Juan Vera, MD, has more than 15 years of experience performing research in the field of adoptive T cell therapy and has made several contributions in the field, specifically in the areas of genetic engineering T cells manufacture process optimization. He has extensive expertise developing and streamlining therapeutic candidates from the research bench to the cGMP facility while ensuring robust production and scalability.

In collaboration with Wilson Wolf Manufacturing, Dr. Vera has been instrumental in the design and testing of the G-Rex® cell culture platform and pioneered its use for the large-scale production of T cells. He is a Co-Investigator on a number of clinical trials for T cell therapy in both infectious disease and cancer. His recent focus is on developing strategies to enhance the T cell function by protecting tumor-targeted T cells from the immunosuppressive effects of the tumor microenvironment in order to enhance in vivo persistence and function.

Dr. Vera is senior or co-author on more than 30 publications and a named inventor on 13 published patents. He is based at the Center for Cell and Gene Therapy, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, where he holds the title of Associate Professor in the Department of Medicine.

Dr. Vera received his Medical Degree from the University El Bosque in Bogota, Colombia and completed his postgraduate training in the Center for Cell and Gene Therapy, Baylor College of Medicine, Texas Children’s Hospital and The Methodist Hospital.