Micah Benson, PhD joined KSQ at its founding and was responsible for building KSQ’s Immuno-Oncology and Autoimmunity efforts, leading to a clinical-stage portfolio of multiple first-in-class therapeutics. A co-inventor of KSQ’s foundational Immune CRISPRomics® platform, Micah’s work led to the discovery of SOCS1 and Regnase-1 and the development of KSQ’s eTIL® programs, including KSQ-001EX and KSQ-004EX, as well as a broad strategic partnership established with Takeda to develop and commercialize novel Immuno-Oncology therapeutics. Prior to joining KSQ, Micah served as the Head of Tolerance Therapeutics in the Immunology and Inflammation Research Unit at Pfizer, Inc., where he was responsible for building and leading a drug discovery portfolio and identifying external research opportunities focused on immune tolerance induction therapeutics. He earned his PhD in Immunology from Dartmouth Medical School where his work on B cell survival and T regulatory cell differentiation generated fundamental insights into the mechanisms of immune-mediated diseases. Micah subsequently served as a Leukemia Lymphoma Society fellow at Harvard Medical School where he studied mRNA splicing in B lymphocyte differentiation. He is the author of several patents and multiple publications in top-tier scientific journals.

TBD

John Black M.Ed is an experienced healthcare executive with nearly 20 years in the medical industry, spanning leadership roles in both startups and global companies. He is currently CEO of Vitranu, a biotech company developing the Tunable Extended Release Microcapsule, a novel platform for sustained ophthalmic drug delivery. Previously, he founded MediView, advancing AR/VR surgical navigation, and holds foundational surgical navigation and medical imaging patents. John’s expertise covers strategy, commercialization, and early adoption of innovative medical technologies, with a focus on biologics, biomaterials, and drug delivery. He has secured regulatory clearances, advanced AI-based imaging solutions, and driven early-stage innovation into meaningful clinical pathways. Passionate about bridging technology and patient care, he is leading Vitranu toward strategic pharmaceutical partnerships to address unmet needs in retinal disease treatment.

Eric Tran, MD, PhD is an experienced research scientist with a lifelong goal of developing new and more effective T-cell-based immunotherapies for patients with cancer. Currently, he leads the Adoptive Cell Therapy Laboratory at the Earle A Chiles Research Institute, a Providence Center of Excellence for immuno-oncology and cellular therapy.

Dr. Tran trained at the National Cancer Institute through the National Institute of Health with Dr. Steven A. Rosenberg, a pioneer in the field of immunotherapy. He has extensive experience in translational and clinical adoptive T-cell therapy against cancer and in evaluating the T-cell response against tumor neoantigens.

Fady is leading the groups of Biopharmaceutics and formulation in Sanofi USA to develop a strategy for DP development for successful transition into human and subsequent market launch. He obtained his PhD from the University of Houston and completed post-doctoral training at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver Canada. He led the translational Biopharm group in Pfizer and then moved to Sanofi to lead the Early Development Biopharmcy group. Fady is passionate about the transition of molecules into clinics and developing innovative strategies for drug product development.

Diwakar (Davar) Davar, MD, is a translational medical oncologist and assistant professor of medicine at UPMC, specializing in the management of advanced melanoma and other cutaneous malignancies. Board-certified in internal medicine and medical oncology, he brings a robust background in immuno-oncologic drug development and a clinical focus on leveraging novel immunotherapeutic approaches for patients with advanced cancers.

Dr. Davar’s expertise spans the spectrum of drug development, from preclinical models and biomarker discovery to clinical trial design, regulatory strategy, and FDA engagement. He has played a pioneering role in advancing microbiome therapeutics and contributes to the strategic planning and execution of early-phase studies across a variety of therapeutic modalities.

He earned his medical degree from the National University of Singapore and completed both residency and fellowship training at UPMC. Dr. Davar is an active member of numerous professional societies, including the American Association for Cancer Research, American Society of Clinical Oncology, American College of Physicians, Allegheny County Medical Society, and the Singapore Medical Association.

Valentina is a leader of the Life Sciences Practice in Europe. With a PhD in modelling and simulation for optimal drug administration, since joining McKinsey Valentina has built broad experience working across strategy, innovation, analytics transformation, and organization –with a special interest in R&D. Valentina is a global co-leader of our Development service line, focused on helping clients bring medicines to patients faster, at lower cost while de-risking the path to market.