Developing the cell and gene therapy workforce: an interview with Patrick Hanley
As the cell and gene therapy industry expands, workforce development is becoming an increasingly urgent topic of conversation across the board. Whether it’s in research and development, regulation or manufacturing, the industry is growing at an exponential rate and requires experts to do the job. We explore this topic further with Patrick Hanley, Chief and Director of the Cellular Therapy Program and Associate Professor of Pediatrics at Children’s National Hospital (DC, USA). Patrick discusses the challenges the industry faces in workforce development, patient access and driving down costs in cell and gene therapy.
Patrick Hanley is the Chief and Director of the Cellular Therapy Program and an Associate Professor of Pediatrics at Children’s National Hospital and the George Washington University (both in, DC, USA), respectively. He oversees processing for standard of care stem cell transplantation as well as the development, manufacture and testing of novel cellular therapies. Hanley is also responsible for seeking partnerships and commercialization of promising cell and gene therapies. Trained as an immunologist, Hanley has an extensive background and interest in cellular therapy. He is passionate about improving regulations for cellular therapy, training the next generation of cell therapists and facilitating the translation of new therapeutics. Over the past 15 years, he has helped to translate more than 25 cell therapy protocols – ranging from mesenchymal stromal cells to cord blood virus-specific T-cells and tumor-associated antigen specific T-cells – into the clinic.
Patrick serves on the board of directors and as the chair of the education committee of the Foundation for the Accreditation of Cellular Therapy (NE, USA) and is an active cellular therapy and cord blood inspector. He co-founded and served as the inaugural co-chair of the Early Stage Professionals committee and currently serves as the co-chair of the Immuno-Gene Therapy committee of the International Society of Cell and Gene Therapy. He is the commissioning editor of the journal Cytotherapy and he serves on the editorial boards of the journals Cytotherapy, Frontiers in Immunology and Immunotherapy, and Molecular Therapy: Methods and Clinical Development. In 2017, along with Catherine Bollard and Russell Cruz, he founded Mana Therapeutics (VA, USA), a biotech company aimed at educating immune cells and eliminating cancer. In his free time, he enjoys playing soccer, cooking and traveling.
Sarah Rehman
Sarah is the editor of RegMedNet and author of this article. She ensures that the site is up-to-date with the latest news and views in the field of regenerative medicine, from breakthrough therapies to industry collaborations. With a background in both Zoology and Ecology, she has a particular interest in the environmental impact of the industry and the innovations that could move us towards a sustainable future.
