Innovation is our lifeblood.
cTRL is founded and led by an exceptional team of industry and immunotherapy experts with deep knowledge of the adaptive immune system, immuno-oncology, biomedical engineering, and cell therapy research and development.
Our Team
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Expert in life sciences technology development and translation, authoring over 185 publications and inventor on over 50 patents
President of the Chicago Chan Zuckerberg Biohub Network
Serves as the Neena B. Schwartz Professor of Chemistry and Biomedical Engineering at Northwestern University, where she leads an active research program aiming to develop new analytical technologies for combatting disease
Founded three life sciences startups (GeneOhm Sciences, acquired by Becton Dickinson; Xagenic, acquired by General Atomics; and Arma Biosciences)
Recognized with the ACS Inorganic Nanoscience Award, the ACS Arthur Doolittle Award, the Pittsburgh Conference Achievement Award, the Steacie Prize, an Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellowship, a Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar award, a NSF CAREER Award, and a Dreyfus New Faculty Award
Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a Guggenheim Fellow, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences, and the American Institute of Biological and Medical Engineering
Founder & Chief Technology Officer
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Over 20 years experience in biopharma space, bringing deep interdisciplinary expertise in the development and commercialization of innovative therapeutics in oncology and cell and gene therapy
Served as founder and CEO of Cellevolve Bio, working with partners to bring cell therapies through late-stage development and commercialization with a focus on neglected diseases
Held various leadership roles at Atara Bio, Gilead Sciences, AbbVie, Amgen and McKinsey & Company
Currently sits on the boards of Passage Bio, Acumen Pharma and Portal Innovations
Earned his M.D. from the University of Pennsylvania's Perelman School of Medicine, M.B.A. from the Wharton School, and B.S. in Neuroscience from UCLA.
Chief Executive Officer
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Shivu Sharma is an accomplished strategy leader focused on driving transformative growth in cell therapy through strategic partnerships and innovation.
He brings over a decade of experience in cell therapy and oncology to cTRL.
Prior to cTRL, Shivu was Head of Product & Portfolio Strategy at Instil Bio, leading product planning, search & evaluation, and competitive intelligence. He began his cell therapy career at Gilead, contributing to the company's long-term cell therapy strategy and playing a key role in the Kite Pharma acquisition. At Kite/Gilead, he held roles of increasing responsibility across commercial, corporate strategy, the CEO's office, and corporate development.
At cTRL, Shivu is responsible for the full spectrum of strategic initiatives and business development activities.
He holds an M.S. in Physiology & Biophysics from Georgetown University.
Head of Strategy & Business Development
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Expert hematologist-oncologist with over 20 years of experience in research, clinical development, and commercialization of immuno-oncology and cellular therapies.
Led clinical development programs for multiple FDA-approved drugs to treat hematologic malignancies.
Previously served as Chief Medical Officer at Cytovia and SVP Cell Therapy Development at BMS. Corporate VP of Immuno-Oncology and Cell Therapy at Celgene and chaired Hematology-Oncology Development Committee.
Member of the Scientific Advisory Board for Adagene, Immunai, Sutro Biopharma, Chimeric Therapeutics and Deka Therapeutics.
Independent Director at Precision Biosciences, Myeloid Therapeutics, and Adveysa.
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Accomplished pharmaceutical research and development leader who brings a wealth of experience in oncology and cell therapy
Served as the Global Head of Research at InstilBio where he oversaw tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes research efforts and helped drive regulatory milestones
Started his career at Kite Pharma where he developed multiple novel CAR-T constructs and led key collaborations.
Earned his Ph.D. in Neurobiology and Molecular Biology at the Hospital Clinic in Barcelona and later conducted his postdoctoral studies at Salk Institute for Biological Studies, advancing the fields of neurobiology and stem cell biology respectively
Head of Research
Scientific Advisors
Our advisors share our excitement for cTRLs as a new paradigm capable of unlocking the full potential of solid tumor cell therapies. We draw on decades of expertise from these world-renowned scientists and entrepreneurs, including the founding director of the UPenn program that produced the first approved CAR-T cell therapy.
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Expert in T cell therapy and immunotherapy
Core member of the UPenn team that developed Kymriah, the first approved CAR-T cell therapy
Most recently served as EVP and Head of R&D at ArsenalBio
Previously served as VP of Immuno-oncology and Oncology Cell Therapies at Janssen and CSO of Immuno-oncology at Eli Lilly and Company
Inventor on 29 issued cell therapy patents
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Qiming Ventures: Partner
Juno Therapeutics: Vice President, Research
Life Technologies: Director Global Clinical Business Development Cell Therapy
Encyte: Vice President, Research
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Previously served as SVP, Early Clinical Development, Hematology/Oncology & Cell Therapy at BMS and Celgene prior to BMS acquisition.
Led the 2Seventybio (formerly bluebird)-partnered BCMA CART cell program (Abecma) from inception through FDA approval.
Chief Medical Officer at numerous life science companies with executive role experience at Cell Genesys, Cellerant, and Theraclone.
Served on the Board of Directors of SITC from 2016-2019.
Received the Duane Roth Career Achievement Award for advances in science and medicine and recognized by Forbes in 2022 as one of “50 women over 50: entrepreneurs.”
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Three decades of experience in cellular immunotherapy science and drug development.
Served as Chief Scientific Officer at Lyell Immunopharma, Inc and previously at Kite Pharma, Inc.
Established the field of CAR-T cell research, culminating in the very first CAR T-cell clinical trial in 1994.
Recognized as a top R&D leader by Endpoints News’ Top 20 Women Leaders in Biopharma 2020.
Authored more than thirty scientific publications and inventor on thirteen issued U.S. patents and three published U.S. patent applications.
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Chartier Consulting: Principal Consultant
NextVivo: Chief Scientific Officer
Iovance: Vice President, Research
OncoMed: Senior Director, Research
Inventor on 29 issued cell therapy patents
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Pharmefex: Principal Consultant
Kite: Senior Vice President, Process Sciences
Boehringer Ingelheim: Executive Director, Process Sciences
Amgen: Executive Director, Process Sciences
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Thermo Fisher: Head of Translational Sciences and Director, R&D
Life Sciences: Associate Director, R&D
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Vita Salsman is an experienced cell therapy leader with 20+ years of experience pioneering solid tumor therapeutics and translational development.
She has a proven ability to advance novel candidates from research through clinical implementation.
Vita began her career at Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, spearheading target identification and development initiatives.
Later, she served as a key member of the department of Cell and Gene Therapy at Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children's Hospital Cancer Center, where she orchestrated transformative cGxP initiatives and advanced clinical manufacturing.
Head of Manufacturing
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Sosena Wold is a seasoned finance leader with nearly two decades of experience in strategic finance and operations, specializing in the life sciences sector.
She has over a decade of expertise in the biotech and pharmaceutical industries, and has played a key role in guiding early-stage companies through financial strategy, operational scalability, and fundraising.
At CTRL Therapeutics, Sosena leads finance and business operations, overseeing G&A functions (HR, IT, and legal) to ensure operational excellence and alignment with the company's mission.
She is passionate about innovation and growth and dedicated to advancing CTRL's groundbreaking research and driving transformative impact.
Head of Finance & Operations
