Aaron Edwards
Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer KiraGen Bio
With a decade in cellular immunotherapy, Aaron has driven advancements in CAR-T and TCR-T therapies at bluebird bio, Beam Therapeutics (BEAM-201), Eli Lilly, and more. With a Harvard MS/MBA blending science and business, he leads KiraGen Bio’s mission to develop next-generation multiplex-edited cell therapies, overseeing strategy, fundraising, and partnerships.
Seminars
Tuesday 15th September 2026
Preventing Tumor Suppression: Multiplex Engineering for Durable CAR-T in GBM
1:30 pm
- Contrasting potency-driven approaches with the targeted prevention of multi-axis suppression in solid tumors
- Engineering intrinsic CAR-T resilience through multiplex editing to preempt tumor-mediated downregulation
- Leveraging patient-derived organoids and AI-guided design to accelerate translation and improve predictability
Tuesday 15th September 2026
Panel Discussion: Selecting Gene Editing Strategies to Prevent Downregulation & Enhance Cell Therapy Outcomes
2:00 pm
- Compare knockout, base editing, and prime editing approaches to guide technology selection
- Evaluating alternative strategies such as gene silencing and expression modulation, to reduce biological risk while preserving functional benefit across indications
- Assessing the impact of editing strategies on genomic integrity and patient safety to balance therapeutic enhancement with longterm DNA health and regulatory confidence
Wednesday 16th September 2026
Panel Discussion: Aligning Preclinical Model Selection with Regulatory Expectations to Improve Translation & Approval Confidence
2:30 pm
- Evaluating mouse and non-human primate model translatability to improve clinical predictability
- Comparing model suitability across therapy types to highlight strategic differences that reduce regulatory risk
- Discussing gaps between required regulatory model data and biopharma efficacy needs to align development strategies with translational approval
