Kytopen Appoints Mikhail Shapiro, Ph.D. to Scientific Advisory Board

Kytopen, an MIT-spin out and biotechnology company leading advancements in high-throughput cellular and genome engineering platforms, today announced the addition of leading chemical and medical engineering expert Mikhail Shapiro, Ph.D. to the Kytopen Scientific Advisory Board. Upon this appointment, the Kytopen SAB will consist of seven world-renowned experts from diverse fields to provide technical and strategic guidance for ongoing research and development programs at Kytopen.

“We are honored to have Dr. Mikhail Shapiro join our scientific board, and I look forward to having his extensive expertise in the fields of synthetic biology and biophysics represented on this panel,” said Kytopen CTO Bethany Grant. “With this addition, the Kytopen SAB collectively represents over 70+ years of experience in medicine, engineering, and biopharmaceutical development and shares the vision to help the next generation of living medicine reach more patients in need.”

“I am delighted to join this SAB and to work closely with the innovative Kytopen team,” said Dr. Mikhail Shapiro. “Kytopen’s technology is an exciting solution for researchers in the fields of synthetic biology and cell therapy; I look forward to working to make an impact on drug discovery, development, and manufacturing with the team and other members of the SAB.”

About Mikhail Shapiro, PhD

Mikhail Shapiro is a Professor of Chemical Engineering and Medical Engineering, an HHMI Investigator, and Director of the Center for Molecular and Cellular Medicine at Caltech. The Shapiro laboratory develops biomolecular technologies allowing cells to be imaged and controlled inside the body using sound waves and magnetic fields. These technologies enable the study of biological function in vivo and the development of cell-based diagnostic and therapeutic agents. Mikhail received his PhD in Biological Engineering from MIT and his BSc in Neuroscience from Brown. He conducted post-doctoral research at the University of Chicago and the University of California, Berkeley, where he was a Miller Fellow. Mikhail’s awards include the NIH Pioneer Award, the Packard Fellowship, the Pew Scholarship, the Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise, the Sontag Foundation Distinguished Scientist Award, the Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award, the Carl Hellmuth Hertz Ultrasonics Award, and the Roger Tsien Award for Excellence in Chemical Biology.

About Kytopen

Kytopen is an MIT startup developing platforms to accelerate the discovery, development, and manufacturing of gene-modified cell therapies. The scalable Flowfect® solution combines microfluidics and automation to make this process easier, faster, and more cost-effective than the state-of-the art solutions. For more information, visit kytopen.com.