Dr. Nadim Mahmud is a Professor in the Department of Medicine in the Division of Hematology and Oncology at the University of Illinois College of Medicine, Chicago. He is also the Clinical Stem Cell Laboratory Director for UI Hospital Blood & Marrow Transplant Program. He has more than 22 years of experience in hematopoietic stem cell biology and stem cell transplantation. He also has extensive experience in studies of hematopoietic stem cell biology and blood cell regeneration, both in human and animal models, which includes bone marrow failure following myeloablative radiation or chemotherapy. Dr. Mahmud has a broad background in medicine, stem cell biology, and transplantation and is currently serving as PI or co-investigator on several university and NIH-funded grants. His clinical laboratory is responsible for processing, storing, and releasing stem cell grafts for administration to patients undergoing bone marrow transplantation or other cell-based therapy. Dr. Mahmud’s laboratory has pioneered a novel way to augment the number of transplantable blood-forming stem cells present in an umbilical cord blood graft by using chromatin-modifying agents and has been awarded a US patent for this work. Dr. Mahmud’s research lab has the expertise in developing leukemia patient-derived xenografts (PDX) to test the in vivo function of efficacy of isoform-selective HDAC inhibitors in leukemia. Dr. Mahmud also serves as the principal investigator for the UIC Hembank, a repository of banked hematologic malignancy samples with detailed clinical and molecular annotation. Dr. Mahmud serves on the FACT (accreditation body) Board of Directors and the FACT Global Affairs Committee chair. He is also a FACT Executive Committee member and serves on the editorial board of the premier cell therapy journal Cytotherapy.

Daniel J. Kota, PhD is a Director of cGMP Cell Therapy Laboratory Core at Baylor College of Medicine, Stem Cell Transplant Program. As a native of Brazil, Kota received his PhD in medical sciences, completed his postdoctoral training in neurotrauma, and ran a research program as faculty, unlocking the therapeutic properties of adult stem cells across the USA at Burnham Institute (CA), Tulane University (LA), Texas A&M University, University of Texas (TX), and Sanford Health (SD). Kota has a passion for translational science, oversees the day-to-day operations of EPIC, and is actively involved in the scientific aspects of every project, from concept to execution.