Cambridge Healthtech Training Seminars offer real-life case studies, problems encountered and solutions applied, and extensive coverage of the basic science underlying each topic. Experienced Training Seminar instructors offer a mix of formal lectures, interactive discussions and activities to help attendees maximize their learning experiences. These immersive trainings will be of value to scientists from industry and academic research groups who are entering new fields – and to those working in supporting roles that will benefit from an in-depth briefing on a specific aspect of the industry.

Training Seminar 2: Immunology for Drug Discovery Scientists 

Seaport Hotel and World Trade Center | Boston, MA
Tuesday, August 28, 2018: 1:25 – 3:30
Wednesday, August 29: 8:25 - 5:30 

Instructors: 
Masha Fridkis-Hareli, MSc, PhD, Founder and President, ATR, LLC 
Tatiana Novobrantseva, PhD, Co-Founder, Head of Research and Development, Verseau Therapeutics

This 1.5-day seminar will cover the fundamentals of human immunology for an audience of scientists across different backgrounds working in pharmaceutical and biotech organizations in programs related to immunotherapy. The course will cover a historical perspective, basic mechanisms, fundamental concepts and practical approaches to developing therapeutics and their combinations to modulate the immune system. Additionally, the class will offer perspectives on how immune responses can be monitored by assessment of biomarkers and modulated through biopharmaceutical intervention. Through group activities, attendees will actively review immunological concepts as well as design functional immunological assays and read-outs.

Topics include:

• Introduction to the immune system
• Innate immunity
• Adaptive immunity
• Infections, inflammation and cancer
• Antigen generation, capture and presentation to lymphocytes
• Effector mechanisms of cellular immunity
• Antibody generation and antibody-mediated cytotoxicity
• History and mechanisms of checkpoint-based therapeutic approaches
• Engineered cellular therapies – CAR-T and dendritic cells
• Cancer vaccines

Instructor Biographies:

 Masha Fridkis-Hareli, MSc, PhD, Founder and President, ATR, LLC

Masha Fridkis-Hareli, MSc, PhD, is an immunologist, consultant and inventor with over 20 years of experience in academia and industry. She is a Founder and President of ATR, LLC, a translational research company providing scientific consulting and laboratory services in immunoassay development to research institutions and the biotechnology industry. During her post-doctoral training at Harvard University, she designed and developed a group of novel compounds for treatment of autoimmune diseases. After serving as Principal Investigator at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Dr. Fridkis-Hareli transitioned to industry where she held a variety of positions with increasing responsibilities at Resolvyx Pharmaceuticals, Charles River Laboratories, Taligen Therapeutics and Alexion Pharmaceuticals. Dr. Fridkis-Hareli is a co-author of over 100 publications and 17 issued patents. She is an adjunct professor at the Metropolitan College at Boston University, where she teaches biotechnology and immunology courses, and a co-chair of the Drug Discovery Working Group at the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council.

 Tatiana Novobrantseva, PhD, Co-Founder, Head of Research and Development, Verseau Therapeutics

Dr. Tatiana Novobrantseva is a co-founder and the Head of Research and Development in the new immunology focused company Verseau Therapeutics. Prior to co-founding Verseau, she consulted for multiple companies on various immunological aspects of drug development across different stages and therapeutic modalities. At her prior position as Director of Tumor Immunology at Jounce Therapeutics, Tatiana defined research plans for several programs at the company’s inception, as well as led a portfolio of programs on (re)activating the immune system against cancer. Her previous positions include Associate Director at Alnylam Pharmaceuticals and Scientist II at Biogen. Some of Tatiana’s scientific accomplishments include discovering the critical role for B cells in liver fibrosis, pushing the envelope on siRNA delivery to immune cells and championing a siRNA-assisted dendritic cell cancer vaccine project. Tatiana is an inventor on more than 22 patents and an author on more than 36 peer-reviewed manuscripts. Tatiana completed her PhD with Dr. Klaus Rajewsky in Cologne, Germany, focusing on B cell development and function.

Training Seminar Information

Each CHI Training Seminar offers 1.5 days of instruction with start and stop times for each day shown above and on the Event-at-a-Glance published in the onsite Program & Event Guide. Training Seminars will include morning and afternoon refreshment breaks, as applicable, and lunch will be provided to all registered attendees on the full day of the class.

Each person registered specifically for the training seminar will be provided with a hard copy handbook for the seminar in which they are registered. A limited number of additional handbooks will be available for other delegates who wish to attend the seminar, but after these have been distributed, no additional books will be available.

Though CHI encourages track hopping between conference programs, we ask that Training Seminars not be disturbed once they have begun. In the interest of maintaining the highest quality learning environment for Training Seminar attendees, and because Seminars are conducted differently than conference programming, we ask that attendees commit to attending the entire program, and not engage in track hopping, as to not disturb the hands-on style instruction being offered to the other participants.