• Novel sponge technology can act as an implantable biofactory that efficiently transduces T cells and releases functional CAR T cells in vivo
• Sponge technology can be used ex vivo to activate T cells and achieve lentiviral transduction efficiency comparable or superior to traditional methods 

Yevgeny Brudno, PhD, Associate Professor 
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Yevgeny (Yev) Brudno received dual BA degrees in Chemistry and Biophysics from the University of Pennsylvania and his PhD in Chemistry from Harvard University, where he worked with David Liu to develop directed evolution technologies. As a postdoctoral fellow at the Harvard Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, he worked with David Mooney to develop controlled-release drug delivery technologies for cancer and regenerative medicine.

Yev's research integrates bioconjugate chemistry, materials science, and cellular immunotherapy to address critical challenges in cell therapy manufacturing and delivery. His lab develops biomaterial platforms to improve CAR T-cell therapies, with a focus on enabling in vivo cell engineering and reducing manufacturing costs. This work is rooted in the belief that advances in materials and molecular sciences can fundamentally transform therapy design, production, and administration—ultimately improving patient access to life-saving treatments. 

Thomas Quinn, R&D Group Leader
Takara Bio USA, Inc.

Thomas Quinn earned a BS in Zoology (Genetics) from Michigan State University and an MS in Molecular Medicine and Genetics from Wayne State University, where his thesis involved viral vector development for CAR T-cell therapies targeting melanoma and lung cancers. Since 1998, he has led the viral delivery R&D group at Takara Bio USA, focusing on high-efficiency viral delivery systems (adenoviral, retroviral, lentiviral, and AAV) and CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing products.