Front Row lecture series

Reprogramming the immune system: A new era of precision immunotherapy for cancer and autoimmune disease

Travis Young, PhD
Vice President, Biologics
Calibr-Skaggs Institute for Innovative Medicines
Wednesday, August 20, 2025
4:00 p.m. PT | 7:00 p.m. ET

Travis Young, PhD

Your immune system is your body’s natural defense, capable of identifying what belongs and what doesn’t. But when it falters, it can let cancer grow unchecked or mistakenly attack your own healthy tissues, leading to autoimmune diseases. What if we could reprogram the immune system to tip the balance in our favor, gaining an advantage over both cancers and autoimmune disorders? In this free Front Row lecture, Calibr-Skaggs’ vice president of biologics, Travis Young, will share how Scripps Research is using genetic engineering to reprogram patients’ own immune cells to create personalized “switchable” CAR-T cell therapies. This approach represents a new class of precision immunotherapy designed to induce deep and durable remissions in patients with a wide range of cancers, from lymphoma to breast cancer, as well as in chronic autoimmune conditions such as lupus, rheumatoid arthritis and systemic sclerosis. Young will explain how this breakthrough strategy works and what it could mean for the future of medicine.

Reserve your seat! Join the community in person on the Scripps Research campus or attend virtually via Zoom webinar.