Senior Scientific Advisor
Dr. Richard Whitley
Richard Whitley, M.D., is a Distinguished Professor of Pediatrics, Professor of Microbiology, Medicine and Neurosurgery; Co-Director, Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases; Senior Scientist, Department of Gene Therapy; Senior Advisor for Drug Discovery and Development and Senior Leader, Pediatric Oncology Program, O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center at UAB. He is also the Co-Founder and Co-Director, of the Alabama Drug Discovery Alliance.
Dr. Whitley is responsible for the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Collaborative Antiviral Study Group whose role is to perform clinical trials of antiviral therapies directed against medically important viral diseases of children and adults including viruses considered as threats to human health.
He received his B.A. in chemistry from Duke University and his M.D. from George Washington University. He has published more than 380 articles.
Collaborators
Dr. Anahid Jewett, UCLA
Anahid Jewett, PhD is a Professor in the Section of Biosystems and Function in the Division of Oral and Systemic Health Sciences at the UCLA School of Dentistry. Dr. Jewett is also a member of the Jane and Jerry Weintraub Center for Reconstructive Biotechnology, the Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center (JCCC) and the UCLA Tumor Immunology subgroup.
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center unites comprehensive care and advanced research to provide the latest cancer treatment options and accelerate discoveries that prevent, treat and defeat cancer and infectious diseases worldwide. Based in Seattle, Fred Hutch is an independent, nonprofit organization and is the only National Cancer Institute-designated cancer center in Washington. We have earned a global reputation for our track record of discoveries in cancer, infectious disease and basic research, including important advances in bone marrow transplantation, HIV/AIDS prevention, immunotherapy and COVID-19 vaccines. Fred Hutch operates eight clinical care sites that provide medical oncology, infusion, radiation, proton therapy and related services, and has network affiliations with hospitals in five states. Fred Hutch also serves as UW Medicine’s cancer program.
Caring Cross
Caring Cross is a 501(c)(3) non-profit dedicated to accelerating the development of advanced medicines and ensuring access to cures for all patients, everywhere. To enable its mission, Caring Cross is mobilizing a growing community of healthcare professionals, scientists, engineers, community advocates, donors, investors, and business leaders to support the development of technologies and candidate medicines and technologies. Currently, Caring Cross is advancing several initiatives that aim to improve the accessibility, affordability and applicability of CAR-T technology and stem cell gene therapy. These opportunities include developing and implementing affordable solutions for the manufacture of CAR-T cells, advancing a decentralized, place-of-care cell manufacturing model, and developing its first therapeutic candidate, an Anti-HIV DuoCAR-T Cell Therapy designed to suppress HIV replication and eliminate HIV-expressing cells in people with HIV.