Agenda
10th Midwest Conference on Cell Therapy and Regenerative Medicine
Saturday, August 22, 2026, 8:30 A.M. – 4:15 P.M.
Health Education Building, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, KS
7:30 A.M.
Registration & Breakfast
8:30 A.M.
Welcoming Remarks & Course Overview
- Sunil Abhyankar, M.D.
Professor of Medicine; Medical Director, Pheresis and Cell Processing; Director, Midwest Stem Cell Therapy Center - Roy Jensen, M.D.
Director, The University of Kansas Cancer Center
Mesenchymal Stromal Cells (MSC) Sessions
8:40 A.M.
Session Introduction and Overview
- Rupal Soder, Ph.D.
GMP Facility Project Director, Midwest Stem Cell Therapy Center
8:45 A.M.
How Manufacturing, Handling, and Delivery of MSCs Impact Therapeutic Mechanisms
- James Akrum, Ph.D.
Professor of Biomedical Engineering; Director, Hanson Center for Communication, University of Iowa
9:10 A.M.
MSCs to Treat Inflammatory Conditions with a Focus on GVHD After Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation
- Paul Carpenter, M.D., MBBS
Pediatric Blood and Marrow Transplant, Cancer and Blood Disorders Center, Seattle Children’s Hospital
9:35 A.M.
Connecting the Dots After Stroke: How MSCs and EVs Are Reshaping Recovery Science
- Abba Zubair, M.D., Ph.D.
Professor and Associate Chair of Research, Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, Mayo Clinic Florida
10:00 A.M.
Q&A
- Soder, Akrum, Carpenter, Zubair
10:15 A.M.
Break
CAR T and Hematology Sessions
10:30 A.M.
Session Introduction and Overview
- Sunil Abhyankar, M.D.
Professor of Medicine; Medical Director, Pheresis and Cell Processing; Director, Midwest Stem Cell Therapy Center
10:35 A.M.
Beyond Checkpoints: The Role of TIL Therapy in the Management of Melanoma
- Gary Doolittle, M.D.
Professor, Division of Medical Oncology, University of Kansas Medical Center; Medical Director, Masonic Cancer Alliance
11:00 A.M.
Immune Effector Cell Therapy and T‑Cell Engagers Enter the Autoimmune Space
- Forat Lutfi, M.D.
Assistant Professor, Hematologic Malignancies and Cellular Therapeutics
11:25 A.M.
Q&A
- Abhyankar, Doolittle, Lutfi
11:30 A.M.
Oral Poster Presentations & Q&A
- TBA
12:00 P.M.
Lunch, Exhibitors & Posters
CAR T and Oncology Sessions
1:00 P.M.
Session Introduction and Overview
- Joseph McGuirk, D.O.
Schutte-Speas Professor, Hematologic Malignancies and Cellular Therapeutics, University of Kansas Medical Center
1:05 P.M.
Race CARs for Lupus: Where Are the Brakes?
- Joan T. Merrill, M.D.
Professor, Arthritis and Clinical Immunology Research Program, Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation;
Professor of Medicine, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center
1:45 P.M.
Q&A
- McGuirk, Merrill
1:50 P.M.
CAR T Cell Therapy for Lymphoma: Where Do We Go from Here?
- Peter Riedell, M.D.
Associate Professor of Medicine, The University of Chicago Medicine
2:15 P.M.
New Approaches for Decoding and Reprogramming T Cells In Vivo
- Michael Birnbaum, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
2:40 P.M.
Q&A
- McGuirk, Riedell, Birnbaum
2:45 P.M.
Break
CAR T Sessions
3:00 P.M.
Session Introduction and Overview
- Ramesh Balusu, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Division of Hematologic Malignancies and Cellular Therapeutics;
Scientific Director, Midwest Stem Cell Therapy Center
3:05 P.M.
Off-the-Shelf CAR T Cells: Allogeneic and In Vivo Approaches
- Karlo Perica, M.D., Ph.D.
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
3:30 P.M.
Translating Cell and Gene Therapies to the Clinic
- Patrick Hanley, Ph.D.
Chief and Director, Cellular Therapy Program; Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Children’s National Hospital
3:55 P.M.
Q&A
- Balusu, Perica, Hanley
4:10 P.M.
Closing Remarks
- Sunil Abhyankar, M.D.