Immunotherapy that uses autologous cells has recently shown increasing success. This procedure, however, requires the generation of sufficient, high-quality cells for infusion into patients. Functionally closed, automated, single use cell culture systems have significant advantages over the open, static systems that are commonly used. Keeping these systems small and efficient, while at the same time producing a sufficient number of cells is a challenge. Enabling high cell density culture is very important in order to minimize the total space required in a manufacturing or clinical development laboratory setting. However, achieving these high cell densities without compromising the quality of cells can be a challenge. This webinar will examine the conditions contributing to a healthy cell culture environment and explore ways to optimize high cell density culture.

During this webinar, the speakers will:

Review current large cell culture best practices

Provide advice on how to achieve high cell densities through use of optimized mixing, aeration, and perfusion

Describe how they have used these culture techniques and technologies in their own basic and clinical research

Answer your questions live and in real time!

For product or technologies related to this webinar, go to: www.gelifesciences.com/xuri

Speaker bios

Bruce Levine, Ph.D. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA Dr. Levine is an alumnus of the University of Pennsylvania and received his Ph.D. in immunology and infectious diseases from the Johns Hopkins University in 1992. While a postdoctoral fellow at the Naval Medical Research Institute in Bethesda, he developed a system for large-scale efficient culture of lymphocytes that has proved to be the foundation for over 35 early phase clinical trials of adoptive immunotherapy. He was recently designated the inaugural holder of an endowed chair, the Barbara and Edward Netter Associate Professor in cancer gene therapy in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Levine directs the Clinical Cell and Vaccine Production Facility (CVPF), which develops, manufactures, and tests novel cell and gene therapies in clinical trials at Penn and collaborating institutions. T cells, dendritic cells, and mesenchymal stromal cells are under investigation in CVPF clinical trials in various cancers, HIV infection, and genetic disease. Dr. Levine and the CVPF produced cells for the first infusions of purified activated CD4+ T cells as adoptive immunotherapy, directed the first lentiviral transduced cell infusions, and the first infusions of zinc-finger nuclease-modified CD4 T cells. Over 1,700 cellular products have been administered to >600 patients in clinical trials since 1996.

Stephen Minger, Ph.D. GE Healthcare Life Sciences

Cardiff, Wales, UK Dr. Minger is chief scientist and global head of Research and Development, Research and Applied Markets at GE Healthcare Life Sciences. He joined GE Healthcare Life Sciences in 2009 from King’s College, London where he was senior lecturer and director of the Stem Cell Biology Laboratory. Dr. Minger is co-founder and director of the London Regenerative Medicine Network, the world’s largest multi-stakeholder cell therapy and regenerative medicine network, focused on helping to translate the potential benefits of cell therapy and regenerative medicine to the clinic. Dr. Minger received his Ph.D. in pathology (neurosciences) from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York, followed by postdoctoral research at University of California, San Diego, where he first began to pursue research in neural stem cell biology. In 1995, Dr. Minger was appointed assistant professor in neurology at The University of Kentucky Medical School. He transferred his stem cell research program to Guy's Hospital, London in 1996 and was appointed a lecturer in biomolecular sciences at King's College London in 1998. In 2012, Dr. Minger was honored by the Federation of Asian Biotech Associations (FABA) with a Special Award for his outstanding contributions in the field of stem cells.

Sean Sanders, Ph.D. Science/AAAS

Washington, DC Dr. Sanders did his undergraduate training at the University of Cape Town, South Africa, and his Ph.D. at the University of Cambridge, UK, supported by the Wellcome Trust. Following postdoctoral training at the National Institutes of Health and Georgetown University, Dr. Sanders joined TranXenoGen, a startup biotechnology company in Massachusetts working on avian transgenics. Pursuing his parallel passion for writing and editing, Dr. Sanders joined BioTechniques as an editor, before joining Science/AAAS in 2006. Currently, Dr. Sanders is the Director and Senior Editor for Custom Publishing for the journal Science and Program Director for Outreach.

Sponsored by