• Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, The Ohio State University
• Principal Investigator, Nationwide Children’s Hospital
• Chief Scientific Officer, CARTx Therapeutics
• The importance of off-the-shelf CAR-T cells in making therapies more affordable and accessible
• Next-generation engineering: the development of CRISPR/AAV-based off-the-shelf CAR γδT cells to overcome the limitations of traditional CAR-T therapies
• Preclinical efficacy: the potent antitumor activity of CAR γδT cells demonstrated across multiple tumor types
Cell therapy has transformed cancer treatment but remains costly and inaccessible for many patients. Using a novel γδT cell and CRISPR/AAV platform, we have developed off-the-shelf CAR γδT cells that combine strong antitumor activity with global scalability. I will share recent data on the CD38-CAR for hematological malignancies, as well as the GD2- and Nucleolin-CAR γδT cells. This work paves the way for affordable and accessible cell therapies worldwide.
Dr. Meisam Naeimi’s mission is to bring cellular therapies to low- and middle-income countries. At Nationwide Children’s Hospital and The Ohio State University, he leads a translational research program focused on gene-edited T and γδT cell therapies for high-grade gliomas, T-ALL, and other hard-to-treat malignancies. He currently serves as Chief Scientific Officer at CARTx Therapeutics, where he drives the development of next-generation allogeneic CAR γδT cell therapies for both pediatric and adult cancers.
Dr. Naeimi has pioneered CRISPR/AAV-based engineering platforms to generate potent off-the-shelf CAR γδT cells, including CD38-, GD2-, and Nucleolin-directed constructs, and has advanced multiple collaborations to scale these therapies globally. His work bridges academic innovation with industry translation, supported by a strong track record in preclinical development, grant funding, and strategic partnerships.
[1]. Naeimi Kararoudi M, Likhite S, Elmas E, Yamamoto K, Schwartz M, Sorathia K, de Souza Fernandes Pereira M, Sezgin Y, Devine RD, Lyberger JM, Behbehani GK, Chakravarti N, Moriarity BS, Meyer K, Lee DA. Optimization and validation of CAR transduction into human primary NK cells using CRISPR and AAV. Cell Rep Methods. 2022 Jun 13;2(6):100236. [Content Brief]
[2]. Naeimi Kararoudi M, Nagai Y, Elmas E, de Souza Fernandes Pereira M, Ali SA, Imus PH, Wethington D, Borrello IM, Lee DA, Ghiaur G. CD38 deletion of human primary NK cells eliminates daratumumab-induced fratricide and boosts their effector activity. Blood. 2020 Nov 19;136(21):2416-2427. [Content Brief]
[3]. Akoumianakis I, Sanna F, Margaritis M, Badi I, Akawi N, Herdman L, Coutinho P, Fagan H, Antonopoulos AS, Oikonomou EK, Thomas S, Chiu AP, Chuaiphichai S, Kotanidis CP, Christodoulides C, Petrou M, Krasopoulos G, Sayeed R, Lv L, Hale A, Naeimi Kararoudi M, McNeill E, Douglas G, George S, Tousoulis D, Channon KM, Antoniades C. Adipose tissue-derived WNT5A regulates vascular redox signaling in obesity via USP17/RAC1-mediated activation of NADPH oxidases. Sci Transl Med. 2019 Sep 18;11(510):eaav5055. [Content Brief]
[4]. Schafer JR, Salzillo TC, Chakravarti N, Kararoudi MN, Trikha P, Foltz JA, Wang R, Li S, Lee DA. Education-dependent activation of glycolysis promotes the cytolytic potency of licensed human natural killer cells. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2019 Jan;143(1):346-358.e6. [Content Brief]
[5]. Naeimi Kararoudi M, Dolatshad H, Trikha P, Hussain SA, Elmas E, Foltz JA, Moseman JE, Thakkar A, Nakkula RJ, Lamb M, Chakravarti N, McLaughlin KJ, Lee DA. Generation of Knock-out Primary and Expanded Human NK Cells Using Cas9 Ribonucleoproteins. J Vis Exp. 2018 Jun 14;(136):58237. [Content Brief]
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