SynBioBeta Speaker

Victoria Mascetti

University of Bristol

Assistant Professor

Dr. Victoria Mascetti is a leading stem cell biologist and honorary Assistant Professor at the University of Bristol, UK, with more than a decade of international experience advancing regenerative medicine and translational research. Her work sits at the forefront of stem cell science, with a strong emphasis on clinical application and commercial innovation.

Dr. Mascetti earned her Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge as a British Heart Foundation scholar, where she investigated the molecular mechanisms governing human pluripotent stem cell maintenance and differentiation into clinically relevant cell types. She went on to Stanford University, USA, supported by a prestigious American Society of Hematology Fellowship, where she expanded her expertise in the developmental biology of tissue-resident stem cells.

In 2019, Dr. Mascetti was awarded a competitive Vice Chancellor’s Fellowship to establish and lead a research group at the University of Bristol's Division of Cardiovascular Sciences. Her team is developing next-generation, stem cell–engineered cardiac patches aimed at repairing congenital heart defects—combining advanced stem cell biology with cutting-edge tissue engineering.

Her scientific leadership has been recognized with multiple international awards, including honors from the International Academy of Cardiovascular Science, the British Society for Cardiovascular Research, and the International Society for Heart Research.

Dr. Mascetti is a trusted expert in applying stem cell science to real-world clinical and commercial challenges. In addition to her academic work, Dr. Mascetti serves as a scientific consultant, advising biotech companies on stem cell strategy, translational research pathways, and product development. Her expertise bridges the gap between scientific discovery and real-world application.

Sessions Featuring

Victoria

This Year

Breakout Session

•

3:30 PM

-

4:15 PM

Human Health

Programmable T Cells: Engineering Living Immune Systems

T cells are evolving from targeted killers into fully programmable cellular systems. Advances in synthetic biology, AI-driven receptor design, and genome-scale datasets are enabling immune cells that not only recognize disease, but sense context, compute signals, adapt over time, and execute coordinated responses inside the body. This session brings together leaders across academia and industry to explore how next-generation CAR and TCR design, structural modeling, and large biological foundation models are reshaping immune engineering. Beyond receptor optimization, we will examine logic circuits, combinatorial sensing systems, control layers, and in vivo reprogramming strategies that transform T cells into dynamic therapeutic platforms. As immune cell engineering moves toward off-the-shelf products and in vivo editing approaches, we will address the deeper architectural questions: How do we design cells that avoid exhaustion, function within hostile tumor microenvironments, and maintain safety over time? What does it mean to treat T cells as living software systems? And how do we build programmable immune therapies that are scalable, durable, and globally accessible?

Featuring

Lilly Wollman

Synteny

CEO & Co founder

From growth equity to gen-AI T-cell engineering.

Kyle Daniels

Stanford University

Assistant Professor

Engineering immune-cell “programmable receptors” with synbio + machine learning.

Connor Tsuchida

Azalea Therapeutics

Scientific Co-founder, VP, R&D

Abhishek Singharoy

ASU

Professor

John Robson

BioOra

Managing Director

Deep-tech investor turned CAR-T scale-up leader.

Victoria Mascetti

University of Bristol

Assistant Professor

Stem-cell biologist translating regeneration into real therapies.

Breakout Session

•

3:30 PM

-

4:15 PM

Human Health

Programmable T Cells: Engineering Living Immune Systems

T cells are evolving from targeted killers into fully programmable cellular systems. Advances in synthetic biology, AI-driven receptor design, and genome-scale datasets are enabling immune cells that not only recognize disease, but sense context, compute signals, adapt over time, and execute coordinated responses inside the body. This session brings together leaders across academia and industry to explore how next-generation CAR and TCR design, structural modeling, and large biological foundation models are reshaping immune engineering. Beyond receptor optimization, we will examine logic circuits, combinatorial sensing systems, control layers, and in vivo reprogramming strategies that transform T cells into dynamic therapeutic platforms. As immune cell engineering moves toward off-the-shelf products and in vivo editing approaches, we will address the deeper architectural questions: How do we design cells that avoid exhaustion, function within hostile tumor microenvironments, and maintain safety over time? What does it mean to treat T cells as living software systems? And how do we build programmable immune therapies that are scalable, durable, and globally accessible?

Featuring

Lilly Wollman

Synteny

CEO & Co founder

From growth equity to gen-AI T-cell engineering.

Kyle Daniels

Stanford University

Assistant Professor

Engineering immune-cell “programmable receptors” with synbio + machine learning.

Connor Tsuchida

Azalea Therapeutics

Scientific Co-founder, VP, R&D

Abhishek Singharoy

ASU

Professor

John Robson

BioOra

Managing Director

Deep-tech investor turned CAR-T scale-up leader.

Victoria Mascetti

University of Bristol

Assistant Professor

Stem-cell biologist translating regeneration into real therapies.

Previous Speakers Include