
May 2019
In early Spring 2019, Stanford University’s Laboratory for Cell and Gene Therapy hosted a BioTech class from Santa Clara High School for a day of fun, science, and career exploration!
Proceedings of the first academic symposium on developing, qualifyingand operating a cell and gene therapy manufacturing facility
July 2018
In March 2018, Stanford University’s Laboratory for Cell and Gene Therapy held a symposium with the leaders and staff of more than 25 similar facilities to discuss the collective experience in developing, qualifying and operating cell and gene therapy manufacturing facilities according to current Good Manufacturing Practices. We summarize here the findings of this inaugural meeting with an emphasis on best practices and suggested guidelines for operations.
Detection of Replication Competent Lentivirus Using a qPCR Assay for VSV-G
Sep 2017
The Laboratory for Cell and Gene Medicine is pleased to annouce that it's first publication is now visible online.
Stanford's Laboratory for Cell and Gene Medicine aims to ‘Cure the Incurable’
Dec 2016
Opened in September, the 25,000-square-foot facility is currently attacking a number of the world’s most challenging medical problems. As laboratory director Dr. David DiGiusto puts it, it’s all about “curing the incurable.”
Laboratory for Cell and Gene Medicine opens in Palo Alto
Sep 2016
Stanford’s Laboratory for Cell and Gene Medicine (LCGM), the university’s first manufacturing facility specifically designed to adhere to the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) current good manufacturing practices (CGMPs), opened this month in Palo Alto.
Stanford manufactures gene-engineered cells to cure the incurable
Dec 2016
Inside “clean rooms” of Stanford University’s fledgling Laboratory for Cell and Gene Medicine, lab techs tend machines that churn out gene-engineered cells, which can attack cancer, fix blood disease, patch a heart, alter the immune system, build skin grafts and create a realm of yet-to-be discovered therapies.
Stanford lab grows cornea cells for transplant
Apr 2016
Millions of new eye cells are being grown in a Palo Alto lab, enlisting one of medicine’s most important and promising new tools: refurbishing diseased and damaged tissue with healthy new cells.