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BSGCT Conference Speakers

We are assembling a stellar lineup of speakers who are leaders in the gene and cell therapy community. Stay tuned for exciting announcements about our keynote speakers, panel discussions and presentations

Call for Abstracts – Now Open!

We’re inviting experts, innovators, and thought leaders to share their insights at this year’s Annual Conference. A number of abstract speaking opportunities are available across a range of themes and session formats.
If you have new research, case studies, or ideas that can inspire and inform our audience, we’d love to hear from you.

Submit your abstract today for the chance to present on the main stage and connect with peers from across the industry.

Plenary Speakers

Professor Sir Munir Pirmohamed

Professor Sir Munir Pirmohamed (MB ChB, PhD, FRCPE, FRCP, FFPM. FRSB, FBPhS, FMedSci) is David Weatherall Chair in Medicine at the University of Liverpool, NHS Chair of Pharmacogenetics, and a Consultant Physician at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital.

He is Director of the Centre for Drug Safety Sciences, Director of the Wolfson Centre for Personalised Medicine, and Director of HDR North. He is also leading a recently awarded Centre for Excellence in Regulatory Science and Innovation in Pharmacogenomics. He is an inaugural National Institute for Health and Care Research Senior Investigator, Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences in the UK, and Honorary Fellow of the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Medicine.

He is Chair of the Commission Human Medicines, and a medical trustee for the British Heart Foundation. He was President of British Pharmacological Society from January 2020-December 2021, and President of the Association of Physicians in 2023.

He was awarded a Knights Bachelor in the Queen’s Birthday Honours in 2015. His research focuses on personalised medicine, clinical pharmacology, data science and drug safety in a variety of disease areas.

He has published over 700 papers and has an H-index of 127

Professor Majlinda Lako

Professor Majlinda Lako is Chair of Stem Cell Sciences at the Biosciences Institute, Newcastle University. She earned her BSc from the University of Tirana and PhD from Newcastle University, before completing postdoctoral training in stem cell biology at the University of Durham.

Appointed to the Institute of Human Genetics in 2003, she became Professor in 2009 and later served as Deputy Director of the Institute of Genetic Medicine. Professor Lako’s research has significantly advanced the understanding of human eye development and regenerative therapies for blinding diseases.

Her group pioneered the derivation of human embryonic stem cells in the UK and developed translational applications, including animal-free expansion of corneal epithelial stem cells successfully transplanted in patients. Her lab also created the first light-responsive retinal organoids capable of restoring visual function in mice.

Her current work explores gene therapy approaches for inherited retinal disease using patient-derived retinal organoids and retinal pigment epithelial cells.

Speakers

Dr Rajvinder Karda

Dr Rajvinder Karda is a Professor In Gene Therapy at the Institute for Women’s Health, UCL. She completed her PhD in Gene Transfer and Neuroscience at Imperial College London in 2016. Her research team mainly focuses on developing pre-clinical gene therapy and RNA editing treatments for childhood neurological disorders. Dr Karda has received funding as a principal investigator from MRC DPFS, LifeArc, GOSH Charity, Dravet Syndrome UK Charity, Cure DHDDS charity and Venture Capital funds. She also collaborates on pre-clinical gene therapy projects for rare childhood metabolic disorders. She is currently a board member of the British Gene and Cell Therapy Society and a member of the Scientific Advisory Committee for the Dravet Foundation Charity in Spain and Cure DHDDS Charity in the UK.

Professor Fiona Thistlethwaite

Professor Fiona Thistlethwaite MB BChir PhD MRCP is a Medical Oncology Consultant within the ECMT (Experimental Cancer Medicine Team) at The Christie NHS Foundation Trust and Honorary Professor of Experimental Immunotherapy at The University of Manchester.

Professor Fiona Thistlethwaite has been actively involved in clinical trial development for many years with a research focus on early phase clinical trials in immune-oncology, particularly adoptive cell therapies, combination immunotherapies and immune biomarkers. She is the clinical lead for the Advanced Immune and Cell Therapy Team at The Christie and Medical Director of the NIHR Christie Clinical Research Facility which is delivering over 400 oncology trials to patients each year. Fiona is also the Director of iMATCH (Innovate Manchester Advanced Therapy Centre Hub) which is a lead-centre within the UK-wide ATTC (Advanced Therapy Treatment Centre) network aiming to scale-up activity and overcome barriers to clinical trials of cell and gene therapy.

Professor Claire Booth

Claire is a Professor of Paediatric Immunology and Gene Therapy at UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, leading the stem cell gene therapy programme. She oversees gene therapy trials for immune deficiencies, haematological, and metabolic disorders, focusing on developing novel treatments for immune disorders. Claire has extensive experience in leading first-in-human clinical trials and translating research into clinical practice. As an attending physician, she manages patients with immunodeficiencies, including stem cell transplants, with a particular interest in HLH disorders. Claire is an elected board member of the European and American Societies of Gene and Cell Therapy, holds an honorary position at Boston Children’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, and co-founded the AGORA Foundation to improve access to gene therapies for ultra-rare diseases.

Professor Volker Straub

Professor Volker Straub is the Director of the John Walton Muscular Dystrophy Research Centre and Deputy Dean for Newcastle University’s Translational and Clinical Research Institute.

He is a Consultant in Neuromuscular Genetics and an NIHR Senior Investigator. Volker has a long-standing interest in disease mechanisms of genetic muscle diseases, with activities involving diagnostics and clinical trials.

He is currently the co-chair of the National Clinical Group for the Advanced Therapies Treatment Centre (ATTC) network.